There is eggshell everywhere. You will hoover eggshell. You will see eggshell. You will consume eggshell.
We don't know about you, but scrolling through social media lately has shown us an awful lot of picture-perfect homemade cupcakes and kids adorably licking the chocolate off the spoon. Somehow, our own experiences of baking with toddlers don't exactly match up to that 99% of the time.
Where is the mess? Where is the eggshell that inevitably ends up in absolutely everything? Well, today we're sharing five things you can relate to if you bake with toddlers and young kids.
The eggshell.
We touched on it before, but why do young kids insist on cracking the eggs into the bowl? Why must they mix 90% of the eggshell into the bowl? Why must we as parents spend 15 minutes picking eggshell out of the mix only to find eggshell in our bakes at the end? Some things we will never know the answer to.
Licking.
Everything must be licked. The spoon. The whisk. The counter. The floor. Their fingers. Everything. No matter how many times we might warn them, they try their best to get their little tongues on just about every baking utensil there is.
"Don't touch that!" means "touch that!" in toddler language.
Because of course, it does. As much as you might explain that mammy or daddy has to use the oven and do the difficult things when it comes to baking, you cannot take your eyes off them for a millisecond. As soon as you do, they will be right over doing the things you asked them not to do.
You can count for about triple the mess.
You will be finding cake mix in every corner of your kitchen for the next few weeks. You will think you scrubbed the counters, but no, there's another few sprinkles behind the stacks of cookbooks. There is still chocolate in your daughter's hair. The cat is still licking self-raising flour off the floor.
You make the best memories.
No matter how messy or stressful it might get, baking with your little ones is a lovely way to create some happy memories and get them involved with the cooking and baking process. Plus, who knows, you might ignite a passion for food in them and someday, you might be eating cakes without shell in them.