Cooking with kids is a great activity for you, and for them! It’s not only a great sensory experience, which is excellent for their development, but you also gain a second pair of hands in the kitchen to help speed things up (and probably make things a little messier too…)
Along with cooking comes hot stoves and ovens, and sharp utensils like knifes, and these aren’t the greatest combination when kids are added to the mix/. But don’t worry! Here are our top safety tips to make your time in the kitchen go as smoothly as possible with your little ones!
- Be sure to supervise every step of their cooking!
- Make sure that both you and your kids are wearing closed in shoes so if you drop anything, the danger is minimal.
- Make sure to use dry oven mitts or folded tea towels to remove hot things from ovens, or hot pans from stoves. If your child is doing the moving, ensure they have oven mitts that fit their hands and are supervised at all time.
- If your mini-me is using a chopping board, put a mat or tea towel underneath it. This will stop it from slipping around the bench and potentially dropping on the floor.
- When finished using a knife, pop it on a bench so it is visible. When a knife is put straight into a sink, they’re hard to see in soapy water, making it more likely that you’ll cut yourself.
- Make sure you clean up all spills, turn off all appliances and keep knives out of reach once you’ve cooked up a storm.
Although cooking with kids can be fun and a cure for boredom, it can also be a little dangerous at times. If you make note of these tips though, you’ve got yourself a recipe for nice, safe cooking time with your little helpers!