Cooking with Toddlers: Steps to Making it Work

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If you’ve been here before you know I love cooking with my toddler. Throughout the past year or so we have figured out so much that has made the experience way smoother and easier. It goes very smoothly now but it was absolutely messy when we started! On this post I am doing a walkthrough of what doing an recipe can look like from preparing the space to actually making it with lots of tips along the way.

I will say I generally try to do these things whenever I am cooking with him, but this is definitely a more organized look than most of our cooking sessions. When we’re cooking dinner it absolutely gets messier and the space isn’t prepared as perfectly. The counter is not usually perfectly clear (though I do try to clear the space he can reach as much as possible). That’s okay! That’s part of cooking. Starting really organized though can be very helpful for making it smooth.

Step 1: Prepare the Space

Prepare a clear workspace for your child. Ideally, there is nothing on the part of the counter they can reach that shouldn’t be touched. I like to keep his tray, recipe (if using), and supplies he needs immediately in front of him. I know clearing the counter isn’t always possible but I definitely struggle more with cooking with him during times when I have things in front of him he can grab. Toddlers are curious so it makes sense they want to grab things! I pull his tower up to the part of the counter that is cleared for him.

Step 2: Gather Ingredients and Materials

If you’re just starting with cooking with your toddler it might be a good idea to gather the ingredients first. At this point, my son has a lot of practice with the patience required in the kitchen and I often grab them once he is already there. But if your child is new to it I highly recommend gathering everything first! I try to gather the utensils necessary as much as possible. I will start with a bowl on his tray and usually a tool for the first step such as a stirring spoon or whisk.

For this recipe I needed a spoon for stirring, a masher for the banana, and a tablespoon measuring spoon for scooping the cookies onto the baking sheet.

Step 4: Pre-measure Ingredients (Optional)

I almost never pre-measure ingredients like this anymore. I can’t deny, however, it does make for smoother cooking! I used to pre-measure ingredients a lot when he was first starting out. I would measure into little bowls and pitchers he could pour in. Now I generally measure in front of him and just give him the measuring cup (or on certain things have him scoop). I do pour some things such as vanilla into little pitchers for him to pour.

Step 5: Invite Your Child to Join

I invite my son to join me in a cooking task and he climbs up his learning tower (Sprout discount code OnTheWay10).

Step 6: Follow the Steps of the Recipe

Follow the steps of the recipe including your toddler when possible and scaffolding when necessary. For a recipe like this, my toddler can do it himself with me just moving things into reach as necessary. However, if your child is younger or you are newer to this, scaffolding might be necessary. If I was doing this a year ago I would have held the banana while he pulled the peel down and we would have likely poured things together, for example. Here I will walk you through this recipe I did. This recipe is also included in my visual recipes. You can see him using them in the photos.

Peel two bananas and add to bowl. I start the bananas on top by simply opening the top. He then fully peels them. When he was younger I would start peeling it and at the very beginning, I held the banana as he pulled down the peel.

Mash the banana. For something like this we take turns. He will mash, then I mash, then he mashes. I prefer for him to be the last one to get to mash so it doesn’t feel like I am correcting his work.

Add 1 cup oats. For a younger toddler you may want to pour together. I recommend hand under hand where you have your hand on the measuring cup and they have their hand either over your hand or on another part of the measuring cup instead of your hand over theirs. This allows them to have more autonomy and move their hand as they wish.

Add several shakes of cinnamon. Either have your toddler shake the shaker in (my son loves doing this) or pour some into a bowl for them to pour in.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. I recommend measuring into a small pitcher and having them pour from that rather than a measuring spoon.

Stir.

Scoop into the pan and bake. Likely you will have to do this part or at least be involved. This dough is pretty loose and tends to not be easy to shape. I have started letting him use a tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop the dough. This works though I still have to slightly reshape the cookies after. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.