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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask if you bake with your children

213 replies

Leavingsosoon · 25/10/2015 14:58

And if so, why?

I've recently joined Facebook. I was on it ages ago, came off and now on again as am trying to meet people and so on.

My friends have nearly all got photos of baking with their children up there.

Explain why this is part of childhood! I don't understand ...

OP posts:
Fizrim · 25/10/2015 23:47

When she was small, DD stood on a step (still does, occasionally).

Decorating the cakes (we make a batch of 12 small ones) is one of the best bits. We (not me really ...) favour brightly coloured icing (3 or 4 different colours to choose from) and a heavy application of sprinkles, balls, sugar shapes - or - haribo! Cakes are specifically decorated for people (this one is for you/dad/grandparent who lives 200 miles away).

I have put baking photos on FB. One of the kitchen (and DD) covered in flour, and one of a particularly lurid fine batch of haribo-and-primary coloured icing. They looked like the 'nailed it' photo of decorated cakes that you see on FB (pinterest versions versus the amateur versions).

FarticCircle · 26/10/2015 01:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Senpai · 26/10/2015 02:13

I do with DD who is 19 months. She gets to pour things into the mixer. She likes being part of an activity with me and she enjoys accomplishing something. It also helps her learn new words and work on her fine motor skills.

TheSkiingGardener · 26/10/2015 04:16

I absolutely love baking so it's an obvious activity for me to do with the DC. Cake often gets sent out here as otherwise it would go in the bin. DH takes it to work or we take it to friends.

Yesterday DS1 who is 5 made the scrambled eggs for breakfast with no help and then made himself and his brother lunch (ham sandwiches), so it's bee a useful thing to teach them.

TheGruffaloFish · 26/10/2015 05:51

I can't stand the mess, but it has to be done! Today in fact. I promised DD and we have some fruit that needs eating up. We don't do it often because there's so much waste.

I'm a bit intrigued by the person who cuts the egg with a knife. How do you do that? Hold it, cut, but then doesn't the shell fall in the mixture? I've always just bashed the egg on the side of the mixing bowl.

Since he retired, FIL has started using the ready mix mixtures you can buy. He says they are just as good if you add your own personal touch. Not convinced by the batch of rum brownies he made for the kids!

Original poster
Leavingsosoon · 26/10/2015 06:14

I'm an egg basher as well Grin Omelettes and scrambled eggs are one of the few things I DO make fairly well! I really went off eggs when I was pregnant with DD2. Even thinking about them made me sick!

OP posts:
SevenOfNineTrue · 26/10/2015 13:29

Cooking is a life skill and can be great fun to do this together.

Marynary · 26/10/2015 13:48

Obviously cooking is a "life skill" but I don't think that baking is nowadays. You certainly don't have to bake cakes with 5 year olds to make sure that they can cook when they leave home at 18. It's not rocket science and regardless of whether they can bake most people can learn to cook pretty quickly when they need to (e.g. when they leave home)

SarahSavesTheDay · 26/10/2015 13:54

I love baking with the kids I do get a bit angsty when they make completely unnecessary messes but I just unclench and breathe.

It's also a good way for very young children to learn some maths concepts by stealth.

MERLYPUSSEDOFF · 26/10/2015 15:57

I think baking and cooking is part of childhood (just like playing with clay and colouring in). I do it with my 2. It's a skill best learnt early.

I'd never post it on FB though (unless it was my private page that overseas relatives can see)

SistersOfPercy · 26/10/2015 16:41

I did from when they were quite small. Dh bought DD and I a Kmix over the summer and we bake together a lot, she's 18.
When DS visits (coming up for 23) he'll very often ask if we can bake something. It's a social thing for both of them I think, we get a bit of quality time together and have a laugh at the same time.

SevenOfNineTrue · 26/10/2015 17:53

Marynary no need to be so snippy. Baking with my Mum was great fun as a child and I have fond memories of licking the spoon once the cake was in the oven etc.

I was a bit older when we started doing pasty and more complicated dishes but when I was small, I loved helping cook.

