What age do you allow "real cooking"?

[greenbeanmama]

My four-year-old LOVES to cook, and has since before he's been walking. He has a play kitchen, and helps with things like shredding lettuce for salads and helping measure flour, etc. But now he's asking to do REAL cooking, which I'm fine with, but I don't know how much to allow him to do. I know he's too young for many things, but just out of curiosity, when did/would you let you child:

-cut with a sharp knife?

-use a toaster?

-stir something hot on the stove?

-take something out of a hot oven?

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?

[LynnS6]

-cut with a sharp knife?

Age 5

-use a toaster?

Age 4-5 (it could have been earlier, but they didn't really care)

-stir something hot on the stove?

Age 3-4

-take something out of a hot oven?

Not yet and my kids are ages 9 and 6. Ds hasn't shown any interest and dd doesn't have the coordination herself. Ds can serve himself something hot from the stove though.

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?

We have a stand mixer and dd has turned it on and off by herself since she was about 4. I'm always right there. Without me in the room? Probably 8-9 because at 6 dd still looks like she's about to stick her fingers in the every once in a while.

[laohaire]

I don't go by age but just having the ability (physical and maturity) to do certain things. My DD is 5 years old, so that's where I'm coming from for these:

- Cutting with a sharp knife, depends entirely on what we're cutting rather than on the knife. If it's butter, no problem. But mostly I'm cutting vegetables like carrots, no way would I let her cut a carrot right now.

- I haven't had DD use a toaster yet but I would be ok with it. However, DD would not want to take hot things out (very sensitive to hot things). No problem with loading it and pushing the lever though. I would have a talk with her about NEVER sticking a metal knife or fork or whatever into it.

- I cautiously permit DD to stir things on the stove. I am very cautious about it, though. I don't let her stir stir-fry or anything I'm sauteeing with oil because the oil can splatter and burn hands. A pot of boiling water concerns me too, but I permit occasional, very closely supervised stirring. Oatmeal and rice I'm a lot more comfortable with her stirring.

- Take something out of a hot oven, this is just me, but no way. I can't imagine a 4 or 5 year old would even be physically big enough to comfortably reach over the open oven door and get a thing without risking falling onto the door due to the imbalance.

- I do not have an electric hand mixer, but I would be ok with DD operating one if she were strong enough to hold it without dropping it. But my DD would probably not want to hold it once she experienced how heavy it was (she is hypotonic).

[Alyantavid]

Yeah, I'd go more by how he's doing than by a random age.

My oldest is 8 and rarely uses a very sharp knife.  I cut myself constantly so I'm a little hesitant about letting my kids use them.  Both (4 and 8 years old) stir things on the stove with supervision, use the toaster with very minimal supervision, use the mixer with alot of supervision.  I don't remember that I've ever let either take something out of the stove. 

My 4 year old helps alot with cooking.  My 8 year old does alot on his own, I think scrambled eggs are the most advanced thing he's done at this point.

[prothyraia]

Of the things you mentioned, my four year is allowed to (with immediate supervision):

-cut

-use a toaster

-stir hot things

-use appliances

We probably started doing these together at age 3 or so (my 2 1/2 year old doesn't do any of them...if he was interested I think we could cut together).   I don't let my four year old take things out of the oven (there's no way he could reach over the open door to get to them, now that I think about it....), but he is allowed to- very carefully- help with our loading our woodstove.

[ecoteat]

DD is 4.5 and helps a lot in the kitchen. She sometimes turns on the stand mixer (with my help. She's actually not strong enough to do it precisely on her own). At preschool she cuts veggies with something like this: http://www.forsmallhands.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_2_1112. All the kids use them, aged 2-5. I'd like to get one for home. She occasionally stirs something on the stove while I'm holding her. I'm not going to bother moving the Learning Tower over to the stove for that at this point. I suppose she could use the toaster, but it is pretty inaccesible to her. She does know how to fill the dishwasher with soap, close the door, and turn it on, though. I do most of my baking in a woodstove this time of year, and I don't feel like she'd be able to remove something from the oven safely. Maybe she could from the gas oven, if she could reach over the open door. She peels vegetables and loves using the hand crank egg beater.

[velochic]

Dd is about to turn 9 next month and she has been doing all of those for a few years, except use the oven.  She doesn't use the oven still because she's not tall enough to, with the door open, lean in and pull something out without losing her balance.  It's not about ability, it's about physical constraints.

I taught her knife skills starting at about 4.  She could clean and peel veg at that time.  By the time she was 6, she was using the cutting board and my biggest chef's knives slowly, but safely.  She's faster now and is very, very helpful, actually.  She has better knife skills than my mother at this point (which really isn't saying much, but to just say that she has better knife skills than an adult that doesn't cook much). 

