Like Iya Villania, boost your child's confidence with cooking
In an Instagram post, actress and host Iya Villania shares a video of her sons Primo and Leon eating and cooking pancakes using a kitchen toy that can really cook food. Towards the end of the video, she praised and gave his eldest son Primo a thumbs up for successfully flipping the pancakes.
Beyond making her preschoolers happy from the breakfast activity, Iya also boosts their confidence, so she also deserves not just one, but two thumbs up. But not only that, there are more things her children can benefit from being busy in the kitchen. Here's how:
Boosts self-confidence
Praising kids for their efforts during and after the cooking activities helps boost their self-confidence. Children can gain a sense of accomplishment when they are able to complete their kitchen task successfully, even if the results are not what you expected.
Develops basic skills
Reading recipes together promotes literacy and increases the child’s vocabulary. Making them follow the steps in the recipe such as pouring and mixing ingredients develops not just their listening skills but also their motor skills. Not to mention that they learn basic math skills too through counting, measuring, and even shaping ingredients.
Teaches life skills
Safety is one of the things older kids will learn from cooking such as how to properly hold and use kitchen utensils, especially knives, and how to turn on and use stoves or ovens safely. And learning how to prepare food at an early age teaches them how to be more responsible and independent individuals.
Helps explore their senses
Aside from learning different tastes, kids can explore and learn in the kitchen using other senses such as when they listen to the sound of a frying egg, smell the aroma of a boiling soup, and see a tempting baked pizza. As they develop their senses, they improve their focus and attention too, which eventually could trigger curiosity that could give you a perfect time to introduce them to science.
Promotes healthy eating
Kids, especially those preschoolers, are picky eaters and getting them involved in the kitchen can help them learn and appreciate new tastes. And, through your guidance they can have a good knowledge of healthy food, which eventually they would prefer over the processed ones.