This year, my children received a play kitchen for Christmas and it is by far their favorite gift. Play kitchens are adorable and a staple in most playrooms, but did you know that they also have tons of other benefits for your child’s development? Read below to learn five developmental benefits of play kitchens.
1. Imagination: Play kitchens have endless amounts of pretend play scenarios. Imaginative play fosters creativity while providing a safe space for children to act out scenarios of their choosing. Children have so much fun creating their own menus and taking on imaginary roles such as “mommy”, “daddy”, or “chef” as they play.
2. Language: A play kitchen well stocked with play food and utensils helps children talk about colors, numbers, names of foods, actions such as mixing, and so much more! What a great way to expand your child’s vocabulary through play.
3. Life Skills: Children practice organizing, cleaning, and making decisions while playing with their kitchen sets. This type of play also gives parents the opportunity to discuss making healthy food choices with their children.
4. Social Skills: When children are playing with others, children can practice sharing, taking turns and story telling as they take on different imaginary roles. Along with this comes problem solving and self regulation skills. Imaginative play with other children can create situations where everyone may not get what they want. Two children may want to be the chef. The child who doesn’t get their way needs to learn how to manage the unpleasant emotions to continue to play.
5. Fine Motor Skills: Stirring, mixing and other kitchen activities are great for fine motor skills. There are also some food toys that you are able to “cut” with pretend knives. This is also great for motor skill development.
My daughter AND my son are both thoroughly enjoying their new play kitchen! I love seeing their little imaginations at work as they play and learn.
Our play kitchen is actually from Sam’s Club. I love how it is designed to fit in a corner of the room. I love that it also came with some great play kitchen accessories. There are a ton of other adorable play kitchen options from Amazon that you can check out below.
Don’t forget to add some play food, utensils, and cookware to your play kitchen as well!
Do you have a play kitchen? If you don’t, what kind of imaginary play does your child enjoy?
