I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
How can I encourage them to be more careful?

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 00:05:53 GMT
Jenny Caruso > wrote:

> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like
> I'm crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of
> sweeping. How can I encourage them to be more careful?


You could try making them clean up after themselves.

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 00:05:53 GMT
Jenny Caruso > wrote:

> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like
> I'm crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of
> sweeping. How can I encourage them to be more careful?


You could try making them clean up after themselves.

"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

How old are they?

"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

How old are they?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina


"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina


"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina


"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina

"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina

"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of course>

Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
Mother watching me.

Rina

"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

I let my 2 year old hve her own "ingredients for her cake" whenever I bake
anything - it keeps her busy (mostly measuring and mixing flour, sugar, water
and cinnamon).
I have 3 old, rubber backed rugs (you can get pretty cheap ones at meijers,
target or some other discount store...) and I put them on the floor so that the
edges of the rug butt up about two inches up the three sides of the L shaped
countertop where my little one works (we have a learning tower
<http://www.bareware.net/learningtower.htm> for her to use - I HIGHLY
recommend them if you have anyone ages 2-6 and you bake alot - keeps them on
one place and they can see what you are doing up there and "help" you). Anyway
- the rugs catch everything and I just toss them in the washing machine. HTH!!

sherry

I let my 2 year old hve her own "ingredients for her cake" whenever I bake
anything - it keeps her busy (mostly measuring and mixing flour, sugar, water
and cinnamon).
I have 3 old, rubber backed rugs (you can get pretty cheap ones at meijers,
target or some other discount store...) and I put them on the floor so that the
edges of the rug butt up about two inches up the three sides of the L shaped
countertop where my little one works (we have a learning tower
<http://www.bareware.net/learningtower.htm> for her to use - I HIGHLY
recommend them if you have anyone ages 2-6 and you bake alot - keeps them on
one place and they can see what you are doing up there and "help" you). Anyway
- the rugs catch everything and I just toss them in the washing machine. HTH!!

sherry

"Rina" > wrote in message
news:HB9_c.235375$8_6.161062@attbi_s04...
> Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of
course>
>
> Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
> I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
> Mother watching me.

It's one thing if the girls are 6 and 8 years old and quite another if they
are 22 and 24 years old.

"Rina" > wrote in message
news:HB9_c.235375$8_6.161062@attbi_s04...
> Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of
course>
>
> Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
> I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
> Mother watching me.

It's one thing if the girls are 6 and 8 years old and quite another if they
are 22 and 24 years old.

"Rina" > wrote in message
news:HB9_c.235375$8_6.161062@attbi_s04...
> Teach them to sweep floors! or go barefoot, eeek!... <laughing of
course>
>
> Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
> I Never cooked anything at home before I got married, I couldn't stand my
> Mother watching me.

It's one thing if the girls are 6 and 8 years old and quite another if they
are 22 and 24 years old.

Right... we still don't know how old these kids are. Gosh I would hope
she's not sweeping up after 20 year olds!

I'm guessing they are 8 to 10, 'cause you don't teach toddlers to cook, you
just let them "play" with the food to keep them busy while you cook.... and
everyone know that teenagers already know Everything!

Rina


"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...

> > Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
>
> It's one thing if the girls are 6 and 8 years old and quite another if
they
> are 22 and 24 years old.
>
>

Right... we still don't know how old these kids are. Gosh I would hope
she's not sweeping up after 20 year olds!

I'm guessing they are 8 to 10, 'cause you don't teach toddlers to cook, you
just let them "play" with the food to keep them busy while you cook.... and
everyone know that teenagers already know Everything!

Rina


"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...

> > Don't be too picky or it will spoil their fun...
>
> It's one thing if the girls are 6 and 8 years old and quite another if
they
> are 22 and 24 years old.
>
>

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 15:44:32 GMT
"Rina" > wrote:

> Right... we still don't know how old these kids are. Gosh I would hope
> she's not sweeping up after 20 year olds!
>
> I'm guessing they are 8 to 10, 'cause you don't teach toddlers to cook,
> you just let them "play" with the food to keep them busy while you
> cook.... and everyone know that teenagers already know Everything!


I was cooking by the time i was in kindergarten. Not terribly complex
stuff, true, but cooking all the same.

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 15:44:32 GMT
"Rina" > wrote:

> Right... we still don't know how old these kids are. Gosh I would hope
> she's not sweeping up after 20 year olds!
>
> I'm guessing they are 8 to 10, 'cause you don't teach toddlers to cook,
> you just let them "play" with the food to keep them busy while you
> cook.... and everyone know that teenagers already know Everything!


I was cooking by the time i was in kindergarten. Not terribly complex
stuff, true, but cooking all the same.

Jenny Caruso > wrote in
m:

> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but
> they're... just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without
> feeling like I'm crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and
> I'm tired of sweeping. How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Part of learning to bake is cleaning up. Try teaching that as part of the
process. My children are all grown, but I still run my little robot vac in
my kitchen every day. The name is Roomba and it's made by iRobot. Very
helpful even without messy little ones.