She wasn't tall enough to use the stovetop safely until this past year.  She did some stirring with assistance until then, but I don't think it's safe to  be at the stove standing or sitting on something - we're very safety conscious.  She's tall enough now to safely cook - brown meat, make eggs, saute onions, etc. 

We have a toaster oven that she's used for a couple of years. 

Hand mixer... years.  She has good coordination and that has been something she's been able to do for a long, long while. 

I also let her use most other kitchen utensils.  Everything has been taught to be used safely and she's a "rule follower".  She's been in the kitchen with me since she was born, really.  I am a good cook and love to be in the kitchen, so it was a natural progression over the years from having her tear lettuce leafs and break eggs to actually making entire meals all on her own.

One thing I don't let her do still... again, because of height, not ability, is take boiling water off of the stove.

[34me]

My ds got his first cook book at 5 and has been pretty much cooking ever since. He made chocolate pudding cake totally independently that Christmas with the exception of taking it out of the oven because he just wasn't big enough.

[eepster]

Age would not be my determining factor.

-cut with a sharp knife?

After s/he has demonstrated that s/he is capable of using a butter knife safely and respondsibly.  4yo DS is still working on his butter knife skills, and it doesn't look like he will graduate to sharp knives anytime soon.  he mostly cuts bananas.

-use a toaster?

Once they are good about not touching things when told not to, they can push lever on the toaster and adjust the settings with supervision.  If they are able to use toaster tongs and are patient enough to let the toaster cool off, they can take toast out. When they are capable of doing all steps without instruction they can use it on their own. 4 yo DS gets to push down the lever with my supervision.

-stir something hot on the stove?

When they are tall enough to stand firmly on the floor and look down into what they are stirring.  When they won't try to do it wearing a playsilk.  When they are fully versed in what to do in case of burn or fire.  After they have graduated to independent toaster use.

-take something out of a hot oven?

When their arms are long enough to reach past the door and into the oven and strong enough that dropping isn't a concern.  After graduating to independent toaster use.

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?

When they are strong enough to control it, and know to unplug it before touching/licking the beaters.

[meemee]

dd has a pretty good head on her shoulders. she does not freak out easily.

to me its not just about cooking or using a sharp knife. its going over safety procedures, what to do when in an accident and common sense stuff. its when you feel they get it that's when you start.

the age is so hard to guess. its so different for some kids. 

i wish i had allowed it earlier than 6. my dd is careful, totally follows limits (i never tell her no, but she has very strong limits not allowed to break - so she's been used to it since a baby. as a year old she could jump off the couch under certain circumstances. if seh didnt follow those rules she wasnt allowed to. that's been my philosophy that has always worked with her). 

she did all those at 6, though she has been helping in teh kitchen since 18 months measuring and mixing and stirring. 

by 7 she was in teh kitchen unsupervised and on weekends cooked me and served me bfast in bed. she had trouble with taking toast out of the toaster. showed her how to do it. by 7 seh was cooking full scale meals. planning and buying the ingredients and cooking them. 

[OkiMom]

To me it depends on the child and their physical abilities, not their age..

-cut with a sharp knife? My almost 4 year old can cut up softer veggies/fruits with a sharp knife but not harder ones. For example she can do strawberries and spinach leaves (a couple at a time) but not carrots or celery. Reason she doesn't have the hand/arm strength to cut tougher veggies/other items safely. We start out with play dough knifes and play dough, when I see they get the safety aspects we graduate to soft fruits and a butter knife then to a sharp knife and other vegetables/fruits. When she started using a sharp knife I put my hand over hers and helped her cut and continued to do this until I was comfortable she could do it unassisted. My 2 year old can cut up bananas with a butter knife.

-use a toaster? I don't own a toaster but I could see myself letting my almost 4 year old use one if we have one. Once they realized it was hot and didn't try to stick their hand in it then I would allow it. My almost 4 year old is allowed to take things out of the toaster oven if I'm standing right there with her and she wears an oven mitt (Ive burnt myself on that thing so I'm really cautious about having her use it).

-stir something hot on the stove? Around 3 with supervision and only if it wasn't something that would splatter (like greasy meat). At that age she was old enough to follow directions on what to do and knew not to touch the stove since it was hot. Even now though I'm standing right next to her, I won't even go a step away because i know how quickly kids can get burned. I could see in the next year or so letting her stir alone and teaching her to start cooking meats.

-take something out of a hot oven? When they were tall enough and strong enough to safely and carefully lift a pan out of the oven and stick it on the stove. No time soon.

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves? My almost 4 year old started almost a year ago. My 2 year old can only help, she holds the mixer and I hold her hands if she gets her hands anywhere other than the handle then I take it from her.

