Kitchen "help"

Our latest experiment…are kids really more likely to eat food that they help prepare? Apparently, kids are something like 47% more likely to eat food if they help make it. Or 26%. Or somewhere in between. I can’t remember the exact statistic—-but I know it’s supposed to help. And at this point, we’ll try just about anything.

And B’s getting to an age where she can actually HELP in the kitchen. When she was 2, “helping” consisted of covering every visible surface with flour and dropping eggs on the floor. When she was 3, she progressed to cracking eggs (mostly in bowls), helping stir, and getting things out of the fridge for me. Not always the right things, but sometimes. Now, at 4, she can pour pancake batter, scramble eggs, even cut up some fruits and veggies with a dull knife. (Fortunately, every knife in our house is dull.)

But is she more likely to actually eat the food? Hmmmm. Based on our recent trials, I’d have to say—maybe. She’s approximately 13% more likely to eat 7% more food, as long as there’s a full moon and a double rainbow and a goldfinch singing on our deck. That translates into a couple of extra bites on alternating months. In other words, not really. We'll keep trying, though--I’m enjoying the extra kitchen help!