11 Sep 2025

Parenting: Why cooking and baking with children is a good idea

From Nine To Noon, 11:25 am on 11 September 2025
A photo of a girl with downs syndrome baking with mother

Photo: stockbroker/123RF

Cooking and baking with children is a great idea - even if its makes a helluva mess, according to early childhood education research specialist Dr Vicki Hargraves.

She's an early childhood teacher and mother, and ECE research specialist at The Education Hub, an organization that supports teachers with knowledge about best practice.

She says spending time in the kitchen with your children is a great way to support their learning - from shapes, colours, comprehension, sequencing and creativity.

And if you do a good job, you'll end up with kids who can share the cooking load in the household.