I like this post and can't wait to read the comments which surely be simple outrage over letting your child eat off the floor.

Oooh...looking forward to reading these too. My daughter is 3 and can now 'help' a little more than she used to but the tupperware/rubbermaid containers and lids drawer occupied her for a good chunk of time. Granted, that drawer was a mess by the time she got done with it but drawer organization for my plastics were the least of my concerns back then. Also, I had numerous sets of measuring cups and spoons and she loved playing with the plastic ones since they fit into one another and are great ways for her to develop hand eye coordination. Nowadays, she loves to stand at the kitchen sink on a step stool and play with various kitchen tools and bowls in the water. I put a towel below her and let her have at it. I can get quite alot accomplished that way.

Ahhaha aww! I like the throw snacks on the floor option.

And the water dish, that is definitely a good one. And helps keep the floor clean for snacks!

As long as I'm not handling raw meat, my two year old likes to pull a chair to the counter and watch, nibble, or eat a snack. I toss him some measuring spoons, a bowl of water, and a few ingredients and let him go to it.

If I'm not crunched for time, I try to make him "wash" the veggies.

I allowed my son to play with my spices, and he poured 1/2 cup of garlic powder into my laundry basket. My jeans will still keep the vampires at bay!

He is 2 now, and I bought an inexpensive kitchen set and some play-doh. He'll imitate my stirring and mixing. It keeps him busy for the most part.

@birdablaze Pfft. The indignation will be from non-parents. About two seconds after they learn to crawl, you realize there is no force that can keep a kid from eating off the floor. Floor too clean? They will simply lick it.

As for me, I put my daughter (now three) on the counter, but partition her off with a stand mixer. As I cook, I give her ingredients in ramekins (anything that's safe to eat raw, but it doesn't have to be tasty. Flour, for instance, is fascinating).

I was also always careful about the oven. Before opening it, I'd make sure whichever one was young and reckless was secured, either by restraints (high chair), height (the counter), or another adult (never an older sibling).

When my daughter was really little, she would happily sit in her bouncy seat and watch me cook. I'd give her some measuring cups or spoons, or the cardboard roll from the paper towels, and she was delighted. She has always wanted to "help" so if there are eggs to whisk or anything that can handle a whole lot of stirring, I would give her that. I always gave her the very biggest bowl I own, even to whisk one or two eggs. When she got a little older, she'd stand on a step stool at the sink and use the sprayer to blast clean anything I put in the sink. Now that she's 5, she's actually able to carry out part of the recipe.

Put a sponge in that bowl of water. Watch the fun.

My daughter is 9 months old and mobile, so it's become more difficult to do things like cook these days. I do the following:

Remove the cat food from the floor (very important)

Bring in bucket of soft items...towels, washcloths, a couple toys. She'll sit there and pull things out for awhile.

Put her in her highchair with cheerios, blueberries, veggies, other finger foods. Yesterday I gave her mixed veggies while I baked bread. I was praising her highly for eating so many of them when I noticed the pile she'd dropped off to the side...

Give her an empty cat food dish to bang against the ground

Give her a couple wooden spoons to hit against things

My friend has a large stepstool with "rails" stationed at her kitchen island. It allows her toddler to safely reach the countertop and feel like he's helping. Here's an expample:

http://store.platinumgalleria.com/little-partners-the-learning-tower-step-stool-guidecraft-dark-cherry.html

Be careful with the water bowl they can slip I make sure there is no water on my floor due to the slips from my 18 month old.

I sit my 2 year old on the counter and she "helps" by helping me stir, adding pinches of salt, turning the pepper grinder (the wrong way! i always have to add more), eating veggies, etc. She seems to love that she's a part of what I'm doing and takes pride in the creation when its done.

I don't have enough cabinets to give my 1 y.o. her own to fill w/toys, but I let her take things (ziploc bags of flour, cans of beans, bags of choc chips, plastic nesting bowls) out of the pantry. The other day this kept her busy for a good 1/2 hr. She also likes to rip up magazines or whatever catalogs came in the mail that day. And an empty plastic soda bottle kept her occupied for a while recently. Next time I'll put some dried beans in it to make it even more enticing.

