Why You Should Teach Your Kids to Cook

Thailand has a wealth of restaurants and terrific food options on every street. Why, then, is it worth teaching your children to cook?

In today’s busy world, taking the time to prepare dinner often feels like a luxury that many simply cannot afford. Between extracurricular activities, academically rigorous curriculums at international schools and adult working schedules, it’s all too easy for a family’s schedule to become crammed. There are plenty of days during the week when the idea of picking out recipes, shopping for ingredients, preparing food and actually sitting down at the table seems completely unmanageable.

Besides, the argument often goes, Bangkok has some of the best restaurants in the world. Slow-simmered ramen, handmade lasagne, flame-grilled steak and sushi flown straight from Tsukiji Market are often available all within a few blocks of each other. Why bother cooking when Food by Phone can have a Lebanese dinner on your table in half an hour?

Nevertheless, there is something to be said for teaching your children how to cook at least a few basic foods for themselves. Here’s why:

1. You are teaching them self-reliance.

   Do you really want your kids to grow up dependent upon which restaurants are around the corner? Being able to prepare a simple, nutritious meal is as much of a fundamental life skill as learning to tie one’s shoes (arguably more; neanderthals were roasting meat over a fire long before they figured out footwear). By teaching your kids to make a sandwich rather than simply asking someone to make it for them, you’re helping them become adults.

2. You’ll teach them to eat better.

   The funny thing about cooking is that it forces you to learn more about what you’re eating. When your kids grab a processed, plastic-wrapped pastry from 7-Eleven, the chances are that they aren’t thinking a whole lot about the refined carbohydrates, empty sugars, partially hydrogenated fats, preservatives and artificial coloring agents that they’re putting into their mouth. When you make them put together something as simple as a bowl of pasta though, they’re forced to understand and think about ingredients. As a result, an interest in preparing food often leads to at least curiosity about nutrition. Plus, kids are far more likely to eat vegetables and nutritious foods if they helped prepare them.

3. No matter where they go in the world, they’ll be able to take care of themselves.

   Food in Bangkok is cheap, abundant and high in quality. That isn’t necessarily the case in other cities. Send your children away to university in the United States or the United Kingdom and the odds are that their student budget won’t cover eating out every week. By teaching them to make food, you ensure that they’ll always have it.

4. It’s rewarding family time spent together.

   Stop thinking of cooking as an obligation and try to think of ways to enjoy the time more. You don’t have to fix dinner together as a family everyday, but when you do, think of it as a chance to spend time with your kids that doesn’t focus around a screen of some sort. Bonding around baking cookies is a whole lot more meaningful than sitting around the TV or watching as everyone twiddles with their smartphones.

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