*Dun-duh-DUUUUUUUNNNNN*
Scary thought, huh? And yet I’ve found it to be the funnest room in the house! Oh, the things you can do in the kitchen!
But with a toddler? Really?
YES! Don’t fear it! Embrace it!
Here: I’ll start with the scariest image I have, and build you up from there.
The following was taken while we were making homemade brownies. You wanna know the messiest thing in your kitchen? It ain’t the toddler! It’s cocoa powder. Bean loves to turn the Kitchenaid mixer on, and after we threw in the cocoa powder, he turned it to high—ahhh! Cocoa powder everywhere. Seriously, this picture does not do it justice. And cocoa powder is NOT easy to clean. It doesn’t come up easily and when it poofs it gets into all the little cracks you never thought about—like between the leaves of the table… Well, at least Bean thought it was entertaining!
But on to happier notions.
Like I said, one of the ways Bean involves himself in the kitchen is by turning the mixer on. After the cocoa powder poof-up, I’m more careful about blocking the level to which I want him to push the lever. Even when he can’t move the lever easily, he helps by counting as I pour. 3 cups of flour? “One. Two. Three!” It’s good practice for him! When he’s older, I’ll have him help me measure out the ingredients.
And of course, one of the greatest benefits of helping in the kitchen is getting to lick the beater! Now do note: I only do this with dough that has NO raw eggs in it (if we make cookie dough or brownie dough, I always wait to add the eggs till after we’ve tried it; in general it doesn’t affect the bake). Here he’s enjoying some cream cheese mints! The batter is absolutely delicious and so simple: just cream cheese, powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and food coloring (check out the complete recipe at the end of this post)!
One of the best things I’ve found in the kitchen is dough of any sort. There’s salt dough, which we can bake and save forever. Bean helped make some Star Wars ornaments for the tree for Christmas—since Star Wars VII debuted this year, we had to have a Star Wars presence!
Then there’s gingerbread and sugar cookie dough, which has the added benefit of needing icing decorations! We put our homemade icing in squeeze bottles to help his little hands and it worked great!
But there’s more to cooking in the kitchen than cookies! When I can, I try to involve Bean in the dinner preparations, too! His favorite is homemade pizza night! Yum!
I’ve also tried to make my kitchen more toddler-friendly to encourage him to be more involved. For example, the opening image is of Bean’s place setting drawers where he has his plates, bowls, forks, spoons, and cups. Not only can he grab whatever he needs for a meal, thereby basically setting the table, but he helps me unload the dishwasher by putting his stuff away (and whatever else he can reach)!
Along similar lines, one of the other things that’s worked well for us is hanging his placemat beside the table with Velcro tabs to keep the table clear for other uses. This also makes it easy for him to grab when setting the table. I made this one on Shutterfly with a food theme! We’ll have to make a new one for Bird when she joins the Real Food Brigade!
So there you have it. A few ways you can let your toddler be a part of your day in the kitchen. See, it’s really not that bad!
Just watch out for flying cocoa powder…that stuff is crazy!
- 1 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 tsp peppermint or almond extract
- 3 c powdered sugar
- food coloring (your choice of colors)
- chocolate (your choice of dark, semisweet, or milk)
- In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and extract. Beat in 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Knead in remaining powdered sugar until smooth.
- Shape into 1/2 in. balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten with a fork. OR Melt chocolate and drop into centers of balls.
- Let stand in refrigerator for at least an hour to harden. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Mint and chocolate is my favorite! Love all the pictures of our Bean!!
Great advice to get your child involved in the kitchen. 30 years from now, what do you want to be saying? “Boy did I have a clean kitchen!” or “Boy did I make fun memories with my child in the kitchen!”
Exactly! That’s what I try to remind myself every time it takes a little longer or ends up a little messier than I would’ve hoped. We have so much fun, and that’s what matters!