We are lucky and have a large kitchen. So, we set up their play kitchen IN our kitchen. Instead of a kitchen table (we eat in the dining room). They cook while we do!

They also have a drawer of their own with plastic bowls and spoons, measuring cups, and containers with lids. They spend a ton of time emptying and refilling the drawer.

My kids are now 22 months and 3 years old.

In addition to the above suggestions, when our daughter was little we would give her dried beans to play with. Cheap from the bulk foods section, tactile, easy to scoop, easy to sweep up. We'd set her up with a big bowl and some smaller containers, plus a small scoop. That would keep her occupied for a long time.

As a five year old she still asks to "scoop beans," but now she has seven different kinds and she sorts them, layers them by colors in pretty jars, counts them, plays "store" with them, etc. And she's also a great prep cook!

Now that my daughter is older (2 1/2) she helps me cook. She puts things in bowls for me, dumps measured spices in bowls, and uses the pepper grinder. All this is done from a stool next to me on the counter. We run into problems when I am working with raw meat or knives, though. But she's learning fast not to put her hands where the knife is. And sometimes she goes and gets one of her plastic knives and "helps."

Like kcunning, my daughter always wants to try EVERY ingredient. She loves eating flour. Go figure.

When she was littler, I let her play with the plasticware, gave her a bowl of water, or tried strapping her into a seat, but she was never a sitting type of kid. She hated that. She sometimes takes everything out of the pantry, too. Its fun to watch, but sometimes she takes off with things into the living room!

I guess I just reiterated everything everyone else said. Ha!

I love cooking with my kid, but sometimes I get scared because she is very willful.

Also- cooking with a baby carrier- has anyone found a safe way to do this? Because I haven't figured it out.

Plastic bowls and wooden tools were our mainstay, but the minute the heat goes on, kick those little people out. Kids under about 5 have thinner skin, softer bones, slower reaction time, and absolutely no ability to perceive danger. Too many ways to kill them; whether it be boiling water, oven doors, dropped knives. My wife had one of our kids in a front pack and burned the heck out of my son's knee by touching it accidentally against a hot pot.

I love this post. Throw snacks on the floor - genius!

Just yesterday we realized that our 22 month old was THRILLED to tear apart a head of romaine lettuce for our salad. She very deliberately peeled off every piece in her highchair and put them in the colander for me to rinse. Bought us a good chunk of time and she was *delighted*.

OK--I have no children and I have no problem with children eating off the floor.

But I'd still put the cheerios in a bowl first ;-))

Ha ha ! And I love iresboston getting her toddler to tear up the romaine. Genius.

When my daughter was 12 months, I gave her kitchen utensils + a bowl to play with. Varying spoons, potato masher, baster made for something different every night.
Now that she is 2 1/2, she really helps and can handle almost all of the ingredients for fritatta. She cracks the eggs gently (I split them), adds pre-grated cheese and frozen chopped spinach and mixes the whole thing together. Amazingly is doesn't make her any more inspired to eat the fritatta.

My daughter was a total water baby so I used to half fill the kitchen sink and let her play in the water while I cooked. My kitchen is small enough that I was always within three steps of her..... sweet memories

My mom reserved a bottom drawer in the kitchen for the kids and filled it with kitchen dish towels, measuring spoons, cups, and gave us some pots and pans to bang on. Once we were about 2, she involved us in the cooking process by letting us wash vegetables, using the peeler, setting the table, and teaching us to do some fancy napkin/origami folding. Luckily, we had a sort of all purpose room directly next to the kitchen so we would be in there playing while she cooked.

My mom used to "accidentally" drop veggies on the floor while she was cooking. I havnt got kids of my own yet, but I have tried this with my friends kid. she isn't so in to the raw veg yet.
Her favorite thing to do while I cook is play with my small baking pans. I have a set of brioche pans and some small pie dishes. She loves banging them together and dropping them on the floor. I also must say as a non parent it did take me a bit to realize that I had to disinfect my floor every time I watch her. She will lick it.

Is three months too early to try to cook without help? I've been able to sneak in an ice cream base while she naps, or do a little early prep. I can never really get much cooking done if she's awake and I'm alone. She'll sit in her Bumbo for ten minutes, entertained by me moving around the kitchen, or she'll suffer being worn in a sling for about the same amount of time. But then she gets cranky and I have to clean up what I'm doing.

