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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:
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-cut with a sharp knife?
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-use a toaster?
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-stir something hot on the stove?
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-take something out of a hot oven?
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-use an electric hand mixer by themselves?
DS1 is 3 1/2, and he's been using scissors and knives for about a year now. His knife is sharp, but not TOO sharp 
. We give him a Ginsu steak knife for most softer items and just started letting him use a paring knife for carrots and apples. I definitely supervise and remind him of where to put his hands and how to cut instead of sawing as he does with the steak knife. He can use our handheld immersion blender just fine, though I stand close by and remind him to move it around instead of just pressing the button and mashing it into the bottom of the pot. He doesn't use the toaster, but he would be allowed if he asked. He stirs things on the stove, adds things to the skillet, puts poato cubes into a pot of boiling water. I wouldn't let him do the oven yet, but that's partly because I burned myself pulling something out of the oven at age 4 1/2 and still have the scar and the memory, partly because most things coming out of the oven still seem a bit heavy/big for him to manage with oven mitts or potholders in each hand, partly because our kitchen is cramped. I say that if your child is interested and seems to have the motor skills and attention, go ahead and let him help with whatever he wants. DS1 impressed me immensely by putting together samosas without my help: making the dough ball, rolling it out flat, putting the filling in, painting the water on, folding the dough over the filling, and then crimping it closed.
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