Sheila

Jenny Caruso > wrote in
m:

> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but
> they're... just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without
> feeling like I'm crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and
> I'm tired of sweeping. How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Part of learning to bake is cleaning up. Try teaching that as part of the
process. My children are all grown, but I still run my little robot vac in
my kitchen every day. The name is Roomba and it's made by iRobot. Very
helpful even without messy little ones.

Sheila

Jenny Caruso > wrote in
m:

> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but
> they're... just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without
> feeling like I'm crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and
> I'm tired of sweeping. How can I encourage them to be more careful?

Part of learning to bake is cleaning up. Try teaching that as part of the
process. My children are all grown, but I still run my little robot vac in
my kitchen every day. The name is Roomba and it's made by iRobot. Very
helpful even without messy little ones.

Sheila

De-lurking to add my empathy. It drives me completely crazy (short trip!)
when my kids make a mess while "helping" me cook. I have 5 kids, ranging in
age from nearly 13 (only cooks when forced to) down to twin girls, age 4,
who love to help and taste everything.

A couple of years ago, I never let the kids help. It bugged me too much to
clean up the mess. My husband told me I was doing them a great disservice,
and that they'd never learn to cook if they didn't start when they were
interested. I should just let them help, relax and enjoy the process,
knowing the most important part was building a good relationship with my
kids. Floors can be swept, but kids are only small a short time.

I don't mean to preach - what works for me won't work for everybody else. My
house is far from spotless - but then, it always has been that way! :-) I do
try to relax and enjoy it more, and that helps keep me somewhat sane.

BTW, that thing all the parent "experts" tell you about letting the kids
help cook and they will try more foods? Bolony! My middle child, known
online as Miss Fussy Rose, won't try anything new, but absolutely loves to
help cook!

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

De-lurking to add my empathy. It drives me completely crazy (short trip!)
when my kids make a mess while "helping" me cook. I have 5 kids, ranging in
age from nearly 13 (only cooks when forced to) down to twin girls, age 4,
who love to help and taste everything.

A couple of years ago, I never let the kids help. It bugged me too much to
clean up the mess. My husband told me I was doing them a great disservice,
and that they'd never learn to cook if they didn't start when they were
interested. I should just let them help, relax and enjoy the process,
knowing the most important part was building a good relationship with my
kids. Floors can be swept, but kids are only small a short time.

I don't mean to preach - what works for me won't work for everybody else. My
house is far from spotless - but then, it always has been that way! :-) I do
try to relax and enjoy it more, and that helps keep me somewhat sane.

BTW, that thing all the parent "experts" tell you about letting the kids
help cook and they will try more foods? Bolony! My middle child, known
online as Miss Fussy Rose, won't try anything new, but absolutely loves to
help cook!

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Jenny Caruso" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm trying to teach my girls to bake. They really love it but they're...
> just plain messy. I can't walk across the kitchen without feeling like I'm
> crunching granulated sugar beneath my slippers and I'm tired of sweeping.
> How can I encourage them to be more careful?

"frood" > wrote in message
...
> De-lurking to add my empathy. It drives me completely crazy (short trip!)
> when my kids make a mess while "helping" me cook. I have 5 kids, ranging
in
> age from nearly 13 (only cooks when forced to) down to twin girls, age 4,
> who love to help and taste everything.
>
> A couple of years ago, I never let the kids help. It bugged me too much to
> clean up the mess. My husband told me I was doing them a great disservice,
> and that they'd never learn to cook if they didn't start when they were
> interested. I should just let them help, relax and enjoy the process,
> knowing the most important part was building a good relationship with my
> kids. Floors can be swept, but kids are only small a short time.
>
> I don't mean to preach - what works for me won't work for everybody else.
My
> house is far from spotless - but then, it always has been that way! :-) I
do
> try to relax and enjoy it more, and that helps keep me somewhat sane.
>
> BTW, that thing all the parent "experts" tell you about letting the kids
> help cook and they will try more foods? Bolony! My middle child, known
> online as Miss Fussy Rose, won't try anything new, but absolutely loves to
> help cook!

It makes me wonder how safe children are in a home run by parents who can't
figure out how to deal with this issue without asking complete strangers.

"frood" > wrote in message
...
> De-lurking to add my empathy. It drives me completely crazy (short trip!)
> when my kids make a mess while "helping" me cook. I have 5 kids, ranging
in
> age from nearly 13 (only cooks when forced to) down to twin girls, age 4,
> who love to help and taste everything.
>
> A couple of years ago, I never let the kids help. It bugged me too much to
> clean up the mess. My husband told me I was doing them a great disservice,
> and that they'd never learn to cook if they didn't start when they were
> interested. I should just let them help, relax and enjoy the process,
> knowing the most important part was building a good relationship with my
> kids. Floors can be swept, but kids are only small a short time.
>
> I don't mean to preach - what works for me won't work for everybody else.
My
> house is far from spotless - but then, it always has been that way! :-) I
do
> try to relax and enjoy it more, and that helps keep me somewhat sane.
>
> BTW, that thing all the parent "experts" tell you about letting the kids
> help cook and they will try more foods? Bolony! My middle child, known
> online as Miss Fussy Rose, won't try anything new, but absolutely loves to
> help cook!

It makes me wonder how safe children are in a home run by parents who can't
figure out how to deal with this issue without asking complete strangers.