Teaching the kids how to bake would naturally be a fun activity which is mainly motivated by the fun factor as well as keeping them occupied with something that inherently keeps them out of trouble. While it is indeed mainly about fun and keeping their restless minds stimulated, you probably still want the lesson to be effective. I mean wouldn’t it be really nice if your youngest didn’t have to bother you each time they wanted to enjoy their favourite baked delights? Better yet; wouldn’t it be nice if they baked you some of your own oven-fresh favourites every so often?
If you do indeed long for one less problem in your parenting life, teaching your children how to bake properly is a great way of doing so. Here are a few tips to help you teach them how to bake properly so that your efforts aren’t in vain.
Get More Than One Child Involved
Their natural curiosity will probably draw all your kids in for your baking lessons, but if you’re running short on your own little sprouts, now’s the time to pop more out — or alternatively invite your child’s friends or cousins over for the baking lesson. Yes, I think inviting other kids over is better than popping more of your own out!
Right, so the idea is that a group activity involving your child or children’s peers will make the learning experience more fun, giving them a much better chance of actually retaining what they learn.
Write Down Recipes and Give Them Some Leeway for Experimentation
In addition to writing down the recipes for them, let the kids write down the recipes themselves as well. Also, as you get through more and more baking lessons, give them some space to experiment a bit by allowing them to deviate from the strict measurements and instructions. This will encourage them to make good use of the types of learning principles which encourage kids to use the basics taught to them, tweak and play around with them a little, and perhaps discover something magical or simply better than what is traditionally in existence. You’ll be surprised just how creative children can get, but everything has to be within reason of course because you don’t want to end up having to eat chocolate brownies that taste like nothing more than burnt bread for the rest of their childhood years.
Safety First
It’s important to instil health and safety discipline in your kids when teaching them how to use any appliances and utensils in the kitchen. So many hazards are otherwise just waiting to happen, so safety is a must and they must be fully aware of all the safety measures to take. This is something you cannot skimp on. They might try to bake while you’re away somewhere or when you’re not keeping a close eye on proceedings, and so you don’t want simple oversights such as leaving the oven on to create potentially damaging fire hazards and the like. Safety must be drilled into them from the get-go.
