{"id":25209,"date":"2017-01-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/?p=25209"},"modified":"2020-10-24T17:44:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T21:44:42","slug":"kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen Tasks For Toddlers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>These simple kitchen tasks for toddlers are a great way for you spend time in the kitchen with your kids. They&#8217;ll have fun learning, developing new skills and trying new things!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-25216 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-1-e1484880102602.jpg\" alt=\"These simple kitchen tasks for toddlers are a great way for you spend time in the kitchen with your kids. They&#039;ll have fun learning, developing new skills and trying new things!\" width=\"680\" height=\"750\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-1-e1484880102602.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-1-e1484880102602-181x200.jpg 181w, https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-1-e1484880102602-499x550.jpg 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Hi friends!<\/p>\n<p>If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed I&#8217;ve been posting a lot recently about my time in the kitchen with Squish. Although he&#8217;s been helping me in the kitchen for quite a while now, I&#8217;ve really made it a goal this year to help more people realize the importance of getting into the kitchen with your kids. They can do a lot more than you may think&#8230;especially with some practice.<\/p>\n<p>Since I started sharing these videos, I&#8217;ve had so many people tell me that they&#8217;ve always wanted to bring their kids into the kitchen but just weren&#8217;t really sure where to start. The answer is- it doesn&#8217;t matter! Just start!<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s messy, it takes forever and it definitely requires some patience&#8230;but it&#8217;s so important. And it&#8217;s about so much more than food. The other day, Squish and I made baked beans. When we were done, he took one taste and spit them out. So he didn&#8217;t eat baked beans that day. But you know what he did do during our time making those beans?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He tasted molasses for the first time<\/li>\n<li>He worked on his fine motor skills by trying to use the can opener.<\/li>\n<li>He practiced his coordination by pouring ingredients into the bowl.<\/li>\n<li>He practiced counting the dried beans.<\/li>\n<li>He had fun!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So don&#8217;t focus too much on things going perfectly. Just grab the kids and give it a try!<\/p>\n<p>Here are 12 things toddlers can do in the kitchen:<\/p>\n<div id=\"refc7nwxyddagblswvmv\" data-autoplay=\"1\" data-volume=\"29\" data-ratio=\"16:9\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/scripts.mediavine.com\/videos\/refc7nwxyddagblswvmv.js\" async data-noptimize><\/script><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Pour\/drain<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Measure ingredients and help them pour, open a can and let them dump it in all by themselves, give them a bottle and let them pour some into the pan, help them dump something into a strainer<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Stir<\/strong> <\/span>&#8211; Hand them a spoon and a bowl of ingredients and let them go to town. I even let Squish stir things on the stove if he&#8217;s being carefully monitored.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Rip<\/strong> <\/span>&#8211; Give them a head of lettuce and show them how to remove the leaves, tear them into little put them in the salad spinner.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Spin<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Rinse lettuce in a salad spinner and let them go to town pumping the salad spinner to spin it dry. Then let them help you put it into bowls.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Peel<\/strong> <\/span>&#8211; Hand them a vegetable peeler and let them work on peeling some carrots or potatoes.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Scoop<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Make cookies or muffins and let them help you scoop the batter onto a try or into a tin. A cookie scoop works well for this!<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Count<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Tell them you need 3 carrots and help them practice counting them out for you.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Chop<\/strong><\/span><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211; Give them a small plastic cutting board and a small plastic knife and let them practice cutting soft things like mushrooms, cooked potatoes, etc.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Crack<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Help them\u00a0crack an egg into a bowl and then practice washing hands.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Retrieve<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Tell them what ingredient you need and let them get it for you out of the pantry.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Put away<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Let them help you bring the groceries inside or empty the dishwasher and give them things to put away in their proper place.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Taste<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Encourage them to try things during the cooking process, as well as after you&#8217;re done. Squish is much more likely to taste a carrot after he peels it than if he just sees it on his dinner plate.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Side note- I realize some people may think 26 months is too young for him to be doing some of the things he&#8217;s doing and that&#8217;s ok! Everyone will have their own comfort level for letting their kids do things. I&#8217;ve made it a point to talk about kitchen safety every time we&#8217;re in the kitchen. We talk about how the oven is hot and he shouldn&#8217;t open it, how mommy uses pot holders to get hot things. We talk about how the stove is hot, how he doesn&#8217;t touch the knobs for the burners or the hot pans on the stove, how he doesn&#8217;t stand on his stool by the stove unless mommy is right there with him, etc.<\/p>\n<p>The more often and earlier they start hearing these things, the more likely they&#8217;ll follow the rules. Do what you&#8217;re comfortable with. If I was bringing him into the kitchen for the first time today, I probably wouldn&#8217;t let him help me use a hand mixer or stir something on the stove. It takes time and practice.<\/p>\n<p>[clickToTweet tweet=&#8221;Want some help in the kitchen? Here are 12 kitchen tasks for toddlers!&#8221; quote=&#8221;Want some help in the kitchen? Here are 12 kitchen tasks for toddlers!&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>In case you&#8217;re a visual person, here are some videos of Squish helping me in the kitchen lately. In the past couple of weeks we&#8217;ve made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/green-bean-fries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Green Bean Fries<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/easy-banana-oat-bars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Banana Oat Bars<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/easy-chicken-pad-thai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chicken Pad Thai<\/a> and more!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uEXhdgNY9DE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yP0fxK_hkug\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/seW0ZmUEnHc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Even when they don&#8217;t like the end result, they&#8217;re still learning and building skills!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7MTNtLzBpng\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nHere are (affiliate) links to a few of the kitchen tools you see in the videos:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2jEtRjo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Curious Chef Nylon Knife Set<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2iQslq5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Little Partners Learning Tower<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2jErTPT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Curious Chef 30-piece Chef Caddy Collection<\/a> (don&#8217;t have this but want it!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Like this post? Be sure to pin it to help encourage others to get their kids in the kitchen!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-25213\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers.jpg\" alt=\"These simple kitchen tasks for toddlers are a great way for you spend time in the kitchen with your kids. They&#039;ll have fun learning, developing new skills and trying new things!\" width=\"680\" height=\"2040\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-67x200.jpg 67w, https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/kitchen-tasks-for-toddlers-183x550.jpg 183w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cooking with Squish is fun for me, but I realize that for some people it may be stressful to bring kids into the kitchen. My friend and fellow RD Katie has two toddlers and a baby. She enjoys her time alone in the kitchen and that&#8217;s great! But even though it stresses her out a little bit, she&#8217;s still making an effort to spend some time in the kitchen with her kids each week. Check out her <a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/p5reNU-1Ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toddlers In The Kitchen post<\/a> as well!<\/p>\n<p>If your kids are a little older, you might like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/kitchen-tasks-for-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>this post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> I wrote about a year and a half ago about kids in the kitchen. I reached out to several of my friends to see how they got their kids involved in the kitchen!<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re struggling with feeding your young child, check out our\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/table-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Table Talk ebook<\/a><\/strong><\/span> for tips and tricks for feeding young kids!<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s chat:<\/p>\n<p>Do you cook with your kids?! What&#8217;s your favorite thing to make?<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy!<br \/>\n&#8211;Lindsay&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These simple kitchen tasks for toddlers are a great way for you spend time in the kitchen with your kids. They&#8217;ll have fun learning, developing new skills and trying new things! Hi friends! If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed I&#8217;ve been posting a lot recently about my time in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kids","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25209"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37922,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209\/revisions\/37922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theleangreenbean.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}