6 Important Things to Teach Little Kids About Baking
Baking is delightful. It not only produces yummy delicacies but also teaches you important lessons. This activity is awesome to do all by yourself, but if you have kids to it with, why not bake with them?
There are so many ways to spend a worthwhile bonding time with the family, yet baking is truly among the most unique picks of them all. It requires quite a lot of effort, but it surely is worth every inch of it because baking is not only an entertaining pastime but an enlightening pursuit too.
Do not miss making the baking day a lovely moment for you and your children. There are tons of great learning to obtain from this experience, and you must assist your youngsters all the way. Let them know the key aspects in this kitchen activity, so they will enjoy it even more! Here are 6 important things to teach little kids about baking.
1 – WEARING PROPER BAKING GARMENTS IS IMPORTANT.
Some people skip the importance of wearing proper baking garments when it must actually be highly valued. Teach kids how significant it is, so they won’t become like ‘some people’.
Apron, gloves, mittens and hair net are the standard and most common kitchen clothing used in baking. Using appropriate baking attire will keep every baker, especially the young bakers, safe from hot surfaces and will ensure that the food being baked is sanitary and not contaminated.
2 – MESS IS INEVITABLE, BUT CLEANLINESS IS A MUST.
There are parents who make a mistake when it comes to introducing how the baking area will actually look like once you start baking. They tell kids to make sure that they don’t spill or spread anything anywhere except on the over, the food and the plate. Well, oftentimes, that rule is impossible to obey when you are baking.
Instead of doing what those parents do, tell your kids that mess is actually inevitable in baking. Just think of yourself using cake flour, bread flour, sugars, dough, chocolate chips, sprinkles and more baking ingredients. Can you even imagine your hand being completely without some mess? You can’t.
In baking, consider such a pretty mess as unavoidable, but keep in mind that cleanliness is a must. The mess from flour, dough and other baking elements is fine, but dirt coming from unsanitized tools and from unwashed hands is unacceptable! In every goodie one bakes, the topmost priority is sanitation and safety aside from taste, texture and looks. Let the kids firmly know and embrace that.
3 – MEASUREMENTS ARE PRESENT, BUT GOING WITH THE FEELING IS SOMETIMES NEEDED.
When you are learning a baking recipe for the first time, you are strictly following every bit of instruction from the tutorial because you don’t want to make a mistake. You believe that you will end up with the same satisfying result if you do the same methods. That’s being an obedient viewer and baker, and that’s alright!
On the other side of the coin, sometimes, going with the feeling is what you need to achieve the best results for your baked grubs. Yes, measurements of cake flour, bread flour, dough mixes, eggs and condiments are indicated, but if you see fit, add, subtract and adjust portions on your own. That’s how it is in fixing the taste of the soup you’re cooking, and that’s how it is in baking too.
It is good to teach this topic to kids, so they would not feel very restricted when they bake. Of course, during their first few attempts, it would be best to let them begin from precisely abiding by their cookbooks and online tutorials. That trains them to be a good listener and follower.
However, as time goes by, as they get comfortable with the activity, teach and guide them how to use their gut feeling in measurements too. This will help them in determining the magic of tastes and feeling and in forming their own decisions as well.
4 – PATIENCE IS REQUIRED.
The attention span of most kids today is so short that it’s sometimes unbelievable. Baking is a great way to enhance that and their patience too. Teach kids that baking requires patience because there are many uncontrollable and non negotiable aspects in it. Things will not always go as the bakers want or plan, thus, there must be a big bag of patience carried around the kitchen.
What’s more, the length of patience needed varies from one food to another. Some chows take less than an hour to finish baking while some need over a day. Knowing this, kids will be taught to lengthen and exercise their patience, so they can get tasty treats when all is done! They will feel happier and more excited to see and taste the finished products after putting in their patience to the whole baking process.
5 – BAKE WITH TENDER LOVE AND CARE.
The mood and the emotions of the baker affect how the product will come out. Teach the teenyboppers to bake with tender love and care, so their finished goodies will end up lovely and scrumptious as they please. Consider the overall process as raising a precious child like them, and the kids will surely apply more care and effort in their baking activity.
6 – BAKING IS SHARING.
After all the baking is done, it’s time to munch on those sugary and delectable baked tucks! Teach the littles ones that it would be really fun to enjoy them all by themselves, but baking is also sharing. They can give some to neighbors and nearby relatives and wrap some as exciting gifts too. What makes baking even more beautiful is the joy you get when you hand some of the toothsome goodies to your loved ones and see them gleeful and grateful.
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KIDS AND BAKING
Baking is one of the activities that you must let your kids engage in. It bears a lot of explorations and learning not just within the kitchen but also within life in general. Without question, it is a matchless way to treasure your family time while getting closer and growing together.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Mauri Baking Supplies Australia, a chief supplier of bakery ingredient solutions all over New Zealand and Australia. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
