"How" do you bake with your toddler?

[LittleDoe]

I know lots of mums do this but just wondering how exactly?? DS is 2 and a quarter. Do I let him help to weigh / mix ingredients and just embrace the inevitable mess? I love baking on my own but the thought of doing it as a toddler activity is a bit scary! But equally would love him to enjoy cooking and baking too.

Hints and tips gratefully received!

(Sorry if this seems like a strange question.)

I would like to know about this too
I love baking and cooking but letting them 'help' fills me with dread.

I have done it but so far only the box kits for cupcakes as there is no measuring involved

they love doing it but I think its pants compared to real baking and they would love that I reckon but

My ds is 3 and I let him mix everyhting once it's in the bowl, and then decorate when it's ready. He'd not have the patience for the whole process yet I don't think.

You pick something pretty idiot-proof that involves cheaper ingredients and isn't going to be the crucial centrepiece of some buffet table.... fairy cakes, let's say... and you let them weigh, tip things together, stir, taste, lick spoons, watch baking through the oven door, ice in garish colours, decorate with garish sweets.

Then get your mop out and clean up the carnage :)

Baking with a toddler is a test of will for the anally-retentive like me who can't bear to see mixture slopped over the bun cases and all over the bun tray, or who doesn't want to dust the whole kitchen for icing sugar residue afterwards... I really have to rein in my "not like that" reaction and just go with the flow.

We cook with DD1 (2.5) all the time. For example, I'll weigh out the flour for a cake and let her sieve, then we weigh the sugar into a separate bowl and she tips it in, etc, etc.

If you are looking for tips on making cooking toddler friendly, or for good recipes when you get tired of fairy cakes, I can recommend I Can Cook on Cbeebies, and all the recipes are online. DD1 made Boreks pretty much on her own except for melting the butter (obv) and folding the pastry. Oh, and I did the oven!

I've always cooked/baked with DCs as well as enjoying it as my own leisure activity ( and now my career, as well)

Consider them as two different activities, separately. If you want to bake - do it alone, whereas if you want to do an activity with DC, then baking is another thing to choose from.

I used to make the mistake of involving DCs in my own cooking/baking; it never ended well, as I felt cheated out of the end result I was aiming for - but when I view it as a shared activity, with no expectations of the end result - we have loads of fun!

No reason why even littlies can't be involved in all aspects of the process; buying ingredients together ( try and find a store that sells ingredients loose to weigh out) weighing them at home, mixing, cutting out biscuits or scones, right through to putting them in a tin to store after they've cooled. My 7 yr old dSS was confident and competent enough to put trays into the oven - but that varies from child to child

Tricks I've learnt through the years - get some decent containers for dry ingredients rather than keep open packets of flour, sugar, dried fruit etc. Prepare the tins and weigh out all the ingredients at the beginning rather than as you go, allow loads of time and don't try and prepare anything else at the same time - use it as one-to-one DC time Oh, and make sure you've got a way to occupy DC independently for 1/2 an hour at the end so you can clear up

Thanks for tips! Am also anally retentive so definitely will need to go with flow as much as possible....being a control freak not helpful either.

So - practical question - does your toddler stand on a chair to help or do you have him / her sitting at kitchen table??

Honestly, I'm not sure this age is quite ready for full-on baking. I'd stick with mising up chocolate & krispies. Or decorating a batch of cakes/biscuits you've already baked. Baking requires an attention span and focus which isn't often found in small children!

DD1 sits in her highchair and does things on the tray, or stands 'in' it (tis an Ikea one) to reach the work surface. If I had a kitchen table I'd probably use that, but I don't [dreams of the house she wishes she had....]

When I'm feeling carefree I let DD do everything, including sticking her fingers in the bowl and squishinmg the cake mixture (yes, I know it doesn't need squishing).

When I can less be arsed I weigh out all the ingredients while her back is turned and just bring her in to chuck the stuff in the bowl a la blue peter.

We discovered instant cake mix at that age. Very quick, so minimal mess, and zero emotional involvement, so you don't mind chucking them in the bin when they're not eaten.

The ones that come in a pack with decorating bits were even better.

It doesn't take long for them to get over that stage. DD2 (9) make chocolate cupcakes from the Hummingbird book completely from scratch last weekend, including the frosting!

I think it really depends on the child AMIS - definitely true that some don't have the attention span, but some love it. DD1 actually also helps us with meals too without causing too much mayhem.

made, not make...

Wine helps.

I used a chair at the worktop - I also taught good kitchen hygiene/food safety from very early; apron on, hair tied back, hands washed etc - I wanted them to learn the skills, not create an artificial environment for them which would have to be 'unlearnt' later on, iyswim

DSS is now eight and following recipes/creating dishes independently - with hands-off supervision; it's been great for his literacy, maths and sciences as well as inspiring him for the future!

Our local childrens centres to cooking sessions with mums and tots - perhaps this is an option if you can't face the carnage in your kitchen?

I have lovely images in my mind of making mince pies with DS 20m next months. I seriously doubt it would go how I like to imagine!

DS 2.1 loves helping me cook - it's often very messy and chaotic, but he's happy enough!

the most successful things for us have been soups/pasta sauces where he can put the things i've chopped up into a big pan, and cut-out cookies, which he adores making - it's like playdough to him, but edible!

cakes are a bit harder as he tends to flick mixture everywhere, and basic drop cookies are hard too as he wants to just eat the mixture...

he likes making homemade playdough too which gives us hours of entertainment. especially when i couldn't find food colouring so used cocoa - that was the poo-dough until it went off!!

We have a great wooden stepstool from Ikea that lives in our kitchen so the dc can help out. Cost about 7 quid I think

tigress - do a batch on your own first one night after bedtime, then you can enjoy the delight of the joint activity without worrying about the outcome

I get them to put the paper cases into the tins, lick the spoon and press the ON button on the magimix.

Then let them eat cake...

I used to stand DD on a chair at the bench. This is mainly becausse our kitchen is so tiny there's no room for a table.

Start with something simple. I recommend scones. They are cheap, quick and I've yet to meet a toddler that doesn't enjoy a bit of rubbing fat into flour. You can slide in a fair amount of basic maths and science skills at the same time. DD hat got to grips with ratios well before she went to school as she'd made large and small batches frequently.

Once you've mastered that, move onto the trickier stuff. Again, I would go for biscuits as a second move. They can help by tipping things in, counting the numbers on the scale, taste testing at various stages and, best of all, making balls of dough and squashing them flat on the trays.

Our kitchen is so tiny when she was very small I used to put an old sheet down on the floor and do everything there. It has the advantage of being folded up and bunged into the washing machine immeditely leaving you with only the grubby child to clean

Couldn't and never could mine (6 and 3) out of the kitchen. As soon as I start cooking, baking or else they will move a chair over and want to help, taste, stir, cut, roll out ... I just keep letting them do stuff that's fool proof.

I dream of cooking/baking by myself for a change!

On the other hand, DC learn a life skill, even if they just watch and taste. E.g. my just 3 year old can crack and egg quite reliably. I let her do it in a bowl, then fish out the shell and then she poors the egg in the mixture. Stuff like that.

I do cake making on a small table on the floor with DS (think lap tray).

You can also put the cake mix in a pouring jug so less chance of mess.

I also let DS make his toast (ok he only spreads the butter and jam with my assistance), help wash potatoes etc. He loves it!

Oh God I detest baking with (3yo) DD. I do it because it's A Lovely Thing To Do and it's teaching her good things. But I hate it and get very frustrated with the mess and the presentation! It's a good tip about separating baking with children from baking that you want to do.

But, she's an expert at egg cracking for some reason. No shell at all :)