Toddlers in the kitchen. Nightmare or fun morning activity? Since I have toddler twins and a love for baking, we’ve been working in the kitchen since they were old enough to hold a spoon. We’ve had many baking fails, batter on the floor & wall, flour in our hair, fingers dipping in the bowl. Learn from my misfortune, and arm yourself with these tips for baking with toddlers.
Containment is KEY
At an early age, we used our high chairs to keep them strapped in with limited access to trouble. As they got older, we got a Learning Tower to stand at our kitchen island. This thing is amazing. They can stand at the counter, semi-boxed in to help with the fun. You’ll see us using it for all our baking & craft projects we do!
Mmmmm Whatcha Makin’?
As soon as they could help in the kitchen I put them to work at making their own snacks! I picked out healthy muffins, and as they got older I let them pick. Having them make something to eat for snack time decreases the amount of processed junk we eat, and saves me from worrying about what we’re going to eat for afternoon snack. If you need some ideas, check out my list of top toddler approved muffins. My kids are also big fans of green juice, so I let them help me pick all the fruits and veggies out to help feed the juicer too. We also have a couple of kids cookbooks and baking cookbooks with some great recipes. Perfect snack time!
How Can I Help?
Start small. Mix the batter with hand over hand help until you can trust them to stir without flinging it all over your kitchen or dumping the bowl (still working on that with my son). Measure out the flour, sugar, milk, etc then let them dump it in. Making muffins? Let them put all those muffin liners in the muffin tin (we like silicone liners). Bigger kids, or kids who listen well can probably do a lot more. I have 2 year old twins, so those are the basics they can handle.
The Best Part
Eating muffins, cookies, or whatever you are making is obviously the best part. They are SO proud to eat what they have made. We try to avoid the crumbs as they usually stuff down 2 muffins each on baking days. Then I let “boop boop” , our robot vacuum, have a taste when we’ve finished. Snack time pairs perfectly with story time, and if it’s a really good day, maybe some craft time too!
Sure, baking with toddlers can be a little stressful. There will be plenty of moments where you quickly grab the spoon/whisk while yelling “Get your fingers out of there!” There are also a lot of fun, teachable moments as you talk about ingredients, colors, smells, textures, and of course taste! You can even help get them in the habit of cleaning up by helping to load the dishwasher, put dishes into the sink & washing the counter. Baking with toddlers is just an overall great activity!
Have a recipe you think we should try? Contact me & we’ll give it a whirl! Then check me out on instagram to see out baking in action!
Have fun & Happy Baking!
[…] needs a follow up to her wipe-down, but at least she is making an effort! Especially when you are baking or cooking with them, make sure to start having them help with cleaning up as you go […]