Nanny to Mommy

When you have kids, you have to keep them occupied most of the time. Sure, they may head off to school and they get to sleep each night, but for the hours in between, it’s entirely your responsibility to ensure that they have something interesting, positive and productive to put their mind to. Now, every kid has their own interests. Some will want to sit and read a book for hours. Some would like to play games. Some are more outdoorsy and will want to head into the back yard and play with their toys or explore nature. Whatever your kids’ interests, one activity that many will thoroughly enjoy is baking. Baking means not only getting to explore new ingredients and textures, but also producing something that they can eat at the end! What’s not to love? Here are a few tips and tricks that can help to make baking with your kids a great memory and fun experience.

Of course, we need to start out with basic safety. No child should be left to bake alone. This is an activity that requires constant adult supervision, as there are various elements to the process that could go wrong without supervision. Generally, when people bake with kids, they let their kids do the simple and fun parts, such as mixing and decorating. The parts that involve the oven, tools such as mixers or anything else that could pose a hazard tend to fall into the parent or guardian’s responsibilities. You may also want to consider investing in some kid-friendly baking equipment, such as soft latex spatulas or plastic mixing posed, as opposed to metal or glass options.

Start out by choosing a kid friendly recipe. The simpler the better. Some parents choose to invest in kids baking kits that include pre-mixed and pre-measured ingredients in the right quantities that can simply be opened and dumped into a bowl, ready to stir up. Alternatively, you may want to take this step into your own hands and do the measuring beforehand. If your child has allergies or intolerances, make sure to look up recipes that are specifically suited to their dietary needs, or look into how to replace some ingredients in existing recipes. You can find alternatives to brown rice flour, xanthan gum, eggs, nuts and all sorts of other ingredients that you might want or need to cut out of their diet.

Baking can be messy in its own right, but kids baking is even messier. So, prepare. You may want to invest in some aprons for your little ones and ensure that they are wearing old clothes that can get dirty without worry. You may also want to lay out protective coverings for the floor or countertops, or simply have a broom, dustpan and brush and mop ready for clean up after.

Hopefully, some of the information above should help to get you and your little ones’ baking journey started out in the right direction!