Why I Let My 5 Year Old Destroy My Kitchen

There is flour everywhere.

On the counters, the floor, the stove, us.

There is icing on the floor, egg goo congealing on the countertop, and one very sticky little girl in charge of it all.

You see, a few days ago, my little Iron Chef wanted to bake Christmas cookies all by herself, with minimal guidance from her mama, and I agreed.

She just turned five two weeks ago.

There are days when, as a parent, I question my sanity. This may have been one of them.

In all honesty, I’m not surprised by her confidence in the kitchen. When she was about 18 months old, I started setting her on the counter to help me “stir,” and “mix,” and “pour.” When I would venture into the kitchen, she would cry “Uppy! Uppy!” with her arms outstretched. She needed to be part of the culinary action.

By the time she was two years old, she was stirring and mixing and pouring in real time.

By the time she was three, she was using a plastic knife to chop vegetables, cracking eggs on her own, and learning the difference between a half-cup and a cup, a teaspoon and a tablespoon.

By the time she was four, she was thrilled to own her very own kid-safe metal knife, delivered in her stocking by Santa. In recent months, she’s been measuring on her own, using a hand-held mixer, rolling her own bread and pizza dough, and stirring scrambled eggs over low heat.

Over the course of the past year, there have been days when she’s woken up and immediately asked, “Mama, can we bake today?”

So now, at 5, I’m not surprised that she now wants to bake and cook on her own.

And no, this doesn’t mean I’m leaving her be while I go take a nap or catch up on a few episodes of “The Newsroom.” No, this means that Mama’s role is relegated to sous chef and Advisor of Dangerous Hot and Sharp Things.

She loves watching cooking shows with me on TV, especially “WQED Cooks,” (Chris Fennimore in the hizzouse!)  which airs on our local PBS affiliate. “Let’s watch cooking!” she’ll declare, skipping right past the cartoons.

She’s growing too tall to sit on the counter.

Why do I allow it? Well, for one, I want her to learn that cooking and baking isn’t just something we “have” to do. I want her to know and appreciate the joy inherent in cooking for herself and for others. I want her to know and understand the origins of her food, how it’s produced and whether it’s wholly nutritious or totally craptastic garbage full of chemicals and byproducts. I want her to know the difference between a parsnip and a turnip, a crepe and an omelet. As she grows, I want her to feel free to experiment, to try new foods, new recipes, new techniques.

It’s a skill – one that will carry her through the rest of her life and who knows – perhaps even spark a career choice.

So yes, while we focus on her learning how to read and do math (which, ahem, is important in the kitchen, yes?) and encourage her to explore arts, music and sports, we’re also allowing her to foster her culinary creativity – even if it means I’ll be finding spots of solidified egg yolks on my countertops for the next several days.

Happy Holidays, all!

Do you let your kiddos cook in your kitchen? Why or why not? Sound off below!

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