Keep me occupied for 5 minutes, please - DDs are in the kitchen making cake as an exercise in independance, and someone just shrieked "The Eggs" very loudly.

[snigger]

In the interests of fostering independance and self-reliance, DDs are in the kitchen, baking. There is no heat, no sharp implements, no electricity involved, just extraordinary scope for mess.

I am starting this thread because Something Has Obviously Happened, yet there is no behemoth stampede down the hall in search of me. This should be a Good Thing, but it feels like a Bad Thing.

If they don't come and ask me to help soon, I'm going to start gnawing stuff.

whats the worst that could happen

it will be fine

Manly pat on shoulder and all that

at least egg is cleanable
if they had said 'The Red Gloss Paint' I would be more concerned

tbh it is probably just they forgot to put them in at the right stage of the recipe rtaher than dropped a dozen on the floor

Best case scenario they just forgot to put the eggs in the mixture?

How old are they?

ROFL and tremble simultaneously, MrsBadger.

What's the worst that can happen? You're having a laugh, Benny? I know you've got kids.

that swan towel on your profile is impressive

where on earth did you find it?

And even if they have dropped a dozen on the floor, it'llbe a perfect moment to have a lesson in using the mop

They're six and eight.

My obviously childless feckless younger sister bought them some ungodly "You Can Bake Without Adults!" book.

Thanks for the link - this is going to be like that t-shirt folding thing that appeared on here last year, I'm going to waste ten hours of my life learning an entirely useless skill.

By the way, contact has been made, it was rolling off the counter issue. Educational, non?

The towel lobster looks like an illustration of something you could be infested with.

I always find egg a bugger to clean up personally!

Brave for your parenting efforst though - as a similar exercise in independance I've allowed my daughters to cycle to school alone whilst I go round the other way and check they get there ok. The kids love it but it means that all the other mothers and my mother think I'm hopelessly liberal and slapdash...wish I'd stuck to baking!

It is good. My older two are 11 and 8 and they can now be trusted alone in the kitchen, sharp knives, hot drinks - the lot. In fact the 11 year old baked her sister's birthday cake yesterday without any help from me - did the oven all by herself and even remembered to get the cake out by herself when it was done. And washed up.
If you are hovering around behind them they won't develop that self-reliance.

That's why I had to physically remove myself and MN in the interests of my children's development [tongue-in-cheek emoticon].

It's right, though, I want them to know they can rely on themselves to fix problems - I'm far to 'cotton-wool'-y in general.

Anyway, as Ceolas said, now is the time to introduce them to self-sufficient mop-usage.

How's the kitchen now, Snigger?

It's fine, now

That's good. I've just cleared up after two biscuit-baking six year olds. And in half an hour I have three 8/9 year olds coming around for a birthday sleepover with DD2. They will be making pizza and fairy cakes.

So, were these activities planned as exercises in child self-sufficiency, or masochism?

The sleepover thing was planned ages ago - DD2 got a silicone baking tray that makes flower-shaped cupcakes for Christmas and they want to use it. The six year old biscuit baking thing is because I am unexpectedly also hosting one of DD3s friends today and I want to keep them happy and out of the older children's hair. The idea is that they will be happily decorating their biscuits while the others do their baking. I have also got two 11-year-olds sloping around the house somewhere but they'll have to amuse themselves looking at inappropriate stuff on Youtube or something.
Disclaimer: although there will in total be eight children in the house today only three are actually mine.