Effects of Parent-Child Collaborative Vegetable-Cooking on Psychological Development

Abstract

This study examines the parent-child relationship in the context of collaborative vegetable cooking and its impact on children’s psychological development, with a focus on non-cognitive abilities. A questionnaire survey was conducted among parents (n = 793) with first-born children aged 3 - 12 years. Psychological and behavioral development scores were assessed for parent-child dyads, categorized into three groups based on their collaborative cooking experience: a group with collaborative vegetable-cooking experience (n = 420), a group with collaborative cooking experience excluding vegetables (n = 133), and a group with no collaborative cooking experience (n = 240). The scores for the parent-child collaborative vegetable-cooking group were significantly higher across all six psychological and behavioral development items compared to both the non-vegetable collaborative cooking group and the non-collaborative cooking group. The collaborative cooking group including vegetables was further analyzed based on the level of the child’s involvement in the cooking process. Results indicated that the group where tasks were primarily left to the children scored significantly higher in both behavioral outcomes and satisfaction for both parents and children during co-cooking. Creating opportunities for parents to allow their children to actively participate in diverse vegetable cooking processes independently may positively influence children’s psychological development, particularly their non-cognitive abilities.