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When you look at all the research showing that kids who get into the kitchen and eat with families have a lower risk of obesity and higher grades in school it’s enough reason to make sure your kids love cooking from day one. When you watch kids get excited about fresh foods, their taste, smell and how you turn them into a recipe they get to enjoy it’s incredibly gratifying.

Here are 3 benefits to bringing your kids in the kitchen_

1. Social time with the family_ as kids get older there’s homework, after school activities and plenty of distractions. When you plan for meals as a family and getting your kids to participate in cooking with you it can be a great time to catch up on your days and hear about moments you might have missed.

2. Educational_ cooking is much more than food. It’s about math, chemistry, working as a team and understanding how foods change depending on how they’re cooked.

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3. Fun_ when you start to look at cooking as an art project that you get to enjoy immediately and share with others it’s a whole lot more fun. By allowing kids to be active participants in the kitchen you’re giving them ownership over the food they put in their bodies, empowering them and hopefully in turn creating a lot of laughs.

LeapFrog Number Lovin' Oven giveaway from weelicious.comPin
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I feel like it’s never too early to get kids in the kitchen and that means even when they’re toddlers. If you’re concerned about them getting hurt in any way, then starting with a toy like the LeapFrog Number Lovin’ Oven is a great start. Little chefs can enjoy hours of pretend-play fun with learning secretly baked in. Designed for ages 2 years and up, the Number Lovin’ Oven talks, sings and gets number skills cooking through 30+ songs and phrases. It helps little ones connect the numbers 1 to 5 on the slider with low, medium and high temperature settings, as well as shorter and longer cooking times.

I got to see just how much my friend Grey (in the video above) became even more interested in cooking through our fun playing with the Number Lovin’ Oven.

LeapFrog Number Lovin' Oven giveaway from weelicious.comPin

Updated October 22, 2022 and Published November 13, 2015 by Catherine McCord

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About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

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Comments

  1. I love this, its so adorable.
    I think the first thing my daughter did was help me make cookies, she was in charge of adding the chocolate chips

  3. My daughter helps me make whipped cream. She thinks it’s just wonderful!

  4. My son has a Chef Teddy Bear that he would love to have help him play with this!

  8. My son’s first solid food was peaches, and his first introduction to cooking was pressing buttons on the blender and playing with his own set of measuring spoons and a whisk while watching me in the kitchen.

  11. My daughter loves smoothies. She’s only 20 months so she likes to put the stuff into the blender. Then she’s allowed to press the on button and watch it go. She loves it and is always excited to drink what she “makes.”

  12. My niece loves cooking because I would put her high chair out by me when I would babysit and be cooking. I wanted her to feel involved with the process. Of course, this time of the year is the first time that I was ever introduced to cooking – decorating Christmas cookies.

  13. We have always cooked and baked around our oldest, but her first official lesson in cooking was making a coffee cake when my mother in law came to stay with us when little sister was born. She still tells the story of how Grandma dropped an egg on the floor. Both big and little sis would love the number oven!

  14. While this isn’t really cooking, my daughter’s first experience in the kitchen was helping me make coffee in my french press. She loves to grind the beans and to smell them afterward! Now that I’ve read some of the other comments, I realize I’m going to have to start doing some baking projects with her!

  15. My daughter would LOVE this. She “makes cupcakes” all time using flour and various seasonings. She loves to cook and help around the kitchen.

  16. Chocolate chip cookies! My little boy loves to help me in the kitchen.

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