Kids in the Kitchen

So, I have a 10 month old, and I would dearly love for him to be involved in the kitchen as much as possible, from as young an age as possible.

Thanks to an awesome group of mums I know, here are some ideas for things under 3 year olds can do to help:

Grandma helping cake decorating

• Peeling - carrots, potatoes, kumara, parsnip.
• Trimming - beans etc
• Popping apart brocolli / cauliflower florets
• Measuring - almost anything that can be measured!
• Counting - "Can you get me 3 potatoes for dinner?"
• Filling pots (using cold water), to cover the veges
• Collecting things
• Stirring - particularly cold things. Hot / on the stove would require supervision and a knowledge of your child before trying
• Table setting
• Grating
• Make your own pizzas - either a pita bread they can top, or even go as far as letting them help make the dough!
• Rolling meatballs / patties
• Breadcrumbing
• Get them a "lettuce" knife - Scanpan brand do a plastic knife that wont cut your skin, but can cut tomatoes, lettuce etc.

About this age / slightly older, they can probably start to do things like breaking eggs, using a hand beater to whip cream and perhaps even start helping with hot stuff, like making scrambled eggs, spreads on toast and filling toasties.

A great option, if you have a parent who bakes, is to get their grandparent to spend some time cooking with them. Gives you a break, and them some special one-on-one time with Grandma / Grandad, who often have a bit more patience!

Heres hoping I'll enjoy having my son in the kitchen with me. Have you cooked with your kids? How did it go? What do you get them to do?