I have a vegi drawer that my little guy unpacks to hearts delight... just before each meal one of his older siblings tosses all the potatoes and onions back into the drawer and then we are ready to eat.

She's 10.5 months and very amused by silicone spatulas. Fun to chew on, bright colours, make a great noise when hit against a cupboard...

Love this discussion - want to see some of those tv cooks do a live show with kids! We do the things listed above. My 2 yo loves to help and I've learned that "helping" may mean more mess but its worth it that she feels helpful. We also just moved our silverware to a lower drawer so she can help unload the dishwasher.

Wooden spoons and the plastic funnel have so far done the trick with my almost-11 month old. We have some little silicone "pinch bowls" that he's claimed as his own. He hasn't figured out he can open the lower cabinets but uses the knobs to pull up and will stand up for a while and chat with me. He does get plopped in his high chair when I need to open the oven or move pots of boiling water, etc.

And yeah, I feed him off the floor some too (crackers tonight). We typically don't wear shoes in the house and any aversion I have to germs was subverted when I saw him licking the floor of a public building. What can you do but laugh. :)

My mom used to sit me in a laundry basket on the floor. Apparently I was mesmerized by watching her cook.

I would be careful with beans and other 'seeds' as they are a choking hazard.
I give my kids metal pans and spoons to 'cook' with (without sharp edges). A play mat covered with puffed rice works as well.
But I still end up carrying baby in one hand and cooking with the other most of the time. :)

I've put metal and wooden bowls and utencils on the floor for my son to play with while I cook. He also has "his" cupboard filled with plastic, wooden and metal bowls and cups. He loves digging around in there and pulling stuff out. The trick, of course, is to keep adding new stuff and taking out older stuff so he always has something new to expore.

I've cooked while babywearing before, especially when my son was small. It saved my sanity more than once!

Also, snacks on the floor is always a favourite around here! Sometimes we'll also have a kitchen "picnic" and eat on the floor.

I am pregnant right now with my first but I am also taking care of a 4 months old and a 4yr old. When I cook with them around, I put the baby in her swing chair and turn it on. She is close enough that she can see and watch us. But watching the animals move above her head and hearing the music playing either keeps her occupied or makes her fall asleep - I am ok with either. The bigger girl has been helping me ever since I started watching her at 2,5 years old. Obviously she can't really do much but she tries. I also explain every step I do to her and she loves to watch. It makes me feel like I am a cook on the food network.

foil... rolled up or smooshed into weird shapes... weird textures and a shiny toy for free! it also works when eating out

I love this thread, such useful ideas!
@kklm and se7en, such simple genius distractors that I will have to employ post haste.

My dude is no longer charmed by some of the activities mentioned, but begs and demands to play "colors" everytime we are in the kitchen.

To play: muffin tin (we employ a little-used seashell tart tin), food coloring (India Tree to the rescue!), baking soda and vinegar.
He loves choosing which colors go where, pouring in the vinegar and then watching the crazy colored reaction. Endless fun. Messy too!

Agree with the foil!

We just had a bottom drawer in the kitchen (the drawer farthest from the counters where I'd be using knives) and filled it with plastic containers, lids, spoons, whatever we didn't mind dd handling and/or throwing around. We'd pick it all up a couple times every day and throw it all back in the drawer. Worked great!

Bouncy chair - we call it his spaceship - suspended so he's over the (obviously cleared off) end of the kitchen counter. He bounces up and down at about eye level with the adults and LOVES IT.

When my son was younger we had a play kitchen in the kitchen. He liked to "cook" while I was cooking. Now he is 3 and likes to help with simple things. We also have a low cabinet full of quiet time activities such as crayons and play dough in addition to a sensory bin. He usually picks the sensory bin.

