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Baking with Kids 101

It's Spring Break and if you're looking for an indoor activity with your kids, why not bake something delicious together?!

Here are a couple of tips for baking with your kids! 

Picking the Recipes

Let your kids choose! Browse through your cookbooks together or just ask them what treat they'd like to make! For little kids, simplify the process: let them choose between two or three recipes that look fun and that will be appropriate for their age. Older kids can choose recipes on their own from books, magazines, or recipe videos

 

Prepare for Mess

Baking can get messy, and when you throw kids into the mix, mess is bound to happen - but that's okay! Just have fun with it. 

Here are a few things you can do to minimize the mess: 

  • lay a plastic tablecloth over your work area 
  • have a damp kitchen cloth nearby for your kids to wipe their hands on, so that they won't trek any of the mess over when they walk over to the sink 
  • clean as you go

 

Age Appropriate

Make sure their tasks are suitable for their age and abilities. 

Ages 5 and Under
You should have the ingredients already all measured out. Simply ask them to help you add the ingredients to the bowl. You can even let them stir it (with or without assistance) 
If the recipes call for any decorating, let them take part! If there's anything that requires shaping with hands (such as cookies) they'll be great at helping with this too.

Ages 6-8
Let them measure out the ingredients (with supervision of course). You can help them crack eggs as well, it'd be best to crack the eggs in a separate bowl before adding it with the rest of the ingredients - this will allow you to remove any shells. 

Ages 9+ 
Let them take the reigns! Of course if there's anything that involves cutting ingredients with knives, you should probably do that yourself or if your child is comfortable with it, make sure to supervise. You should also still be the one to handle taking things out of the oven.

These are just suggestions as all children have different skills, comfort levels and eagerness. If your child is eager to do more, let them if you're comfortable with that! But just watch them carefully. 

 

Most Importantly...

HAVE FUN! Encourage creativity, try new recipes, experiment with different ingredients and enjoy your baked creations!

Baking with Kids 101 Baking with Kids 101 Baking with Kids 101 Baking with Kids 101