Cooking with Kids: A Recipe for Strengthening Executive Function and ADHD Skills

Parenting a child with executive function challenges or ADHD can be overwhelming. Between juggling schedules, schoolwork, and emotions, it's a lot. But cooking together can be a fun, low-pressure way to help your child build skills like planning, focus, and emotional regulation. Plus, let’s face it—nothing beats bonding over a warm batch of cookies! Here’s how cooking can support kids with ADHD and executive functioning needs (and maybe even make your life a little easier too).

What Are Executive Function Skills and Why Are They Important?

Executive functions are basically the brain’s management system—the set of skills that help us plan, organize, focus, remember, and control our impulses. These skills are essential for things like finishing homework, staying on task, and handling life’s curveballs. For kids with ADHD, these functions can be a challenge. But the good news? Research (shoutout to experts like Dr. Russell Barkley) shows that structured, hands-on activities can help strengthen these skills over time. Enter: the kitchen.

At Summit Ranch, we understand how important these skills are, which is why our youth programs, including family cooking classes, focus on improving executive function through experiential learning.

1. Planning and Organization

Cooking requires a solid plan. You’ve got to choose a recipe, gather ingredients, and figure out what needs to happen first (preheat the oven? chop veggies?). When you involve your child in these steps, you’re giving them practice with skills like:

• Planning: Knowing the steps you need to complete a task.

• Organization: Making sure you have everything in place before you start.

• Time Management: Learning how to pace themselves so the eggs don’t burn while they’re measuring flour.

These are the same skills that help kids tackle school projects and manage their daily routines. Programs like executive function coaching at Summit Ranch help reinforce these essential abilities.

2. Working Memory

Ever started cooking and forgotten how many cups of sugar you’ve already added? (Been there.) Cooking makes kids use their working memory to keep track of instructions and ingredients. This skill is crucial for things like solving math problems, following multi-step directions, and staying engaged in class.

By practicing in a fun, hands-on way, kids get better at holding information in their minds, which helps them stay on top of schoolwork and other responsibilities.

3. Focus and Attention

In the kitchen, distractions can lead to burnt toast and lumpy batter. Cooking encourages kids to focus on one task at a time, whether it’s stirring, measuring, or keeping an eye on a timer.

According to Amishi Jha’s work in Peak Mind, short, repetitive tasks that require attention—like cooking—can actually improve focus over time. The more kids practice paying attention in these small moments, the better they’ll be at staying on task in other areas of life. Our child and adolescent mental health programs incorporate similar strategies to build sustained attention.

4. Cognitive Flexibility

Cooking doesn’t always go perfectly. (Hello, missing ingredients!) When things go off script, kids have to think on their feet. Should they substitute an ingredient? Try a different method? These moments build cognitive flexibility—the ability to adapt and problem-solve.

In school, this skill helps kids adjust to new situations and come up with creative solutions when challenges arise. It’s also a skill we emphasize through programs like art therapy and equine-assisted therapy at Summit Ranch.

5. Emotional Regulation

Cooking can be a rollercoaster. Things spill, timers go off too soon, and sometimes recipes just flop. Helping your child stay calm through these frustrations teaches emotional regulation.

Kids with ADHD often struggle with managing big emotions. In the kitchen, they can practice strategies like deep breathing, asking for help, and using positive self-talk (“It’s okay; I’ll try again”). Emotional regulation is a core focus in many of our youth mental health services.

6. Impulse Control

Ah, the ultimate test: waiting for cookies to bake without sneaking bites of dough. Cooking is full of opportunities to practice impulse control. Kids learn to follow directions, take turns, and wait for the reward at the end.

Strengthening impulse control helps in the classroom too—whether it’s waiting to be called on or resisting the urge to chat during a lesson.

How to Make the Most of Kitchen Time

Here are some ideas to maximize the benefits of cooking together:

• Let your child take charge: Allow them to pick the recipe and take on responsibilities. Ownership boosts their motivation.

• Break it down: Help them create a checklist of steps to follow. Visual aids work wonders.

• Guide, don’t rescue: If they hit a snag, ask questions like, “What do you think we should do next?” instead of solving the problem for them.

• Reflect after: Talk about what they learned and what they’d do differently next time.

The Science Behind It All

Occupational therapists and child development experts agree: hands-on activities are powerful for kids with ADHD. Engaging multiple senses—touch, sight, smell, taste—helps improve focus and memory. Structured tasks like cooking also activate areas of the brain responsible for executive function.

Programs like those offered by K-State Research and Extension and Summit Ranch demonstrate that involving kids in structured activities can enhance cognitive and emotional skills.

Cooking Today, Thriving Tomorrow

So, next time you’re in the kitchen, invite your child to join you. It’s more than just a chance to make pancakes—it’s a way to build lifelong skills. Cooking helps kids learn to plan, focus, adapt, and manage their emotions, all while creating special memories with you.