Feedback wanted for Pasa and Sauce cooker for kids

[needham]

For a university project, I am currently designing a kitchen appliance in collaboration with Morphy Richards that would allow children to cook pasta and sauce meals safely without using a hob and pan. I'm looking for some feedback from parents about what they think about the idea, and if its something they think they would purchase and use often.

The idea is to have containers for the pasta and sauce which can be inserted into the appliance and then heated. The pasta container would contain holes to allow boiling water in, and when ready would pop up and self drain so it would be safe for children to remove.

It would also be good to hear what age you would let your child use the hob, and pour boiling water from the kettle etc, thank you in advance four your feedback.

Not sure where you are, but the British Library restaurant has something a bit like this. I think they reheat the pasta rather than cooking it though.

I "helped" my mum in the kitchen from when I was old enough to stand, and that included supervised hob stirring etc. By the time I was leaving Brownies (so...11?) I was doing full meals easily. I cooked my first roast at 12 whilst my mum was out and my dad was in a different part of the house. I know some people are twitchy about it, but I think most year 4 children should be trusted with a kettle, even if it involves knowing they have to wait a bit for the water to cool slightly.

I saw a pasta cooker by delonghi (sp??) in the window of a shop the other day so that is half way there...

No, I wouldn't. I think if they're not old enough to handle boiling water safely, they don't need to be left unsupervised. It strikes me as an expensive novelty, tbh. Sorry!

nope, wouldn't use anything like this myself.

it's GOOD for children to learn to use proper kitchen equipment safely and i would be happy for mine to do things like pour pasta into a pan and cover with water and place on a cooker (which i would then turn on) from a relatively early age.

ditto sauce.. .they can get all the ingredients in the pan etc and then help me blitz it at the end.

i think products that teach children that cooking is inherently safe and can't hurt them can potentially do more harm than good if that child then goes to use other kitchen items with no idea that they actually can be dangerous. does that make sense?