Online cooking games are the latest trend for kids of all ages. They're fun, and easy to find. In addition, they don't have any objectionable content, such as violence, sexual references, or bad language. They can also show children the work that is involved when preparing food, so they can appreciate better what mom goes through when she prepares them their favorite dish. Another big advantage is that they're free. All they require is a computer and an Internet connection and you have those already. Finally, they can get your child interested in real life cooking. So, after a few games, take him or her with you to the kitchen and see if the interest carries over.

These games let them prepare single dishes or complete meals. There are literally thousands of cooking games online, with recipes from all over the world. Your child can learn how to prepare Mexican enchiladas or Japanese sushi, French crepes or Italian pizza. Once your child masters a simple recipe on a game, he or she will be ready to try to prepare it in the kitchen. It might involve more work, but he or she will have something that he or she can actually eat.

If you handle the whole experience well, you'll notice that your child will take the initiative and ask you to let him or her help you around the kitchen. This alone makes the whole experiment worth it. Of course, at the beginning, it will also mean more work for you. You'll have to teach your children how to handle cooking utensils. And, of course, you should only let him or her handle cooking utensils that aren't dangerous for his or her age. In addition, you must ALWAYS pay attention to what your child is doing when he or she is learning. So, you will not be able to handle one task while your child performs another one during the first months of “cooking training.”

How can I find these games?

They are really easy to find. You can look for them with your Internet browser, by searching for “cooking games.” If you want your child to practice a specific dish in particular, then you can add it to the search keywords.

What kind of recipes are there?

Since cooking games are created by programmers around the world, you will find hundreds of recipes that reflect this diversity. This will also expose your children to foreign culture.

Some of these cooking games will be in a foreign language. Japanese and Korean are common, but you might find some jewels in French or German. Most games are intuitive and require click and drag, so the language barrier shouldn't really be a problem. They might even pick up a word or two in that language, or learn the name of a dish in a foreign language.

If you manage to get your children interested in real cooking with these games, be patient at first. Expect a lot of mistakes and waste of ingredients. It's also a good idea to buy lots of paper towels. You'll see that all that effort will eventually pay off as they get better.