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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

  3. This is so adorable! With three children this would get so much creative play time. Cooking together is our favorite pass time in our family. Thank you for the opportunity to enter!

  4. Love this number lovin oven! I love to cook so I’m always showing my son and I let him stir baking mixes. He would love that oven.

  9. One of my favorite playtime activities as a little girl was playing kitchen and pretend I was cooking a meal for my doll and teddy bear. I could not imagine something as the LeapFrog Number Lovin’ Oven almost 50 years ago.

    Cooking is such an important life skill. I would love to win the LeapFrog Number Lovin’ Oven for my 2.5 year old niece. She would get hours of fabulous playtime before she is old enough to start helping in the kitchen!

  10. My 22 yr old daughter loves to make soups and cakes, cookies, and cupcakes. She is obsessed with all the food toys that she has. She would love this toy very much, the number lovin oven!

  13. My daughter’s introduction to food and cooking started in our backyard garden, where she helps me plant seeds for the vegetables and herbs that we cook and eat in our kitchen every day. Because she’s had a hand in the planting and growing of our food, she is open to trying most foods and seems more adventurous than most kids, in that respect.

  14. My daughter’s first experience with actively helping in the kitchen was probably making/stirring pancake batter. Before that, she loved hanging out in the BabyBjorn, or sitting in her high chair watching me while I cooked.

  15. My 17 month old fell on love with a spatula sone 6 konths ago. Every time he comes into the kitchen he demands one for each hand then proudly carries them arround the house. He is always helping me stir whatever I am cooking for dinner. Plenty of times he will sit with us for dinner holding piece of food in one hand and his favorite spatula in the other.

  16. My 17 month old loves to cook. He goes into the kitchen, points to the stove and says “cook”! I let him help me stir things and also let him play with ingredients as I cook.

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