to wonder if anyone really enjoys baking with their children?

[Twiceover]

I've made fairy cakes with DTs (nearly 4) this morning. In my head it's going to be a lovely activity where we chat whilst gaily measuring out ingredients and mixing them together. In reality, they argue over who's going to crack the eggs first, who's going to put which ingredients in the bowl, who's going to put which sprinkles on. I have to stop them eating all the mixture before I can get it in the cake tray. While the cakes are cooking they ask if they're ready yet approx every 30 seconds. Aaargh! They do enjoy it though and they're always very proud of the finished, sprinkle-crammed product.

Oh dont forget the constant nose picking followed by more hand washing. And sometimes the dcs do it too!

"Can I lick the bowl yet"
X 1000

I could have written your post, apart from the twin bit . Oh yes in my rose tinted expectations it'll be a lovely bonding experience filled with love and laughter with beautiful 'rustic looking' cakes at the end of it.

In reality, I'm cringing at the mess, the sticky hands in everything, the bickering.

And I promised we would bake this afternoon...

I don't do it. DH does the cooking with them.

Like craft activities when they were younger, it's all good in theory, but not in practice. I feel like a bad mum for not being into it - smiling, joking, gaily flicking flour at each other etc etc, but in reality it's best for them that I stick to parenting things I'm good at.

Now that ds1 is 6 it's enjoyable. I wouldn't entertain baking with more than one child under 6 but then I'm a wuss and am a bit retentive about egg and flour smeared all over the kitchen. I know other people though who find it huge fun (or say they do ).

YANBU to find it stressful with 2 x 4 year olds!

Some do seem to. Not me! Stress, stress, stress!

I hate it, but still do it. I used to bake for a living and still do the odd celebration cake order from home so I have my own way of doing things and it all goes out of the window when I do some baking with DD. Such a control freak, my hands literally itch watching her whisk things the amount of times I've sneaked back into the kitchen to decorate things perfectly whilst i have distracted her with something else is quite awful really

I do enjoy it now that I deal with rational people. I hated it when they were toddlers.

Franca

That made me laugh. When I look back and think of all the things we attempted when they were not rational, I wonder WHY?, when there are so many rational years to get those activities under your belt.

DD: "Can i pour the flour in"
Me: "ok, don't get it every.........oh, just let me do that bit"

DD: "Can i stir it"
Me "of course you can darling" strain in voice starting to show
Me "here, let me finish it for you" stop it from going EVERYFUCKINGWHERE

DD "can i break the eggs"
Me "ok, just be..............careful you don't get the shell in" oh look, crunch cake mix

DD: "can i lick the bowl/spoon"
Me: "no you can't, its got raw egg in it, you'll get food poisoning"
DD: "But you are doing it"
Me:"I'm a grown up"

Anyone who says baking with children is a fun bonding experience can just do one!!

My DP on the other hand, out there like Mrs Fucking Beeton with DD creating all manner of artisan breads and creations - not a raised voice to be heard.

He. Is. A. Bastard!!!

I make banana bread with DS last night and it was great, mainly because he is 12.

When I make brownies with DD all she ever wants to do is whisk the egg and spread out the mixture.

Jamie, indeed!!!

My dd now washes everything after we have cooked together!

Without sounding smug , I love it! Only my eldest (3) can realistically join in though, my almost 2yo is still into putting everything in her mouth so all she wants to do is put the baking powder tub in her mouth. 3yo loves holding the measuring cup whilst I pour and then he pours it into the bowl and helps stir. He also 'helps' me wash everything up and really enjoys it.

It's not overly messy either really. We're vegan so no eggs and I think that helps a lot, no risk of salmonella and such, less mess too. I love it as an activity, crafts too. My mum never did anything like that with me so I think that's partly why I enjoy it so much now.

I do, once I unclench and accept that there's going to more mess and not everything will be done exactly as I'd like it.

It also helps that there's only DS and he's now 5.5 so a bit more rational and actually helpful. He quite often wants to help cook dinner and he's got quite good at things like peeling carrots or grating cheese.

He does still ask every 2 mins if he can lick the bowl yet even though I have a strict "no licking of anything until everything is in the oven" rule.

LEM, that's exactly what it was like. Only with added arguing! Only 2 years to go until they're rational enough for baking not to be a bun fight then...something to look forward to. And doing their own washing up - amazing!

I love it but:

• only have 1 DC
• very carefully choose suitable recipes
• get absolutely everything we need together before we start and always take DS with me if I've forgotten anything to stop extra flour being added when my back's turned etc.

I'm starting to look at savoury cooking for DS (3) to do, as there are generally fewer powdery ingredients, such as sugar or flour. The I Can Cook website has some good ideas but DS still won't eat the finished results

My problem is I love baking because it appeals to my anal nature - the measuring, strict procedures and timings and beautiful golden brown results. So it's massively stressful with the kids because I'm internally screaming "nooooo! half that egg's gone down your top! aargh, I want to stir it properly!" and I have to suppress it. I have been known to "make" a birthday cake or fairy cakes with the DC which actually involves me making it while they play, then calling them in to go mad with the icing and sweets on top to their hearts' content, just to reduce the stress.

However I will say bread is a much better option. I make lots of dough, and they love kneading it and making shapes, and I get my own bit to fuss over as well. We also make chapatis and that's loads of fun and very easy - basically mix flour and water, knead it and roll it out like pastry.

I do enjoy it tbh. If there were two I can see how that could descend into chaos quickly. But we do it so often that its just normal now.

Craft activities bore me to tears.

I have to have optimum control for baking with the children. They get a talking too beforehand and no arguing is to ensue or no cakes shall be consumed.

They wash hands and complete my tasks as I give them and in a timely fashion.

Never mess around with cakes. It is serious business.

Oh gosh, craft activities are nightmare, that's what nurseries are for!

And high sided mixing bowl (so deep and narrow rather than shallow and wide) or a large plastic jug are the way to go to help stop the flour hitting the floor / sofa / back of the fridge during enthusiastic mixing.

And I know Youcanringmybell will hate me, but the cakes can cope with stuff being added in the wrong order - sugar, butter, egg then flour etc so if you need to add an egg or liquid early on to reduce the chance of flour flying around, do it. The results will still be edible.

I love baking with DS and my nephews - I plan things so they each have their own bowl though which helps stop the fighting!

I enjoy it but I cheat. Packet mixes! 64p from Tescos and all we have to do is add a couple of eggs and a dash of water, whisk and put in cases.

Fits (3 year olds) dd's attention span perfectly.

I should have mentioned - my DD is seven!!!