At what age should kids be allowed to use real knives or the stove?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Denmark, they have forest kindergarten, where the kids run around and use knives to whittle things.

You all need to calm down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkiij9dJfcw

Seriously. My 2 year old stands in his learning tower at the stove and stirs. Of course I’m always right there monitoring, hes 2 and while he does understand it’s hot and is actually very careful, he doesn’t have impulse control so supervision is essential but I can’t believe people are acting like ops daughter can’t engage with the stove at all! I try to think of it in the sense that my job as a parent is not to prevent him from ever getting a burn or cut, it’s to help him grow into an independent confident kid and eventually an adult. If a small burn comes with that I’m totally ok with that. So far he hasn’t but I’m sure he will one day and it will all be part of the learning experience. I really think we are protecting kids to their detriment lately.

This podcast on why it’s important to let your kids take more risks really helped me gain the confidence for things like this, sharing in case it’s helpful to OP as it sounds like you’re willing and I don’t want this thread to deter you! https://yourparentingmojo.com/captivate-podcast/riskyplay/

[Anonymous]

By 5.5 my kids used real knives under supervision.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t get a special kids knife, just get a regular 6” knife. This is the one we got for DD at 8. It’s recommended by America Test Kitchen.


https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-Inch-Fibrox-Chefs-Knife/dp/B0000CFDD5/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=6”+knife&qid=1578746842&sr=8-2

[Anonymous]

My just turned 5 year old has been using a sharp paring knife to cut fruits and vegetables for over a year now. We started with soft things like avocado and banana and have worked up to hard things like carrots. Her older inking started around the same age and at 7 uses everything but our largest chefs knife. (They both used dinner knives to cut softer things and helped with stirring and measuring starting around 2-2.5)

They help at the stove, stirring and putting things in the pan. The older one has put things into and taken things out of the oven. Both know what it feels like to be splattered (just a drop or two) with something hot and how to be careful.

[Anonymous]

I wold agree that 5 seem like reasonable age to start to use a real knife with supervision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fun fact: A Virginia Work Permit for a 15year old states they are not allowed to use a knife or the stove.

My son's college dorm also does not allow knives--these are 18-22 year old ADULTS.

That is so, so stupid.

Because it is a weapon, not because it’s dangerous to the user.

[Anonymous]

My nearly 4 year old chops with a Montessori style blade. She also stands on her stool next to the stove and stirs food in a little pan. I got her a set of silicone utensils that are her size (spatula, tongs etc).
Once a week she'll make stir fried zucchini sticks (I make the circles and she cuts into sticks) and will cook them herself next to me and serve herself in a little bowl. I make mine and dhs portions in a different pan.

[Anonymous]

I start kids on banana, avocado and (ripe) watermelon (off the rind) at 2. As they show ability, they graduate to strawberries, mushrooms, etc. Usually by 6 or 7, they’re cooking on their own (supervised) for everything other than frying or carrying full pans to the sink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At age 4 I started teaching my son with a kid's knife - he had the Opinel Le Petit knife, which is slightly smaller than an adult chef's knife and has a finger guard for safety. At first I shadowed him while he was using it, then eventually started working next to him and watching. At age 7 he graduated to a regular knife.

We also have a high-powered gas range. I waited a little longer for that. I think he was around 6 when I started teaching some stovetop things. He wasn't allowed to touch the knobs for a while - I'd start the stove, adjust the flame, and put the pan on to preheat. We started with steaming, or gentle sauteing - nothing that would splatter hot grease. Pancakes were an early win, although a bit messy until he got the hang of flipping .

He was also an early master of the rice cooker. And we got him a kid-sized set of oven mitts, so he could make muffins start to finish, around age 5 or 6. We still require an adult in the kitchen at all times, though!

I was going to recommend the Opinel set as well! My son is 3 and we let him use the set with supervision. He’s a rule follower, though, and nearly always listens to direction. He loves stirring things at the stove at his learning tower and chopping and peeling.

[Anonymous]

My kids were really into cooking at that age. They helped me, with supervision. Do you have one of those hardboiled egg slicers, that slice the egg with a series of wires? They're fun. (In fact my kids still enjoy using them and they're teens.) That's something your kid can use to "slice" that is totally harmless.

There used to be a cooking school in dc called The Little Red School House that taught really little kids how to cook. Not sure if they're still in business, though, but it they are, I highly recommend them for your DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids were really into cooking at that age. They helped me, with supervision. Do you have one of those hardboiled egg slicers, that slice the egg with a series of wires? They're fun. (In fact my kids still enjoy using them and they're teens.) That's something your kid can use to "slice" that is totally harmless.

There used to be a cooking school in dc called The Little Red School House that taught really little kids how to cook. Not sure if they're still in business, though, but it they are, I highly recommend them for your DC.

Sorry, it's called The Little Red Playschool. Not sure if the same people run it but it used to be really great. It's in Palisades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I start kids on banana, avocado and (ripe) watermelon (off the rind) at 2. As they show ability, they graduate to strawberries, mushrooms, etc. Usually by 6 or 7, they’re cooking on their own (supervised) for everything other than frying or carrying full pans to the sink.

not the op, but do you mind sharing a little more detail? I'd love to start my son (2)doing this as he helps me cook most nights and REALLY wants to cut. What knife did you use? Sounds like you have the kind of approach I'd love to hear more details re: the cutting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids were really into cooking at that age. They helped me, with supervision. Do you have one of those hardboiled egg slicers, that slice the egg with a series of wires? They're fun. (In fact my kids still enjoy using them and they're teens.) That's something your kid can use to "slice" that is totally harmless.

There used to be a cooking school in dc called The Little Red School House that taught really little kids how to cook. Not sure if they're still in business, though, but it they are, I highly recommend them for your DC.

Sorry, it's called The Little Red Playschool. Not sure if the same people run it but it used to be really great. It's in Palisades.

Thanks for sharing this, I'm not the OP but didn't know about this, looks really great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I start kids on banana, avocado and (ripe) watermelon (off the rind) at 2. As they show ability, they graduate to strawberries, mushrooms, etc. Usually by 6 or 7, they’re cooking on their own (supervised) for everything other than frying or carrying full pans to the sink.

not the op, but do you mind sharing a little more detail? I'd love to start my son (2)doing this as he helps me cook most nights and REALLY wants to cut. What knife did you use? Sounds like you have the kind of approach I'd love to hear more details re: the cutting.

I'm not the PP you're responding to, but at 2 or so, I gave my kids things like banana, avocado, etc... for them to cut with a dinner knife. I showed them how to curl their fingertips under when holding the food down, etc.. and let them go for it. Now at 7, my older kid uses all of our knives, except our largest chef's knife (which frankly I hardly use because I find it too heavy) and our younger kid at 5 can cut pretty much anything with a paring knife.

Bananas, avocados, cheese, etc are easy because they are soft and don't roll around. I've showed my 5 year old how to cut the ends off of a zucchini and then split in lengthwise so she has a flat surface when slicing rounds. At first I'd have her slice just the main part and leave the last bit for me to help her with but now she can do all of the slicing.

Basically you want to go slow and steady but give them leeway to mess up. Also, even with a sharp paring knife, my kid isn't going to do much damage even if she cuts herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s definitely old enough for a set of kid knives!

+1

They are made of plastic and you can't cut yourself with them, but they work for cutting most fruits and veggies.