9 Surprising Benefits of Cooking with Your Kids

Man, oh, man! This week has been an entirely different one to the last. Last week I was home with an ill Master 6 the whole week.  My little guy is healthy and back at kindy and bouncing off the walls again (er, unsure whether the second thing is positive or not) and I have had some time to get back into the swing of keeping things here under control. Or at least, that’s my illusion and I’m sticking to it! 😉

While my son is busy burning off excess energy, I am burning off some energy too, both the physical and mental kind. Physical, because one of my goals for the year was to hit the gym twice a week and I can proudly report back: so far so good.

And the mental energy? I am reworking my sewing space! After a couple of trips to Ikea, you know, “just to pick up a couple of things” 😉 and coming home with new bedsheets, a cutlery drawer insert and some magazine holders, I also bought a new shelf and storage system for my sewing area. So plans are being hatched about how to use the space most effectively and let me get back into my favourite hobby *evil laugh while tapping fingertips together*. I am VERY excited! Stay tuned, I will be showing off the results shortly.

But as we all know, being a mother is rarely “about me” and this post is no different. What we ALL are getting excited about is: this weekend. This coming Sunday, January 26^th, is Australia Day!

Yes, this Australia Day I will be baking, not partying. But the kids are BUSTING not only to be able to eat lamingtons again but also to help make them. And we do like creating fun food in the kitchen together. Especially treats like these 🙂.

Wait! What? You didn’t know Australia had a national holiday? And you don’t know what lamingtons even are?!? Ok, let me go back a few steps…

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Australia Day for Expats

Everybody knows that America has their 4^th July Independence Day (you have seen the Will Smith movie, haven’t you?!? 😉). Well yes, Australia has a national holiday too: Australia Day on January 26^th.  (Years ago in my first job in Germany I did angle to have the day off work in celebration of my homeland’s national holiday. But no luck, LOL.)

Back in Australia, we would have been enjoying the day off (Hello Public Holiday!), perhaps meeting up with friends for a BBQ (January in Australia = summer!), a few drinks, some tasty snacks, great music on the radio and general fun and nonsense.

But… seeing as how I am an expat living in a small town in Germany, Australian hijinks are nowhere to be found nearby. I need to create our own, homemade Australia Day vibes. And while I can’t conjure a fireworks display or prepare some awesome prawn, mango and avocado salad to accompany a BBQ, I am going to stick with what I know I can do: Lamingtons.

It’s not that lamingtons are especially associated with Australia Day, like turkey and American Thanksgiving. But being so far away, I like to acknowledge the day in my own small way and remind our 3 kids that they are half-Aussie. And that includes enjoying tasty treats from Australia that do not exist here in Germany.

What is a Lamington Anyway?

So… lamingtons… What are lamingtons? Lamingtons are small pieces of sponge cake, coated in sweet, dripping chocolate icing and rolled in shredded coconut. (If you want to get all fancy-like, you can even add a fine layer of strawberry jam and cream through the centre). They may be a little fiddly (read: messy) to make, but they’re actually not all that hard and the taste is totally worth it!

There have been disputes about where lamingtons originated and when, but the general consensus is that they were first baked in the late 1800s and named after Queensland’s (a state of Australia) Governor at the time.

When people ask me what typical Australian cuisine is, I am generally left stumped. I can say that Australia is VERY multicultural, which then influences dining culture in a diverse, delicious ways 😉. Not all Australian food could be called “cuisine”. Witness the latest potato chips flavour: Lamington. Yes, the latest token potato chip flavour is chocolate and coconut flavoured cake. Er… I do love me some lamingtons, but those chips do not whet my appetite at all. It may sound like some kind of April Fool’s joke, only it’s not April.

Benefits of Cooking with Kids

So, back into it… I am no chef. I’ll stick to making a giant chocolatey mess with my 3 kiddos in the kitchen while enjoying quality family time and watching their confidence and sense of mastery grow.

I have friends who would rather cut their own hands off than stand in the kitchen creating chaos food with their kids. The (literal) spilled milk, sticky hands, looming sneezes, lost counts of “was that 1 ½ cups of milk or just 1?” and infighting over who gets to measure out the next ingredient…

Yes, all these things happen in our household too. OF COURSE. Our 3 kids are 11, 8 and 6 and they all LOVE helping out in the kitchen. Often all at once, which can lead to some difficulties. BUT, letting kids assist in the kitchen has so many benefits for them. And I’ll be honest, I enjoy it too. The creating, the teamwork, the together time… 😉.

So what are the benefits to kids of allowing them to be the little helpers in the kitchen?

01. They can get their hands busy and “fine tune” their fine motor skills by holding knives, utensils and measuring cups, pouring, filling, cutting and rolling.

02. They can practice their reading skills (if they’re at the age to be able to read) by reading out loud the ingredients list and instructions. In the process they’ll surely come across some new vocabulary too!

03. Not only do they get to improve their reading skills, kids can also improve their maths skills in the kitchen when weighing, measuring and counting ingredients.

04. Children need to concentrate when working in the kitchen and preparing food. Cooking is a great way to practice paying attention and working carefully.

05. Helping in the kitchen may not ensure your kids will eat everything you cook for them, but it will open their eyes to the variety of ingredients you cook with, as well as the smells, textures and tastes of different foods. (They might even try eating new foods! 😉)

06. Children will be amazed at what they can create in the kitchen and will be suitably proud of their efforts. Cooking is a great way for a child to their boost self-confidence and sense of satisfaction at having successfully cooked something for the family. They’ll also love that you trust them enough to take on the helping role.

07. Social skills will also be improved in the kitchen, especially when there are several helpers involved. Children need to communicate what they need, perhaps assign tasks to others, ask for help, cope with disappointment (“uh oh, another egg shell fell in the bowl”) and praise one another.

08. Are you planning on cooking for your children every day until you die? No?!? Then teaching them how to cook is a hugely important life skill that will serve them well as they grow older and more independent.

09. And of course, cooking with your children is a great way for family bonding. You get a chance to create, have fun, chat, and watch them master new skills.

Now, all that’s required of you is time, ensuring all ingredients and equipment are in the house and some (a lot???) of patience 😊.

The Lamington Recipe

OK, last but not least, I’ll bet you thought I’d never even tell you how to make lamingtons! Well, I haven’t developed my own recipe, but I will share one with you that is sooo good! Check out this Basic Chocolate Lamingtons recipe.  I can hardly wait to get baking our own batch. Or perhaps double… 🤔

Grab your kids this weekend, give a small nod to Australia, and go have fun baking up a storm in the kitchen! I’d love to see some photos if you do 😊. You can share them below in the comments section!

Do you enjoy working in the kitchen with your children? Do they have a favourite recipe to cook?