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Cooking with children has many benefits. It is a great learning experience and it can make for wonderful and interactive quality time. But it is also one of the most dangerous rooms in the house. Inviting a child to share experiences in the kitchen requires constant supervision and guidance at any age. Here are a few tips to help you both enjoy the experience.

Setting Ground Rules
Before entering the kitchen, ask your child to identify all of the dangers in a kitchen. What is sharp? What is hot? Does your child know that getting an electrical appliance wet can be extremely dangerous? Once you feel that all of the dangers have been clearly defined, set the rules. The child should know that until given explicit permission, he should never begin a project in the kitchen without your approval. When he is involved in a project, he must always keep his mind on what he is doing. There should be no horseplay with siblings, talking on the phone or getting sidetracked by a television show.

Introduction to Kitchen Equipment
There is no set age that a child is ready to do anything. Children progress at different rates for different things. The best bet in the kitchen is to start with projects that are easy to make and do not require the oven, stove, knives or electrical appliances. No-bake cookies or instant pudding recipes are perfect starter projects.

• Introduce bigger jobs one at a time. After your child is comfortable in the kitchen, you could include the electric mixer. When this is mastered, add something else.
  
• For younger children, use all plastic or stainless-steel utensils. Trade in your favorite Pyrex measuring cup and mixing bowl for a nice set of plastic measuring cups and stainless steel bowl or, better yet, give your child her own collection. Hands get very slippery in the kitchen, especially when the chef is nervous or unsure.
  
• Electric hand mixers can be hard to handle and dangerous for curious little fingers. To allow your child the independence to mix a recipe, start him off with a handheld eggbeater.
  
• When it comes time for cutting, consider an enclosed manual chopper rather than a knife. The chopper makes the job safer, cleaner and, in most cases, faster and easier. An adult should do any cutting with sharp knives.