Cooking with Toddlers

Depending on the cook and the child, cooking with toddlers can be a great bonding experience or a horribly frustrating experience. I thought I would include some tips here to help make your time together a pleasant experience.

Toddlers can do a variety of things. They might be things you can do yourself or things that they can do while you are doing something else that they are not able to do.  If you choose to let them do something you can do yourself, just remember to be patient with them. You had to learn this task at some point in your life too. They might spill a little here or there, so make sure you show them how to use a rag to wipe up spills.

Here is my list of what toddlers can do with you in the kitchen:

• stir
• shake spices into a pan from a salt or pepper shaker
• dump a teaspoon or tablespoon of an ingredient into a bowl
• spray fruits and vegetables with a fruit/vegetable wash that comes in a spray bottle (I just use a spray bottle that has 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar)
• wash fruits and vegetables
• tear lettuce
• pour liquid into a bowl from a measuring cup
• arrange vegetables, cheese or crackers on a plate
• hold a bowl for you when you are trying to scrape out that last little bit
• set the table
• get condiments out of the refrigerator and set them on the table

Cooking is just as much preparation work as it is actually cooking the meal. Children can learn how to help you at a very early age. My son learned how to push the chair up to the counter when he was about 1 year old. He wanted to see what I was doing and hasn’t left me yet!

Children usually want to be with their parents, so why not let them help you so that you will have a little less work to do. You might not save time in the beginning, but that initial training time will pay off great dividends in the end.

Don’t put off cooking with toddlers. They will be teenagers before you know it! Trust me, I know! Taking a few minutes to let them help you will set them up for a lifetime of taking care of themselves and others.