The Roanoker November/December 2023 - 65

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Whisk Up Joy
written by Stephanie Fallon
Create magical memories this holiday season with your little sous chefs, thanks to these meltdown-free tips.
F
or many families, the holidays are notorious
for two things: lots of food and lots of
unscheduled time to occupy kids. (The line
from " It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like
Christmas " that goes " And Mom and Dad
can hardly wait for school to start again " is
IT.)
So it might seem like a no-brainer to try and make preparing
all the meals and treats a fun activity in which to get the
kids involved. All those family dishes and party desserts need
preparing after all, and doesn't that seem like a wholesome,
enriching way to spend time with the kids in your life? What
could go wrong?
In a word: Plenty! The first time I tried cooking with my
kid, she was around two and I had a boxed brownie mix
that seemed pretty foolproof. Until I proved that it was not.
I underestimated just about every element of the situation,
from my child's interest level to how long it would take to how
unbelievably messy one little ol' box could produce. In what
felt like both mere minutes and somehow also the longest
hours of my life, my kitchen was a gloopy mess of powder and
oil, my nerves were fried and I had a sobbing child who hadn't
realized she was going to have to wait another 45 minutes,
plus cooling time before she could even taste the brownies
we'd been through hell to create. The whole thing ended in
an emergency drive through Starbucks for a cake pop and an
unofficial agreement to swear off brownies forever.
If you're anything like me, the actual nitty gritty of teaching
a child to cook while also trying to produce something
edible (forget about presentable!) might turn out to be the
kind of minefield that does not bring out your favorite side
of yourself. But teaching a child to navigate a recipe and a
kitchen is a life-skill that we shouldn't give up on so easily.
Like everything else I've found with raising a child, I
couldn't consider Browni-pocalypse the end of teaching my
child to cook: I had to take stock of the experience and try
again.
So, from one high-strung mom trying to get better about
cooking with her daughter, here is my list of tools, ideas and
advice I'm going to follow this holiday season as we attempt
to make some dishes for our family.
TheRoanoker.com
GATHER YOUR TOOLS
Let's start with some basics here. No matter what kind of
recipe you're working with, there are certain things every
Cooking With Children experience will require.
Something to help them reach the cooking surfaces.
Depending on the height of the kids and the set-up of the
kitchen, you'll need a stool. Usually a stepping stool is good
enough, though there are lots of great options out there made
specifically for keeping tiny people safe while they help in the
kitchen. In a pinch, a chair turned backward so that the back
can be a kind of railing can also work. Skip the whole thing by
creating a work station for them on a table their own height.
But heads up: Browni-pocalypse happened on a play mat on
the kitchen floor, so maybe clear any pets from the space if
you're going to work low.
Sharp and breakable stuff: According to the kids' ages
and level of experience (and your own comfort levels!), you
can opt for using actual knives and breakable dishware, or you
can try out kid tools and unbreakable materials like silicone,
metal or wood. Just be sure to read your recipes and determine
what's needed beforehand and try to have everything already
prepped and ready to go.
Remember that nothing bums a kid out more than seeing
a cool, shiny kitchen tool that they aren't allowed to touch, so
if you know that could be a problem either prepare everything
well in advance so your best chef's knife isn't even needed
in the moment, or have a talk ahead of time that sets the
expectation of when and how a tool will be used by an adult,
and give them a different job to do instead. ( " While I'm chopping
this stinky onion, you can pour the oil and salt on the
vegetables in the bowl and stir them all up with your hands! " )
Search for " Toddler knives " or " Montessori kitchen tools " to
find options for kids you might like.
Stuff to clean with: Paper towels, dish rags, a spray bottle
of water and baby wipes are your best friends. Put a towel or
washable mat down to make floor clean-up super easy. Keep
any actual cleaners, even nontoxic ones, set aside until the end
as I've found that somehow if they are used while cooking is
still happening, their flavors end up in the food.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 65

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