Baking is quite common place as far as I can see.

starlight2007 · 26/10/2015 18:44

marynary I think you are wrong many people leave home and can't cook anything..Hence why some people have awful diets and live on ready meals..

Cakes is a great is a great introduction to cooking that there are lots of little jobs they can get involved in

Dancergirl · 26/10/2015 19:26

What I do find stressful is baking with more than one child at a time because they usually start arguing.

Any tips for this please??

megletthesecond · 26/10/2015 19:29

Only now they're older (8 & 7). They do alternate weeks, dd does sweet things one week and ds does savory main meals the other.

Cooking with toddlers was miserable. They got too many sick bugs and colds so I stopped it.

Pennybun4 · 26/10/2015 19:34

I always put pictures of my bakes up on Facebook. Makes my family laugh as I am known as the family rubbish cook who burns salad. Very proud of my wonky efforts and wanna share them.

IHaveBrilloHair · 26/10/2015 19:46

I'm with Marynary on this.
I am shit at baking, yet dd is a great baker, I'm a brilliant cook and dd can cook, but doesn't, isn't remotely interested.
It doesn't make it a bad thing to bake with your kids, but making some fairy cakes and putting sprinkles on them doesn't necessarily teach them how to be a decent cook anymore than chucking glitter and crayons at paper has them as the next Van Gough.

IHaveBrilloHair · 26/10/2015 19:50

Come to think of it, why are they all baking, yet not cooking?
Oh, I bet they are, decorating their own pizzas right?

megletthesecond · 26/10/2015 19:55

ihavebrillo I taught 8yo ds how to make a roux for lasagne cheese sauce last week Grin. Then he stirred while I talked him through adding the milk and cheese. He also chopped the veg and helped build the lasagne.

ArthurMcAffertyhastwocats · 26/10/2015 19:56

I used to do it with gritted teeth, because I'm not a gifted baker and don't get pleasure out of doing it, but they all seemed to enjoy it and it passed the time. Now, dd, aged nearly 11, is a fantastic baker and just gets on with it. She made an amazing ginger cake last week and there's a lemon drizzle cake cooling downstairs now. So I consider it time well invested!

ArthurMcAffertyhastwocats · 26/10/2015 19:57

And she cooks. Soup, spare ribs, macaroni cheese, pretty much anything with a recipe. But the baking is really what she likes best.

Marynary · 26/10/2015 19:58

marynary I think you are wrong many people leave home and can't cook anything..Hence why some people have awful diets and live on ready meals..

I left home not being able to cook anything. I had learnt to cook cakes when I was very young but didn't remember that and didn't want/need to make cakes at 18 anyway. It took about two weeks to learn how to cook "proper food".
As for ready meals, I think that people eat them because they can't be bothered to cook. I'm sure the majority could easily cook (or learn to cook) if they wanted to.

Cakes is a great is a great introduction to cooking that there are lots of little jobs they can get involved in

I disagree that it is a good introduction. I baked cakes as a young child but but I couldn't cook "proper food" when I left home at 18. It only took me a couple of weeks to learn though.

I made cakes with my children when they were younger and now (as teenagers) they can make cakes and biscuits very proficiently but they have no interest in cooking anything else e.g. dinner. So again, not a good introduction.

Marynary · 26/10/2015 19:59

Sorry for repeating myself! I think I need a rest!

slightlyconfused85 · 26/10/2015 19:59

Not often because I am not a good baker and dd gets worked up about messy hands and clothes. We do the odd banana loaf. I do lots of savoury cooking with her- she helps chop things, put things in the pan etc and we chat about the ingredients. I think any type of cooking with kids is great- teaches them so much and kills a bit of time!

KKCupCakes · 26/10/2015 20:01

I bake and cook with my DC because being able to cook from scratch is an important life skill and one which sadly isn't taught in schools anymore - at least the way it once was. I also bake with DC because it's something I remember really fondly with my DM and DGM and they are memories I'd like to pass on to my DC x