How Does a Play Kitchen Help a Child’s Development?

Little chefs unite! Prepare for pastries, salivate with spectacular sauces, and set the table for a feast unlike any other. When it comes to restaurant role play, every baby baker needs their culinary child-play. So, join Jaques of London, as we tantalise the taste buds and ask, how does a play kitchen help a child’s development?

Stick around until the end to read about how you could be in for a tasty treat of your own, as we launch our mouth-watering Children’s Day competition over on Instagram.

Develop Imagination and Creativity

When it comes to cooking up a storm in the kitchen, nothing gets the creative juices flowing like planning your recipe and getting to work on adding a cherry to the top of your favourite cake. Play kitchens provide children with wonderful opportunities to unleash the imagination. Whether chopping away at the wooden vegetable board or rinsing the dishes for your hungrily waiting guests, role playing puts children in touch with the world around them, whilst creating engaging real-world situations. This is ideal for building confidence and character. Better still, once your small sous graduates from play food, an exciting array of child cuisine await.

Numeracy and Language

What would any chef be without knowing their way around a cookbook? Whether nurturing a Nigella or raising a Ramsay, kitchen play is the perfect opportunity to devour the digits and lunch on letters. For the most authentic pie chart experience, what could be better than the divisible delectability of your own Wooden Pizza Play Food? Just be sure that you are left with an even number of slices, or your Italian eatery escapades may be more divisive than planned.

Teamwork

Whilst Mr Ramsay may be more likely to send chefs running from their cooking quarters, children’s play kitchens are advantageously appetising when it comes to instilling the value of teamwork into even the smallest saucier. Creating a process of order and organisation means that there will always be extra roles to be handed out amongst your nearest commis. Even parent pleasing breakfast in bed playsets require toast to be buttered, eggs to be cooked and seasonings to be added. So, be sure to choose your cooking companions well and show that you can never have too many cooks in the kitchen.

Motor Skills

Taste tinkerers know that the finest flavours come in the smallest of packages. When it comes to getting the most out of time spent in the play kitchen, nimble fingers will be worked to the core. With a precise utensil workout needed for crafting food at its finest, we recommend slicing up the toy cake and making sure we can all eat it.

Understanding the Importance of Food

Introducing children to the joys of wooden foods in their very own play kitchen, is a health happy way to promote the most beneficial foods to the fussiest eaters. Whether endorsing eggs, favouring fruit boards, or being vehement about veg, we all know the value of getting our 5-a-day. By connecting happy memories of play to experiences with healthy food, even the pickiest are sure to be piling down the peas and keeping the doctor at bay, with an apple a day!

For a true taste of baking bliss, why not check out our special sponge recipe. Then with a full stomach, head to the Mini Minds Hub to get a healthy dose of brain food. And, for your chance to win 3 spectacular dishes from the Jaques of London menu of play, book your place at our Instagram Competition table today!

For more ideas on how play kitchen helps a child's development, why not swing by our play food collection and take a bite out of boredom now!