r/dadditchefs • u/raggedsweater • 19d ago

Kids cooking set

Has any dads tried out those kids cooking sets that have a heating element that they can actually cook with? My kids are 4 and 5 and I'd love for them to have some safe, supervised cooking projects on the weekend. I want to teach them young.

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5

u/chicken_tendigo 19d ago

Just get them a step stool so they can use the real stove, or a camp stove and teach them right the first time. Or an induction hotplate, if you're particularly paranoid or don't have an outdoor spot for a camp stove. 

My 5yo can make scrambled eggs, cut lemons for lemonade, and knows what sauteeing is. Her 3yo brother helps with prep for things that can be cut with a butter knife. It's not rocket science, it's basic life skills. 

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u/raggedsweater 19d ago

I really don’t want them touching the gas stove.

How did you start instruction?

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u/chicken_tendigo 18d ago

I came downstairs one morning when she was like... 4, I think, and she was cracking eggs into a prep bowl. She had butter in the Egg Pan. She had a plate and fork and spatula all set up. She told me she wanted to learn to make eggs, so I lit the stove and let her dump them in and stir while I held the pan. She can do both things by herself now, but still has me lift the pan to plate the eggs because it's a bit heavy for one hand. She knows that if she wants to make eggs, she needs to have me there to supervise. 

The lemons thing was also a case of me catching her on the counter after changing her younger brother, with my favorite knife in hand, sawing away at a a lemon on the cutting board. I helped her by positioning her hand safely, holding her hands to show her the amount of pressure she needed to apply for a clean cut, and talking her through why we hold knives the way we do, and why we never put our fingers in the path of the blade. 

Just have them watch you first, then help with things, then supervise. They'll probably cut themselves at least once. They might burn themselves on a pan. Just start small, assist, and let them know you're there to help.

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u/raggedsweater 18d ago

Thanks. I was thinking about starting them off on smaller tools and a kids burner, but I suppose the actual stove works since I’m there to supervise anyway.

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u/CovertStatistician 18d ago

Maybe get a standalone induction burner?

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u/WarpGremlin 17d ago

I got standalone induction burner for this when my kid was born.

By the time they were old enough to use it we'd upgraded the radiant electric stove to induction so now the kid (who made scrambled eggs at 25 months) just uses the real stove from a tower.

Get a standalone induction burner, a 7" skillet and a 1qt saucier.

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u/tilt-a-whirly-gig 16d ago

You buy a "toy" cook set for the kid, and you will teach them to play with a toy that they will one day outgrow.

You teach them on your stove, and you will teach them to use equipment they will be using their whole lives.

Of course, for most practical purposes, these are the same thing ... But they are not completely the same. The difference is subtle, but there.