If you think about it, baking takes a lot of patience.

You measure, pour, mix and then settle in and wait for your masterpiece to come out of the oven. It is a true test in delayed gratification, especially if you can keep from sneaking tastes until it’s done. This is why baking is a perfect undercover way to teach kids about patience.

In the New York Times bestseller book Bringing Up BeBe by Pamela Druckerman, the effectiveness of teaching patience to kids through baking is discussed. The book is a comparison of American parenting vs. French parenting and in my opinion it seems that French parents have some inside secrets into how to raise patient, independent, emotionally stable, kids.

So let’s dive in and see how this baking/patience thing is done.

As soon as French children are able to sit up their parents begin to guide them in weekly or bi-weekly baking projects.

A key element to the process is that the parents give up control over things being done perfectly. Instead of just letting the kids help-out with a few things, the kids are allowed to crack eggs, pour sugar and eventually make the whole cake themselves. They often reuse yogurt cups to act as measuring cups and allow the kids to have fun with it within the boundaries they’ve outlined.

The disciplined nature of baking is the perfect lesson in patience because it teaches kids that there is an order and sequence to how things need to be done to attain the desired result. In today’s fast paced, instant gratification, technological based society teaching kids the importance of self-control and patience is imperative to their development and overall happiness as human beings.

For the French the lesson in patience does not end once the cake is out of the oven and ready to eat. The kids understand they must wait until afternoon snack to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This may come off as too harsh or rigid but if we think about this as a teachable moment, learning to delay satisfaction and develop the skill of patience is much more beneficial than instantly having that warm piece of cake. By having consistent baking projects for the kids French children not only become good little bakers but are also well versed in the art of patience.

A plethora of baked goods and patient children…who doesn’t want that? Not to mention the free time you will have once they are engrossed in their baking project.

Using an activity like baking to teach an important life skill is my kinda parenting philosophy.

Fun + life lessons = happy kids and happy parents.

Another key ingredient to teaching kids about patience is to model it ourselves. If we can’t wait until the cake is done baking or until afternoon snack to eat it then we can’t expect that from our little ones.

Three tips for a successful lesson in patience:

1. Make baking a regular activity. The more practice kids get, the more patience they will have!

2. Don’t be a helicopter head baker, let them take the lead. Yes, there will be a mess to clean up but we all learn through mistakes. This shows them that you trust them and fosters independence.

3. Set up clear expectations ahead of time. Decide when you will eat the treat and what the boundaries are for sneaking bites before it’s baked.

Side note: Use healthy ingredients, stay away from food coloring (it’s toxic), use applesauce instead of sugar as a sweetener, and mix in some love!

Happy Baking!

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Author: Leanna Long

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Tim Pierce at Flickr