The kitchen. It’s full of knives, hot stoves, glass – no place for a child, right?

Well actually, it’s a wonderful place for a child to develop and grow (providing they’re properly

supervised of course).

And here we’re going to show you why.

Language

Working through recipe books can quickly help your child develop their language skills. You can have

them read out ingredients to you, bring kitchen ware to you when you’ve asked for it by name or take

them through each of the ingredients you need on your recipe.

They’ll be a master-cook, wordsmith in no time.

Science

When you think of science, what immediately jumps to mind? Lab coats? Bunsen burners? The periodic

table?

Well why not the kitchen? There’s a whole lot of mixing substances going on in there! Cooking is the

perfect opportunity to discuss where ingredients come from with your little one.

Mathematics

The majority of cooking is all about numbers. How much sugar needs to go in this recipe? How many

people does this meal need to serve?

You can help your child become more comfortable with numbers through cooking. And, using different

cake cutters, you can start to teach them shapes too. Triangles, squares, circles – they could be master

of shapes even before they start school. All thanks to a little bit of cooking!

Physical skills

Why not let your child try some physical tasks like pouring or stirring (obviously exclude tasks that could

be dangerous). Cooking can help them better their dexterity, strength and eye to hand coordination.

So don’t be afraid to let your child help you in the kitchen. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn

numbers, words, science and their physical skills. Just make sure they’re always well supervised!