boy cooking recipe bakingTime to start the holiday baking if you haven't already. And the holidays, with all the wonderful cookie baking and sweets making, are a perfect time to get the kids involved too.

Cooking and baking are valuable skills for kids to build as they grow. Start now and maybe they'll be doing all your holiday baking by the time they're teenagers. This is a good master plan, isn't it?

7 Ways Kids Can Help With Holiday Baking:

  1. Go-fers: Have them go fer the butter, the flour, the sugar. Go fer the salt, the milk, and, if possible, even the eggs. Go fer the can opener, the mixing bowls, the measuring spoons and cups and more. This can be very helpful!
  2. Sifters: I have no patience for sifting flour, but kids oftentimes can't get enough of the shake shake.
  3. Pourers: You measure. They pour. It's not especially helpful, but they'll love taking part.
  4. Beaters: If you have to use an electric beater, let them simply hang on and feel the power.
  5. Cleaners: Okay, they don't really "clean" the kitchen per se. However, you won't have to scrub the beaters if they're licked clean.
  6. Quality control: Someone has to eat the cookies that flipped upside down or came out a little deformed. Kids have no problem with this task.
  7. Braggart: Let your child tell friends and family they made the cookies. It will give them that very satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Obviously, kids can offer better-quality assistance as they get older (but then you must also contend with their possibly being bored to tears). Your best bet is to get 'em started early. Give them as much ownership as you think they can handle. The more they feel they're creating something themselves, the more they'll feel accomplished, and the more they'll want to try and try again.

Do you get your kids involved in baking? What's their favorite thing to do?

 

Image via qwrrty/Flickr