Cooking Together: How family meals shape lifelong habits
Academic Divya Patel took a deep dive into a range of detailed reports to look at how childhood eating habits inform their future selves.
Food habits formed during childhood don’t just shape what they eat when they are young, it also shapes their food habits and weight-related outcomes during early adulthood1,2.
For households with children, everyday food choices are driven by multiple factors including time constraints, food costs, preferences, and other competing priorities. Despite these factors, homes remain one of the most important places for young children to learn about food. Homes are where children form early likes and dislikes, routines and structures, and attitudes around meals.
Research shows that children’s eating behaviours are strongly influenced by what they are exposed to at home3. Parents and caregivers act as role models, not only through the meals and snacks they serve to children, but also through parents’ own attitudes, beliefs, and practices towards cooking and mealtimes4. Simple strategies such as repeated exposure to different foods, interactive mealtimes, and involving children in meal preparation are beneficial in establishing healthy relationships with food that can have a lasting impact.
While this sounds ideal, implementing and sustaining these activities is not always easy for many families who balance busy schedules and time. These barriers often lead to families making convenience-oriented food choices, including reliance on ready-to-eat options that are often ultra-processed and nutrient-poor5. Even if parents want to make healthy choices for their children, they may lack the confidence and skills required to prepare meals from scratch, particularly when budgets are tight and involve children. Here is what one of the parents who participated in our family cooking programme shared-
“It was hard for my son to get involved because he disliked having messy/sticky fingers, so I was really shocked when he got involved [in Food etc sessions]. He has helped cook a lot more and will now get his hands involved. My boys tried new things they wouldn’t try at home. And they are now asking to help more.”
Helping families cook together is more than just a fun activity. It’s a way to connect, learn, and be creative. At Food etc, family engagement is central to our approach. Our cooking sessions are hands-on. Parents and children are supported to learn and cook together in a safe environment.
These sessions focus not only on recipes, but also on building confidence, social skills, and practical food skills, making healthy eating feel achievable within everyday life. We teach families to build food and cooking skills that feel doable and sustainable. We integrate age-appropriate tasks to involve children such as chopping vegetables, mixing ingredients, and assembling a simple dish. These tasks are easier to implement for parents, and they increase confidence, curiosity, and willingness to try new foods in children. Here’s what our parents share about their experience-
“This 6-week course has been wonderful. Me and my girls have enjoyed learning how to make things from scratch, spending time together and how to safely chop veg/fruit etc. It has encouraged me and my little family to try new foods and use fresh ingredients. We will miss coming to the cooking group, it has been fun. Thank you!”
“My daughter loved this cooking experience so much that she helps us cook now and doesn’t say not to trying new things. It’s not just for children it helps us parents try new things that we would have never tried before.”
Clearly, these family cooking experiences offer more value than a social hour. In a time when many households are facing multi-faceted challenges to eat healthy, positive experiences around food as a family show immense potential to ensure a long-term healthy diet, health, and well-being.
If you would like to create an impact or collaborate with us, please check out these links and reach out to us!
References
- Dubois L, Bédard B, Goulet D, Prud’homme D, Tremblay RE, Boivin M. Food patterns and body weight in young adulthood and associations with food consumption throughout childhood: findings from a birth-cohort study. British Journal of Nutrition. 2026;135(4):426-434. doi:10.1017/S0007114525106065
- Braune T, Livingstone KM, Adams J, Winpenny EM. Development of inequalities in fruit and vegetable intake through early adulthood: insights from household panel surveys in the United Kingdom and Australia. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2025;79(8):793-801. doi:10.1038/s41430-025-01609-x
- Kininmonth AR, Smith AD, Llewellyn CH, Dye L, Lawton CL, Fildes A. The relationship between the home environment and child adiposity: a systematic review. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021;18(1):4. doi:10.1186/s12966-020-01073-9
- Mahmood L, Flores-Barrantes P, Moreno LA, Manios Y, Gonzalez-Gil EM. The Influence of Parental Dietary Behaviors and Practices on Children’s Eating Habits. Nutrients. 2021;13(4):1138. doi:10.3390/nu13041138
- Ravikumar D, Spyreli E, Woodside J, McKinley M, Kelly C. Parental perceptions of the food environment and their influence on food decisions among low-income families: a rapid review of qualitative evidence. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):9. doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12414-z
