mum who likes to cook asked 4 years ago
Help my toddler just dives in with both hands – I really like the idea of a cooking activity but how can I avoid problems of eating raw ingredients
Riverside Cares Staff answered 4 years ago
It’s great that your toddler enjoys cooking and wants to try new things. Involving children in cooking is a great way to help them learn to taste and try new things so if it’s an ingredient they can eat safely (and healthily), then you could have a separate bowl and put a few samples in there that they can try, letting them know that the cooking ingredients bowls are for baking only and that if they eat these the end result will not be any good.
If it’s something which could cause harm – e.g. raw meat – then keep this separate and out of reach if possible, giving them a different job to do which will distract them when you use this ingredient. If you give them their own little bowl of ingredients to mix, which are safe to eat, this may keep them involved but also distract them when you need to do certain tasks yourself.
At this age, it’s often about setting rules and explaining in very simple language why they cannot eat something as this will make them sick.
You could also try giving the child a snack before cooking if you think they are getting hungry.
Kind regards
Jill and Emma
http://www.riversidetrainingcompany.co.uk https://www.childfeedingguide.co.uk/