It’s no coincidence that as families are on the go more often, and ready to eat and fast food meals become more popular, the obesity epidemic continues to grow. If your child’s favorite foods come from a bag, box or a drive-thru window, then giving them some ownership and responsibility in the kitchen could increase the likelihood that they will make more nutritious choices in the future.

It’s true that including the kids in preparation and cooking meals requires time, patience and some extra clean-up, but the benefits are well worth it. For example, cooking with your kids can help them become interested in trying foods they might normally skip over. In keeping with the theme of the new food guide pyramid, kids should be trying to

• Choose more whole grains

• Vary their veggies

• Focus on fruits

• Get calcium rich foods

• Eat more lean or low-fat proteins

• Choose fewer foods and beverages that have sugar or other caloric sweeteners as one of their first ingredients.

Kids are more likely to accept healthier foods if they’ve had a hand in preparing or shopping for them. Imagine the calories and fat that are save when preparing fresh meats, whole grains and fruits and vegetables as opposed to the typical drive-thru meal. Many fast food restaurants’ kid’s meals can contain up to 600 calories and 26 grams of fat (a portion of that being artery clogging saturated and trans fat), not to mention over 700 mg of sodium.

Encouraging kids to try healthier foods isn’t the only benefit of cooking as a family. Cooking can give your child a sense of accomplishment. Presenting children with age-appropriate cooking experiences can help build their self-confidence. Watch how fast children will gobble up even the healthiest snacks or meals as long as they helped prepare it. Also, watching the rest of the family eat every last bit of what a child has prepared fosters self-esteem and teaches kids that hard work is rewarding.

Because of challenging work, school and sports schedules, families often struggle to sit down to even one daily meal together. Involving kids in the kitchen teaches them to appreciate family meals.

One of the biggest benefits for parents is spending quality time with their kids. Parents may be amazed at what their child will talk about while working together in the kitchen.

They may hear about what happened in school other than the usual “nothing,” or something that a child is excited about. Cooking together gives parents and children time to talk and share thoughts and stories instead of spending time in front of the television or computer.

Kids of all ages can participate to some extent in the kitchen whether the task is as simple as washing fruits and vegetables, to stirring ingredients in a bowl all the way to preparing simple recipes with the supervision of an adult. It’s important for children to participate in the whole process from preparation to clean up.

Just remember, parents are responsible for the foods that are being offered at home. If you want your child to make healthy decisions away from home and make physical activity a daily part of their lives, it’s important for the whole family to embrace healthy eating, and living, and include kids in the kitchen!

Anne LaPierre M.S., L.D., R.D is a member of Scarborough Wellness, a group that promotes healthy lifestyles for people of all ages.