KIM COOK
Associated Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introducing kids to cooking can be more than fun. It can teach skills and perhaps set children up to be healthier eaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Temporary mess in the kitchen, lifelong payoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a look at some of the latest gear for budding chefs, from toys to the real thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PRETEND PLAY<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Play kitchens were a coveted toy at least as far back as the 1950s, when Sears\u2019 catalog offered the all-steel Rite-Hite range, fridge and working sink for just under $30. Little Tikes toy company introduced their Efficiency Kitchen in 1977, with a microwave, range, fridge and sink, and followed up with the 1980s Party Kitchen, featuring a jaunty green canopy, fold-down peninsula, sink, two burners, cupboards and a wall-mounted phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re feeling nostalgic, there are loads of vintage play kitchens for sale online. And Little Tikes is still in the marketplace, with the Home-Grown Kitchen<\/a>, a corner-shaped unit with battery-driven cooking sounds like boiling water and sizzling stove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should you be in the market for a play kitchen that looks like a grown-up designer one, you\u2019ll find many options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KidKraft\u2019s Farm to Table kitchen<\/a> nails the country-chic trend with lights, running water and cooking sounds, a farmhouse sink, hooks for cooking tools, and window boxes \u201cplanted\u201d with plastic onions and carrots that can be chopped and prepared. The Create & Cook kitchen<\/a> has a vintage vibe, and is equipped with lots of cooking and storage sections. Three food sets let you make faux avocado toast, peach popsicles and apple pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm have collaborated on a midcentury-modern toy kitchen<\/a> with two-burner stove, oven and sink set in a poplar frame with white MDF (medium-density fibreboard) cabinetry. Or choose the Chelsea kitchen,<\/a> with Shaker-style cabinets in white, gray, blush pink or black, with brass-toned hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For play prep gear, Pottery Barn Kids\u2019 cream-colored, solid-wood toaster pops<\/a> out two perfectly done slices of (fake) bread with a flip of the lever. And there\u2019s an Italian cookery bundle with a metal pasta pot, sieve, ladles, serving dishes, and soft faux ravioli and bow-tie pasta made of felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Melissa & Doug\u2019s sliceable, wooden, cookie dough set<\/a> comes with icing toppers, a tray, spatula and oven mitt for some sweet pretend baking. Start the play meal off with a tasty salad,<\/a> using their 50-piece set of felt greens, veggies, chicken and shrimp, as well as bowl and utensils. Self-stick tabs give the vegetables a crunchy sound when sliced. Time for a beverage? A coffee maker<\/a> comes with three pods, faux cream and sugar, and a menu card so little baristas get the order right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GETTING REAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooking in a real kitchen with kids isn\u2019t just about ingredients, recipes and prep, says Food Network star Guy Fieri. \u201cIt\u2019s about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents should begin with basic food safety, says the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics<\/a>. Start by pulling long hair back; wash hands, surfaces and tools; separate raw and cooked foods. The association outlines the ages at which skills can be introduced. The youngest \u2013 around 3-5 years \u2013 can wash fruits and veggies, mix ingredients in a bowl, wipe counters and cut cookie dough. Older kids can gradually be given other utensils, ovens to watch and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sturdy stool is important to get young kids up to counter height.<\/p>\n\n\nOne needs to remove the cause of ED is, appropriate consumption of prescription medicine viagra prices online<\/a> can help man to deal with such issues in minutes and lead best lovemaking session. However, it is also able to revive dead hair check<\/a> viagra online follicles in order to get them producing hair again, which means that you could see regrowth in areas of baldness. Nonetheless people should also know that this will only take a 100mg tablet when you plan to have sex; it is not intended as a viagra price in india<\/a> regular medication. The dyslexia continue reading content<\/a> cheap viagra children are highly creative and very good in solving at three-dimensional problems. <\/span>\n New Jersey mom Catherine Santonacita recommended Guidecraft\u2019s hardwood and plywood stool<\/a>, with a non-slip mat, and foldable side panels equipped with message boards. Her daughter Emilia\u2019s been using it since she was 2; she\u2019s now 4, and the stool\u2019s adjustable feature has been convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A cute apron helps kids get down to work. Jennice House\u2019s aprons feature whimsical animal prints in fun colors; the cotton apron ties in the back and has an adjustable neck strap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Santonacita, and the team at America\u2019s Test Kitchen, give high marks to Opinel\u2019s Le Petit Chef <\/a>knife set with built-in finger rings to help kids learn proper holds, as well as a plastic finger guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marisa Issa of Los Angeles has been whipping up tasty things with her daughter Samantha since Sam was about 4. \u201cWe started by baking banana bread using Julia Child\u2019s recipe, since we always have ripe bananas around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Klutz Kids\u2019 Magical Baking Set, one of Sam\u2019s favorite 7th birthday gifts, includes tools, decorations and recipes to make imaginative treats like mermaid-themed pies, fairy-size cheesecakes and pretzel wands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n