If you’re looking for ways to get your kids more involved then you need to look no further than the kitchen.

Spending time together in the kitchen gives you a chance to not only prepare tasty meals and treats but also to teach them important lessons. Plus what kid doesn’t love to get their hands dirty?

Hesitant on including your kids in your cooking or baking? Here are five reasons why you should:

1.      Teaches the ins and outs of nutrition – Having your kids help you cook or bake is a great opportunity to teach them about the importance of nutrition and consuming a balanced diet full of plenty of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. The obesity epidemic hinges largely on eating a lot of fast food and restaurant fare, and if you want to combat that in your own family then the first step is getting kids interested in cooking and having them understand the importance of healthy eating and good nutrition.

2.      It’s a math lesson in disguise  – Learning how to measure out ingredients and figure out serving sizes may seem like it’s just another component of cooking, but it’s actually teaching your kids valuable math lessons by rolling together fractions, addition, subtraction, etc. If you’re doubling up on a meal or scaling back on it you can get kids to figure out how much more or less of certain items they need to still get the correct measurements.

3.      Cooking and baking are mini science experiments – Why does spinach wilt in the microwave? How come banana bread rises in the oven? What happens when you combine certain ingredients together? Why do eggs become hardboiled eggs when they’re boiled? Every time you bake or cook something you’re essentially performing a small-scale science experiment in the form of food. Explain what’s happening during the cooking process and why certain things happen to sneak in a little science lesson during each cooking or baking experience.

4.      Encourages trying new foods– Kids are notoriously picky eaters; however including them in the cooking process can make them more open to trying new foods. The satisfaction they get from preparing a meal can be just what they need to propel them to actually eat the meal. Plus it gives you a chance to experiment together with different combinations until you find one that everyone can agree is delicious.

5.      It’s automatic quality time–Instead of hanging out watching TV or being holed up in their rooms playing video games you’ll have a rare moment where it’s just you and your kids working together and having fun. Neither you nor your kids will be focused on anything other than spending time with each other and making a great meal, and that is reason enough right there.

Cooking or baking with your kids gives you the unique opportunity to spend time together, save money, experiment in the kitchen, and expose them to new, healthy foods and recipes. They’ll take away more from those nights spent in the kitchen then they ever will playing on the computer or eating on the go.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Debra Johnson, blogger, editor & a knowledge gainer of  being full time nanny.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: – jdebra84 @ gmail.com.