is 2yo too little to start learning in the kitchen?

[lucysmam]

Since I enjoy baking I thought I might get my lo involved, does anyone think it's a bit young or would she be ok with stuff like icing cakes

mine have iced and helped mix cakes from around 12mths or so. DS is 5 and likes to put things in the oven and set timer now

I used to teach cookery to nursery kids aged 2.5-5 years old. Mainly making cakes. They loved it but spent more time licking things than mixing!!

DD1 (2.5) is very good at cutting out scones and stirring things - it helps to fit the task to their level of dexterity though. She is very precise. DS on the other hand, at nearly 6, would still have the mix everywhere and so we did more chatting than doing when he was helping. He loves food and cooking now though ...

Give it a go. Thats the only way of knowing if she will enjoy it.

my dd has been helping m eout int he kitchen since about 12 months too plus by the age of two ish she was making meatballs all by herself[well ok a little bit of help ] she is 7 nw and is capable of having a stab at a lot of recipes

My dd3 is 20 months and is brilliant at emptying the dishwasher! ( I take the sharp stuff out first)

Intrested to know what they can do from 12 months as dd is 14 months and I'd to try things like this with her

Don't bother with fulfilling stuff like cooking - just get them doing the chores

My DS does lots of kitchen chores while I mumsnet. I aim to get him prepping 3 course meals before the year is out. He is wonderful at sweeping the floor.

will be absolutely fine, mine were stuffed into bumbos and played with ingredients from less than a year old because they were those annoying sort of babies that wouldn't be put down

they can't actually make their own stew though, it is just play at this age

northernlurker..believe me they also have chorse

from 12mths they quite enjoy mixing things, spooning into cases etc. Even make simple things like rice crispie cakes

chores even..lol
Its not unusual to find one of the dds with a hoover or dustpan and brush..lol
at 2 they can cut soft veg and salad with a plastic knife..do home made pizzas from 18mths etc

I cant imagine spooning anything into a case. I can imagine her spooning quite a lot into her mouth and hair though

ds who is just two loves baking with his granny likes icing buns too

base a lopt of that goes on aswell..also the table .sides,floor..lol

i think its a great idea! as long as you dont mind it taking three times and long and clearing up lots of mess

I would have to wait till I could afford a little table and chair set to do this. I think it could be real fun though

base ypou could just get a plastic table cover like the birthday ones and put it on the floor.

i let ds 'help' mixing cake mixtures and sprinkling cheese on his pizza. he looks so chuffed with himself when we do it. oh.. and we grew cress too.

I've had my ds with me in the kitchen for as long as I can remember - first in his basket (big thing on a stand on wheels) so he could see what was going on, and now he sits on the counter and helps with pretty much everything (he's almost 22 m).

We do quite a bit of baking, but I've found it's the actual preparing of dinner which he enjoys most - he likes the fact that we cook it, serve it up and then he gets to eat the food we've just prepared.

I am amazed at how well he knows his way around the kitchen, and how much stuff he takes note of (if I even reach for the flour, he starts getting out the scales!).
I get him to do everything I think he can handle and isn't dangerous.

The only down side of this has been that when he's at playgroup and using the toy kitchen, he gets annoyed with the other children because they aren't doing it "properly"
I caught him removing a plastic orange from the "oven" with a look of utter exasperation on his face.....

Interesting, but do you all have big kitchens with tables? We have a small kitchen, how can I get DD (18 mo) involved? In her highchair maybe?

I had a tiny kitchen when ds was young but he stood on a chair to help me.
now kitchen is bigger and do tend to use the table for a lot of prep as have 5,3 and nearly 2 yr olds to deal with

Ds has had his own 'work surface' (a plank on a kitchen chair covered in a plastic tablecloth) since he was about 18 months. Now we have a puppy who could reach that he stands on a chair at the normal work surface.

His favourite things are kneading bread and making apple juice, but he does everything else too.

bumperlicious we have a tiny kitchen so I mix things with DS at the dining room table.

My now 10 year old has loved helping in the kitchen since she could walk. Have some lovely video of her standing on a chair mixing a cake when she was tiny and remember her reeling off the ingredients for a cake to her child minder the next day. The CM was rather confused as dd said we made the cake with "bacon bites" (meaning "baking powder").

She is now a dab hand in the kitchen and single handedly made and iced a coffee cake, a dozen buns and some snowman decorations for a chocolate log on Christmas eve.