A Toddler In My Kitchen !!!

I entered the kitchen and saw that refrigerator door is open and my two and a half year old son is busy finding something in it.  Upon asking he said "I am working mom. I will cook food for everyone and will help you." I was speechless and completely bowled by his answer. The degree of love I felt for him at that moment can not be described in word, but I am sure every mother out there can understand that.

This made one thing clear that my son wants to spend some time with me while I am in kitchen busy cooking food for the household. Cooking food is a task that can not be avoided but I can ensure that my baby is involved in it so that we spend some quality time together.

But kitchen is not a safe place for small kids so I thought of planning some fun cooking activities with him which were completely safe. Before starting these activities I patiently explained him that stove is hot and kids are not supposed to go near it. I also removed all the sharp materials like knifes and peelers from lower cabinets to a higher one. After going through this complete exercise we jumped into cooking safe food where my son could help me.

I am listing down a few activities for benefit of other moms.

Butterfly Sandwiches

Sandwiches can be made in different forms and with a variety of ingredients and are a complete breakfast for anyone. They do not involve any cooking and can be easily done with help from a kid.

• Take some bread slices and remove corners
• Cut a single slice in half diagonally so that each part is a triangle
• Slice some cucumbers, tomatoes, boiled eggs, olives, cheese slices or fruits and put in a dish
• Optionally you can also make some filling like a scrambled egg or mix veg and add some mayo to it
• Put some kind of sandwich spread or cheese spread on the table
• Now you can ask your toddler to arrange these slices in form of a butterfly by joining two triangles from there top point, back to back
• After that put the dish full of different slices you have made and ask your baby to arrange it on the bread in any way he/she wants. You can also put a filling between two slices
• You can also open the bread spread and ask him/her to spread it on the sandwich.
• Help him/her make a butterfly shape by arranging different fruits and vegetables

Learning Shapes

Learning shapes could be more of a fun if done in way where your kid can enjoy it. For this activity you will need the following:

• Cookie cutters of different shapes
• Bread
• Jam
• Nutella chocolate spread
• Tutti fruity, colored mouth fresheners, crushed nuts or gems

Now the fun begins:

• Remove the sides of the bread and keep in front of your kid
• Give him/her cookie cutters of different shapes (use plastic cutters for safety purpose)
• Let them cut different shapes and ask them to tell you about each shape they have cut
• After they are done cutting the shapes put some jam or nutella chocolate spread in front of them and help them spread it over the bread
• Once done put assortment of crushed nuts, gems, chocolate chips or even chopped fruits in front of them and ask them to decorate the shapes

This will keep the child busy and will make a great dessert for everyone in the family

Coated Fruits

This is a  fun way to keep your child busy as well as make him/her eat the fruits. 

• Chop some fruits and place in a bowl
• Crush some cookies in a zip lock bag and put it in another bowl
• Take a container with a lid and ask your child to place 3-4 pieces of his/her favorite fruit in it
• Then ask him/her to put some crushed cookies in the container
• Ask him/her to close the lid and have fun shaking the fruit. Kids usually love shaking and banging. Let them have fun time doing this
• Once they are done shaking ask them to take it out in a dish and let them repeat the process till they tire
• Later they can eat their own creation

Jam Rolls

My son is absolutely fascinated with the rolling pin and always asks for some dough and rolling pin whenever I am making chapatis. Since dough is sticky he always used to make a mess and ended up in wasting a lot of it. Then I thought of this particular snack which he can do easily and eat also afterwords without wasting anything.

• Take some bread slices and remove their corners
• Let your child sit on the dining table and put the bread in front of him on a chopping board
• Give him the rolling pin and let him enjoy the process of flattening the bread till the time you are cooking your chapatis
• Once you both are done you can ask him to spread some jam or peanut butter on the bread and roll it to make jam rolls.

I hope you will enjoy these simple recipes with your kids. Have fun with that toddler in your kitchen.