Food Ninja helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Focus

Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.

To be successful at Food Ninja, a player must ignore external distractions. The sous chef will throw out a lot of food, most of which is meant to confuse the player because it won't match the recipe that needs to be completed. The player must hone their attention and ignore all the extras, keeping watching for the one or two ingredients they are looking for. Once the player throws a knife at the needed ingredient, they will then need to switch their focus to the new item. This focus is crucial to being able to complete recipes, earn money and stars, and gain reputation. It is the only way to advance in the game.

Working Memory

Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working.

Memory is also very important in Food Ninja. The player must be able to follow directions, watching what the recipe calls for and then remembering it even as extra ingredients are thrown into the air. After they have found the first item, the player must then repeat the process. Every "day" requires the player to follow and remember many new sets of directions. If they can't do this, they will have unhappy customers and complete fewer recipes per day. This will result in the player failing to earn in-game currency, which is needed to purchase upgrades to their restaurant.