[crowcaw]

My 5 yo dd's have been using sharp knives for the last several months, probably started around 4.5.  Toaster has never come up because we use it so infrequently.  Stirring on a hot stove -- 4-ish with me there but so far only in a dutch oven -- the tipping potential for things with long handles worries me.  We did have one burnt forearm from touching the side.  We only have a stand mixer but they raise and lower the bowl, turn it on and off, etc. 

[lightinmyhands]

my one and a half year old has helped me cut something with a sharp knife, and with my holding her she has stirred a number of hot things on the stove.  My 6 year old has been doing pretty much all of the things you listed since age 4.  for me it's less about age and more about ability and proper supervision.  

[LaughingHyena]

DD has been using a sharp knife probably since 3 (she's 6 now), though like others she can still only manage softer items, not carrots or apples. She can use a peeler to peel carrots but finds potatoes hard to hold onto. They were both confident with scissors fairly early on and DS perfers to do his cutting this way (salad leave, spring onions, herbs etc ll work well with scissors)

Both kids are very nervous of hot things, I have let DD stir stuff but she prefers me to do that. She will put things into a cold oven (I never remember to preheat it) but I don't think she'd have to coordination to use oven gloves and reach over the door to remove things safely. They put bread in the toaster but I take it out.

I don't think either of them have used the mixer, DS certainly hasn't he hates the noise enough to leave the room while I use it :lol

We still find lots of things they can do, peeling onions or hard boiled eggs, measuring, pouring, mixing.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Ds is 3 and for over the past year he has:

We have this "chopper" which ds uses to chop vegetables and fruits.

Turned on the stand mixer or food processor or blender. (we unplug it when we are adding things or walking away so he can't turn it on by accident)

Baking works well for him and he can do most of those things, pouring, stirring, cracking eggs etc.

He is not allowed to cook at the stove (although occasionally I'll hold him and let him stir) we have a gas stove therefore an open flame.

And right now he isn't even allowed to stand near the oven when we take hot things out. 

[karne]

My dd has been helping in the kitchen since she was a toddler.  She wasn't especially agile, or had wonderful fine motor skills, but kitchen work was a great way to practice.  We are pretty safety conscious.  Now, at 12, dd can independently make an omlette, make spaghetti and meatballs, cook rice....some nice basics, and frankly more than I could do when I left for college!  Yesterday she independently prepared apple dumplings, which were absolutely delicious.

[annethcz]

At age 4, my kids were doing everything on your list (with close supervision) with the exception of taking things out of the oven.  I think my kids were 7-8  before their arms were long enough to safely take (light, not heavy) items out of the oven. 

[mrskingred]

DS is 4. Helps with weighing and mixing. Likes to break eggs for me.
 

-cut with a sharp knife?

Bread knife - while I'm in the same room

paring knife - with me standing over his shoulder

Chef knife - never

peel potatoes/carrots with peeler - mostly when I'm in the same room

-use a toaster?

only to pop bread in and press the button

-stir something hot on the stove?

only certain things with me standing over his shoulder

-take something out of a hot oven?

never

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?

don't have one, he does operate the controls on the food processor under supervision

[kittywitty]

-cut with a sharp knife? A chef knife-9, a serrated bread knife-6 with careful instruction and supervision.

-use a toaster? 4? My kids have been making toast since about that age. They were instructed on safety first and have never messed up.

-stir something hot on the stove? How hot? Pasta/stir fry 6 years old. Caramel-over 10 and with safety equipment (apron, shoes, gloves) because that can be dangerous.

-take something out of a hot oven? 8 years old with gloves and instruction.

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves? We have a stand mixer. My 3 yo even helps me set it up and turn it on sometimes, but 7-8 depending on the child to use it alone.

[seraf]

My kids are 7(ds) and 5(dd).  I'm pretty relaxed in the kitchen because my kids have great awareness of their bodies and safety.  This year he is really into flipping things (like, ,with the pan instead of a turner) and she is trying to learn that, but isn't quite strong enough.

-cut with a sharp knife?

    2 for both.  I encourage them to chop with their left hand on the back of the blade, so kind of rock/chop.  But they're both allowed to cut carrots, apples or anything they wish.  They started with softer stuff, tho. 

-use a toaster?

    Our toaster oven is way up high, eye level with me.  DS can use it, but it's rare and involves standing on a chair.

-stir something hot on the stove?

    2, standing on a chair.  That's how I grew up and so have they.  We do have rules about wearing clothes while in the kitchen.  She is still lightly supervised. 

-take something out of a hot oven?

    Neither is tall enough to remove food from the oven.  She is eye level with the stove top and it comes to his shoulders 

-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?

    Ours is heavy, I would let her do it now if, but she's not strong enough yet.  She can hold it once it's upright, but she can't do the whole process.  He is uninterested.