In our fast food culture, where prepared foods are readily and relatively inexpensively available, cooking skills in the general public are becoming increasingly rare. It seems as though cooking is viewed as an art that is left to the dedicated few, rather than a necessity for everyday life. Even with the popularity of cooking shows on TV, cooking is represented as being something complex that is best left to the pros. For the non-pro chefs, between the combination of the forces of time-constraints and the vast fast-food resources, it's little wonder that fewer people than ever are able to prepare a simple meal from scratch.
So how are children of today faring? Raised on diets of preservative, sugar, and fat-laden prepared foods, the rate of childhood obesity is at an all-time high, as is the incidence of Type II diabetes in children. Children living in homes where they rarely see an adult cook and don't have the opportunity to learn from watching and doing don't learn the skills they need or develop an interest in preparing wholesome, delicious meals. As far as they know, fast food and market prepared food is the way it is, the way it's always been, and the way it always will be.
What does this have to do with children's toys? Perhaps a lot. Young children learn by playing pretend, by emulating the adults they encounter every day. It's this exploration that instills interest and desire in activities and encourages further exploration. According to child development experts, pretend play helps to teach children skills that they will one day apply to their real lives. While well-designed video games help children to develop fine motor skills, concentration, and response, a play kitchen can introduce children to the tools of cooking and encourage them to want to cook real food once they are old enough.
A play kitchen can include all of the accessories of a real kitchen from pots and pans, dishes, pot holders, and play food along with the pretend stove, oven, sink, and refrigerator. Play foods that include fruits and vegetables will help to familiarize children with healthy foods that parents can use to teach them about the major food groups. They can learn that dairy foods need to be kept in the refrigerator and the importance of washing their hands to avoid "icky germs" from growing. Parents can make recipe cards with pictures that show children how to follow directions.
Play kitchens can be a valuable tool for both little boys and girls to demonstrate that cooking isn't a gender-specific activity, but something everyone should learn for a lifetime of good health and creative fun.
Author Resource:-
Kids That Play provides engineer inspired and designed KidKraft wooden toys that are fun and engaging for children. Give kids the tools to make believe with the KidKraft table, the KidKraft kitchen and much more.
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