Kidz in the Kitchen
Thinking about what to get your kids for Xmas? How about a cookbook?
Many parents shoo children out of the kitchen when it’s time to start cooking. But a new crop of cookbooks and even a video game are trying to change that.
…While much of this new push is fueled by marketing, it does have a worthwhile health message. Studies suggest that when children are involved in meal preparation, they are more likely to try new foods.
In one study by researchers at Teachers College at Columbia University, nearly 600 children from kindergarten to sixth grade took part in a nutrition curriculum. In addition to the regular lessons about healthful eating, some of them took part in cooking workshops.
Their role in cooking appeared to make them less picky eaters. When children were involved in cooking their own foods, they were more likely to eat those foods in the cafeteria, and even ask for seconds, than children who had not had the cooking class.
“It’s the act of being involved in the cooking of it that is both engaging and a little more intense than just being told about it,” said Isobel Contento, nutrition education professor at Teachers College and a co-author of the study. “It definitely improved their eating patterns.”
Harriet Worobey, director of the Rutgers University Nutritional Sciences Preschool in New Brunswick, N.J., has seen firsthand how involving a child in food preparation helps overcome fussy eating habits.
In her classrooms, the children use picture-based recipes to make simple foods like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sandwiches and snowman crackers. Because parents tend to focus on dessert-oriented cooking, she said, they do not realize how much their children (even middle-schoolers and teenagers) want to be in the kitchen helping prepare a family meal.
I think teaching kids to cook more than treats is a great idea, as it teaches a life skill, and helps them be less dependent on fast foods and convenience foods as they enter adulthood. This is especially true for boys: I see young, college-age men on the forums all the time, who want to eat right, but can barely boil water, let alone cook a decent meal, and now have limited time and resources to learn.
Likewise, lots of kids like to experiment with their diets as they grow older. I’ve had parents tearing their hair out because their kid wants to become a vegetarian, or otherwise eat food that’s different from the rest of the family…which causes a certain amount of tension. It doesn’t have to…if the kid can cook his/her own meals.
There’s no downside – especially when you consider the health benefits of nutritious, home-cooked meals vs. fast/convenience foods.
