Cooking and baking

[Anonymous]

Looking for our next AP. It annoys me when the AP lists that they want to cook and bake with kids as an activity because they love to cook and bake. Does this imply that the AP is thinking about older kids? Because when I think of an AP trying to cook or bake with my 2 and 4 year old, I imagine a complete and utter disaster in the kitchen. Maybe if it were just the 4 year old, he could help a little with close supervision, but definitely not a scenario with for multiple toddlers. Or is this just a standard thing a lot of APs throw into their application because they think saying they can cook or bake is appealing to host families?

[Anonymous]

It's appealing to me and definitely appropriate activity for a 4yr old. Furthermore, I want an AP who is capable in the kitchen and can prepare healthy food for my children. So actually this is an essential criteria for us (not so much the baking), and I do screen way beyond the 'I like to bake' to make sure she is actually a very capable, creative and healthy cook. We have had fantastic Au Pairs, some with amazing cooking and baking skills (one was a trained patisserie chef).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's appealing to me and definitely appropriate activity for a 4yr old. Furthermore, I want an AP who is capable in the kitchen and can prepare healthy food for my children. So actually this is an essential criteria for us (not so much the baking), and I do screen way beyond the 'I like to bake' to make sure she is actually a very capable, creative and healthy cook. We have had fantastic Au Pairs, some with amazing cooking and baking skills (one was a trained patisserie chef).

FYI- many au pairs don't know the difference between baking and cooking. I think it's an English idiom perhaps, so it's also important to make sure to understand what they mean by 'yes, I am a good cook'. For some, it means that they like to make cakes. That's fun, but not that useful.

[Anonymous]

I dunno. My 2 year old loves to help slice mushrooms, pour and stir things. They eat a lot better when they “help” make it.

[Anonymous]

Of course a 2 year old can be involved. Mixing is a great way to develop their gross motor skills so why prevent this?! It is so irritating when parents put mess above their child's learning, development and the ability to have fun. Cooking is a life skill so why not start early?
The question is wether the AP can handle both child for the activity

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP disagree. Cooking is great for said age grouos for a variety of reasons

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny who starts baking cakes with kids aged 2 and up. Before that it depends if they can mix with a wooden spoon for instance. Sometimes that's all they do but they're super happy to help

[Anonymous]

I just can’t stand when AP is constantly baking but kids don’t like the end products, AP is on a diet, my husband eats gluten free, so we are stuck with random cakes sitting around that go untouched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just can’t stand when AP is constantly baking but kids don’t like the end products, AP is on a diet, my husband eats gluten free, so we are stuck with random cakes sitting around that go untouched.

We had this for a while - I started buying cheap cake mixes. They get the fun of baking (and even more fun frosting) and the overall cost was about $3 per cake. Yes, some got thrown out but we considered it an activity that had a process, not an end product that all would enjoy.

And overall, I think au pairs are told to tell families they want to cook and bake. Would you rather hear they want to sit on the couch and watch Disney movies? I think it's something that they can envision will cross cultures.

[Anonymous]

This is odd. My DS was definitely baking with our au pair at age 2. In fact, that’s when he did most of his baking because that was our only au pair that actually liked to bake.

What I’ve found to be much more common is au pairs day they love to cook and bake (because they think families want to hear that) and it’s completely not true.

[Anonymous]

I avoid “baking” Au Pairs. I was suckered into that once and found that they make a massive mess of the kitchen and then expect you to clean it up because they baked. I don’t have time for all that. Just take the kids out to kick a ball around in the sunshine.

[Anonymous]

My kids are older tweens and they could care less about baking or cooking. Although my 9 year old will sometimes bake brownies from a mix or help with dinner/pancakes/eggs.

I don't pick these au pairs that have these skills as a HOBBY, but I do want my AP to know how to cook and have basic skills in the kitchen. I have had too many that only know how to boil pasta and nothing else.

I don't expect fancy cooking, but knowing how to use an oven, and make basic meals is critical.

I look for other hobbies. If all they like is baking, cooking, or reading, they aren't for us.

[Anonymous]

All of my APs have loved to "bake" but none of them knows how to cook, even though they say they do. They can boil water and use the microwave- that's about it.

They end up making these nasty, oversugared desserts. I end up having to put my foot down.

So now I ask many questions about what they like to "cook" during the interview process. I too skip the APs who love to "cook" but really mean "bake"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just can’t stand when AP is constantly baking but kids don’t like the end products, AP is on a diet, my husband eats gluten free, so we are stuck with random cakes sitting around that go untouched.

+1
I've been with AP program 5 years and have witnessed dozens of failed baking experiments. My APs can't even get a boxed cake mix right. My new rule is my 8 yo has to be present to help if AP is going to bake. (That's right, my 8yo is better with directions than the 20+yo APs.
We've ended up with hockey puck brownies, half inch cakes (that never rose), and many raw or completely burnt things. Yuck

[Anonymous]

The worst is when they use expensive berries in their cakes that none of us eat! Four years into the program I have put some rules on this.

1. AP is welcome to bake for cluster meetings, friends birthday etc, but my kids don’t like European style cakes with the exception French crepes. DH is gluten free and I avoid baked goods as well.

2. Do not use our strawberries, blueberries in baked goods unless AP is baking for herself and plans to eat the cake! If baking for friends, AP needs to buy her own $7 pint of blueberries.