Can My Child Help Cook My Food?

[StainedGlassWindows]

I am so grateful for this community.  Thank you for your help!

Question:

It is a goal of mine to raise my young toddler into a child who loves and appreciates healthy foods.  We eat lots of whole foods! 

However, I am the sole person preparing my family's meals due to fear of gluten contamination and contamination with other foods to which I am sensitive.

My toddler loves to help.  I let my toddler help me with almost everything in the house except cleaning dishes, meal prep, table setting, and cooking--this is all due to fear of gluten contamination/other food allergens.  

 

***How can I safely let my toddler help me cook and prep in the kitchen? *** I feel I'm doing my child a disservice by making the kitchen and its work so off limits.

 

thank you immensely!

 

 

[StephanieL]

What is your concern in having the child help?  As long as they are washed up and not spitting in the food (if you really at that worried have them wear an apron) there isn't any reason they shouldn't be able to help out!

[bartfull]

Depending on what you're making and how you plan to prepare it, you could have your child do chopping of whatever you're chopping. If it's a manual chopper, put the nuts or whatever in it and have them plunge the handle. If you're using a food processor, let them push the button.

A toddler of course shouldn't be using a knife, but a potato masher would be fine. Potatoes, squash, turnips, or whatever else you're planning to mash. You can let your toddler put the pickles, pearl onions, carrot sticks, celery, or whatever else in the dish and arrange it.

Making cookies? Let your toddler use the cookie cutters. If you're making those peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies, let your toddler put the kisses on. They can grease the pans too. And if you're making pies, let your toddler use the leftover dough to make those twisty things with the cinnamon and sugar that Mom always made with the dough scraps.

A toddler can stir the gravy, help set the table, perhaps even make colorful place cards.

And then comes the hard part - getting them to help clean up afterwards!