Involving my son in food prep activities

sasa7

Hi, over the past few months I have been involving my 2 year old son as much as I can when I am preparing food and meals in the kitchen. He is really enjoying it and I feel it will educate him in some way about the healthy foods he should be eating. At the moment I just pull a chair up beside the kitchen worktop and he stands on that to participate. Does anyone else have a more safe and secure method of elevating their child?? How do you feel about involving your child in such activities? Is it too young of an age and am I placing my son in a dangerous environment??

ariana`

I think it's great to involve them from a young age. Does he have a high chair that you can pull up instead of the chair? I do that with my 16mth old - i let him put the chopped carrots into the sauce pan and so on. You could also bring things over to the kitchen table so he can sit on a chair rather than stand if you feel better. My little ones love putting the toppings on a home-made pizza or making up sandwiches themselves that way. But as long as he doesn't have access to a cooker/hot kettle and so on then he is probably ok on the chair though. You know your child best - trust your instincts i'd say.

Suucee

My daughter is 22 months and ive been doing this since xmas. She loves it too. I just use a small step ladder . The bar is on 1 side and im on the other.

nikpmup

My sister had a funpod for her kids, she said it was great for them helping in the kitchen http://www.boots.ie/en/Little-Helper-FunPod-Kitchen-Safety-Stand-Maple-Natural_1246425/

Moonbeam

We are considering a fun pod too,my 3 year old loves baking so I often use the kitchen table to make life easier and safer.

implausible

We have two of these from Ikea, brilliant for reaching things, washing hands, cooking etc.

galah

We just use a nonslip step or small table and taught our 2 year old to get off it safely. More involved procedure we'd do on a smaller table at his level.

I'd bet my mixer that the first thing my son would try with that fun pod is to get out of it headfirst - he'd hate to be confined...:D

ThisRegard

That funpod is too much. How did we all reach adulthood without such things ? We use a chair at the counter without issue if we're not preparing at the dining table.

sasa7

Ya I not sure if I would like my son confined either. It would probably put me a a comfort zone knowing that he is restricted to a limited and safe area but what if he needed to get out and he could not do so. The Fun Pod does not seem to be easily collapsed for storage?? The last thing I need in my small kitchen is another permanent piece of furniture!!

sasa7

I can see that a Fun Pod could be favored over a chair for a toddler that's not great on their feet. A chair is not always suitable, plus I want to eliminate any potential falls or accident occuring

How Strange

The fun pod looks like something an adult designed but a toddler would hate.id say it's one of those things you buy thinking it'll make life easier but it ends up unused in a corner.

pwurple

We use the ikea step as well. Works well for us.

nikpmup

Like anything else, it depends on the kid, what one would love another would hate. My sisters two girls loved thier funpod, and they used it a lot, I think they used it for toy storage after they grew out if it