Baking with kids can be fun and stressful at the same time. Here are five tips for baking with kids to make it a little bit less overwhelming and a lot more fun for everyone!
My kids LOOOOVE to bake! It has definitely been a journey to find the balance where I don’t get overwhelmed by their chaos and they can feel independent while baking with me.
I have two girls, ages four and two, and we bake together at least one to two times a week. Most often I bake with just one of them, but sometimes, if it is something fun they will both want to join in.
Baking with my children has definitely taught me patience. But, seeing how proud they get because they helped make things is very rewarding.
Here are a few tips that I have learned in the past 4 years about baking with kids.
Keep it Simple
Kids have short attention spans so they would typically benefit from quick-win recipes. These types of recipes could be no-bakes, cookies, and some types of bars. These recipes will not have a lot of steps, and are quick to make.
Also, unless you are very comfortable baking, I suggest that you do not try new recipes when baking with your kids. You will get overwhelmed very quickly if you are trying to figure out steps to a recipe and there is a lot of chaotic noises or craziness that impatient children create while they are waiting for you to tell them what to do next.
For your convenience, I created a free recipe book of recipes to bake with your child. Fill out the form below to receive a copy!
Adapt to Your Child’s Skill Level
Children need to feel independent and feel proud doing things on their own. What steps can be adapted so that your child can feel like they are doing things on their own, even if they aren’t fully comfortable doing that task yet?
For example, with my direction, my four-year-old will help scoop ingredients into measuring cups and level it off, while my two-year-old can only help tilt the cups over the bowl or there will be a gigantic mess! I love how proud they get when they help make things!
Measure Ingredients Over a Separate Bowl
Waaaay too many times have I had an extra nudge of the vanilla bottle or an extra scoop of something-or-other because either the container or a measuring cup or spoon was in front of my child.
It is much easier to remeasure one ingredient than needing to debate whether to restart your recipe or if you should just shrug it off and hope that your bake still turns out!
Utilize “Hands Up!” When You Need to Step Away
This piggybacks on the last tip. Whenever I need to step away from the workspace to grab something I will always unplug the mixer and say “hands up!” This is their cue to put their hands up in the air above their head.
A lot of our bakes make an appearance on the website, so I don’t want finger indents on our pie crusts, or extra ingredients in random places.
Keep things exciting!
Can you adapt a recipe that you guys have made before and make it differently? Maybe those monster cookies are turned into blue monsters with food dye? Or sprinkles added to make hair?
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