Lockdown Baking - 10 reasons why you should be baking with your children.

Baking and decorating can be hugely beneficial to children. Here are 10 ways in which it can help your child's development.

1. When I bake with the mini buns, I ask Yash to write the recipe out in a notebook. I prefer not to keep touching my phone or laptop while baking, and writing out the recipe helps to show children the structure of a recipe as well as give them practice in writing out the numbers and words in the recipe. Be sure to double check they have taken it down correctly!

2. Scaling the recipe up or down in order to increase or decrease the yield helps children with their maths skills.

3. Following a recipe helps children to understand the importance of following a sequence, ensuring they understand that each step is vital and must be done in the correct order.

4. Bread is a staple of most of our diets. Allowing children to be involved in its production is a wonderful way of showing them "cause and effect", allowing them to see how the ingredients combine to produce a tangible every day item.

5. Baking is a wonderful way to improve your child's coordination. Rolling out cookie dough, cutting shapes out, icing and then decorating them all helps to improve your child's hand eye coordination.

6. Baking and then sharing the results can be a great way of explaining the importance of community and charity to your child.

7. Baking with your children offers them a way to identify and employ lots of tools and appliances in the kitchen, helping them to acquire real life skills and knowledge.

8. Baking helps your child to explore all of their senses. Talk to your child about how the dough /batter feels in their hands. Have a chat about the noises in the kitchen, perhaps make music with the spoons, whisks and utensils you're using. Ask your child what they think of the smell of their treats while they bake in the oven. Let your child express themselves when decorating the cake allowing them to enjoy the visual aspect of their labours. Finally, talk to them about how their baked treats taste.

9. Baking is a wonderful way to chat to your children about safety in the kitchen as well as food safety and hygiene. This message has never been more important!

10. Finally, baking is a wonderful way to engage with your child on an emotional level. So many of our recipes and baking habits are tied to our family histories and childhoods. Use the time to tell your children about recipes that are important to you, ones which spark nostalgia for you as well as recipes from their background and culture. Baking is a wonderful way to open up a metaphorical family recipe book. Discuss a baked treat which was one of their grandparents favourites and bake it together to celebrate them. So many children must be missing their grandparents during the lockdown, this is a wonderful way to feel closer to them. Don't forget to take a picture and send it to Granny or Grandad.