Helpful Tips: Baking or Cooking with a Toddler

I wanted to share one of my favorite activities I love to do with Anabelle. I started cooking with her when she was around four months old, as soon as she could hold her head up in the Bumbo. We've been having a blast in the kitchen ever since! I cook dinner for our little family about five times a week and Anabelle helps out often. Baking is somewhat scarce around here, just because I don't have the patience to measure out every single ingredient. I like to wing it a lot. Apparently, the chemistry behind baking doesn't agree with that mentality. That's probably why my cookies turned into brownie-like pieces. At least Anabelle doesn't judge me on my baking skills, right? I just hope she's not telling her toddler friends about it. 
Here are a few helpful tips for you mommies (and daddies) out there on how to make baking or cooking with a toddler fun and easy.

ONE \\ Gather all of your ingredients before you begin. This step is crucial, since you can't leave your toddler unattended while you walk across the kitchen to grab something you forgot. Clearly, Anabelle was debating whether or not we had enough vanilla extra for this recipe. No worries though, we made it work. 
TWO \\ Remove dangerous items from your toddler's reach. Raw meat, knives, and sharp kitchen tools should all be out of the vicinity of toddler's grabby hands. We know how quickly they can move, so be mindful on where you put these.

THREE \\ Keep a toy handy. We know that toddlers have a short attention span. In the event your toddler is no longer interested in watching you chop your vegetables in teeny tiny pieces for meatloaf, have a toy readily available until their attention returns on cooking. Anabelle will bring her pots on the counter, use a few ingredients here and there and pretend to cook her own meal. This keeps her occupied and it's amazing to see her mimic a lot of what she's seen me do in the past, even when I didn't think she was really paying attention. 

FOUR \\ Engage your toddler. Your little one can help you measure out the ingredients, throw the vegetables in the pot, assemble the casserole layers, or whatever you're doing. Don't be afraid to let them experiment, touch, explore and play with the ingredients. 

FIVE \\ Explain each step. Toddler minds absorb so much more information than we give them credit for, and even if they look like they aren't listening, they are still learning.  
SIX \\ Have a snack available. If your toddler is anything like mine, whenever there is food around, it's for the taking. I've noticed that when Anabelle helps me cook, she immediately gets hungry regardless when her last meal was. Fruit is a good option; it's temporarily filling without ruining mealtime. 

SEVEN \\ Let your toddler be your taste tester. Taste your dish together! When we were baking cookies, Anabelle tasted a lot of butter and sugar. Let me tell you, she assured me that it was delicious. Don't worry, her sugar high didn't last very long. 

EIGHT \\ Move used ingredients off to the side. I find this tip incredibly helpful, since I'm the messiest of the messy when I cook or bake. When you no longer need an ingredient, move it out of the way, so you aren't overwhelmed with supplies. By this point, we used up all of our ingredients, and we only had a snack out.

NINE \\ Accept the messes that will happen. This is inevitable. Don't get upset when they do, because life with a toddler is messy. My house is evidence of that. When we made dinner the other night, I let Anabelle pour chicken stock in the pot and she started pouring it before we reached our destination, which meant she poured about a cup on the floor. I cleaned it up with a kitchen towel and we moved right along. 
TEN \\ Have fun! Of course, this is the most important step. Duh. You're making memories here.
Tell me, do you bake or cook with your little one? I'd love to know! If you have any other tips, share with me. Your knowledge needs to become my knowledge.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have cookies to consume while I sweep up sugar for days. And days.