Reading, writing and math are often thought of as subjects that children learn in school. But as a psychologist who researches how families can help support learning at home, I have found that children can also learn those skills through everyday tasks and chores. One of these chores is preparing a meal – everything from grocery shopping and cooking to setting the table and enjoying the meal.
Our research shows this is especially true for Latino families living in the U.S., many of whom are new to school systems in the U.S. but for whom family dinners are a central part of the day.
Our study included 248 Latino parents with kids in kindergarten. Some parents were given a set of tips – described below – on how to support children’s language, literacy and math at home while selecting, preparing and eating food. Parents were asked to use these tips for at least a month. Other parents were not given these tips.
Our study found that the children whose parents were given these tips had larger vocabularies and more motivation to learn both one month after using the tips and even five months later. These children were also better storytellers and were better able to control their behavior and pay better attention compared with children whose parents were not given these tips.
Busy parents in particular loved these tips because they were easy to follow and to fit into their regular schedules and did not require extra work or special materials.