We have safety gates on our kitchen... I don't want any of the children wandering in there when I'm baking and the oven is on... and I'm not going to sit in the kitchen for 50 odd minutes waiting for whatever's baking.
When the babies were little, they'd sit in the bouncer on the bench (yeah, I did it, they survived). I would NEVER cook with one of my babies in the Ergo, I just don't think it's safe.
We have toys set up just outside the gate, and I would also give them pots, pans, plasticware etc to play with. But most of the time I never cook dinner at dinner time.... I always pre-prepare meals, usually after the kids go to bed or during their daytime nap, or when my husband is home to entertain them.

I shut the bathroom door (so he doesn't get his hands in the toilet) and let my 19 month old play with whatever he wants. We have an open plan living/kitchen/dining area and this whole area is baby-proofed already. I can usually tell by hearing what he's playing with. On the days when he won't play on his own (rare) he sits in the high chair and eats while I do what I need to do.

For my 6 month old - I give her mum mums to munch on or rattles, bowls, etc. to bang on her high chair tray.

My 9 month old loves to sit on floor in the kitchen and play with my bamboo cooking spoons and spatulas. It will keep him amused for all of 10ish minutes. I also keep a few toys on hand that are just for the kitchen.

my daughter has a drawer of plastic containers and toys in the kitchen--all bpa free and all dishwasher safe (just in case she gets them in something and they need to be cleaned).

and yes, I often give her snacks on the floor--usually a handful of puffs. whenever I give them to her in a ramekin, she promptly dumps on the floor to eat.

my daughter is 20 months and she isn't a lot of help cooking, but she is starting to carry things to the table to help.

Your comments all make me laugh :) I especially love the licking the floor comment near the top. We have a great picture of my oldest at about a year old helping make his first chocolate brownies and licking up the dribbles from the floor.

Now that he's two, we give him a spray bottle of water and have him wash the dishwasher, windows, cabinets, fridge, or anything but his brother. He prefers spraying to wiping, but what's a pair of wet socks here and there? He's also pretty good at helping stir, tear lettuce, use the salad spinner (his favorite), or measure ingredients and spices. On occasion, I've also had him color placemats for us to use for dinner.

The 7 month old gets a basket of toys, a ball to crawl around after, or random things hanging by plastic links to drawer and cabinet pulls. When in doubt, I pull out the walker to keep him at arms length from anything he shouldn't be touching.

Personally, I think "allowing" my kids to eat things off of the floor has strengthened their immune systems.

My husband was building our house while our son was a baby, and was rarely around. I just put our little guy on the floor near me, brought over some baby board books (the little ones that come in a set) and would talk to him about the books as I cooked (I might have memorized them by that time...), and that would give me at least 20 minutes. When that was up, then he usually wanted to "help". I'd give him all sorts of bowls, plastic and metal, and some spoons so he could "stir". He loved the different sounds they would make, and felt like he was doing what I was doing. Other than these two particular things I remember, the kitchen utensils and supplies were a wonderland for him - better than toys!

I'm an aunt, but I spend lots of times with the babes. I freeze ice cubes that are colored by food coloring (primary colors only) and let the kids play with them in different containers seeing how they mix and the new colors that are made. As they get older, you can add the challenge of chopsticks and it helps with their fine motor skills.

I have a tiny kitchen and the dog's "area" is based there so no to baby playing on the floor. My only solution is to pop him in my Boba (on my back) and cook away. The only thing I won't do is chop onions while he is on board- otherwise everything is good.

Hmm... my two year old actually helps me cook. We learned what is "HAWT!!!" right away, so I usually don't have too many worries there. He helps me measure things out and dumps them in the bowl, taste tests anything sliced, chopped or diced for quality control, helps me position items just right on pizzas, casseroles and desserts, and helps mix things up in the bowls! There's no getting rid of or distracting him, he wants to be right there. Yes, dinner takes a little longer, but it's worth it to me that he sees the process of cooking food and learns to love it! I made him his own little apron and it's so cute to see him run and get it when it's cooking time!

My mother suspended a little desktop from a pegboard wall in the pantry and put a child's chair there and a basket of coloring books and crayons and we played there, in the way in the pantry but out of the way in the kitchen.

My two year old helps with cracking eggs and mixing, but his favorite past things are taking all of the cans out of the cupboard and organizing them into long trains and playing with the salad spinner. He loved putting all kinds of things he could find into the spinner to see what would happen. Of course it was one extra thing to wash each night, but...