Why is cooking with kids so exhausting

Dec 51 min read

Seriously asking. Saturday morning I decided we'd make pancakes from scratch. My 7yo wanted to help. It took THREE HOURS. There was flour everywhere, she wanted to crack the eggs and somehow got shells in the batter, then she was mad the pancakes didn't look like the picture on the recipe. The actual pancakes tasted fine but I was so fried by the end I didn't even eat any. Do y'all actually enjoy this or are we all just pretending for the Instagram aesthetic?

10 comments126 views

Comments(10)

SSteve L.RegularDec 5

we did cookie dough last week and my daughter got more in her mouth than on the sheet. worth it though to see her face when they came out of the oven. still cleaning flour off the backsplash

DDanny R.RegularDec 6

Pro tip: let her crack eggs into a separate bowl first. Saves the batch and she still feels like she's helping. Also keeps the floor slightly less destroyed

OOscar D.New DadDec 5

This is why I've switched to 'cooking' = buying premade dough and letting her decorate it. Same vibe, way less cleanup and my sanity intact

DDan T.RegularDec 6

I feel like the time investment isn't even about the pancakes though. It's that she WANTED to help which is kind of amazing even if it was exhausting as hell

MMax R.RegularDec 6

because cooking with kids isn't cooking, it's a supervised science experiment disguised as breakfast. that flour everywhere? that's the price of entry

WWade T.New DadDec 6

THREE HOURS for pancakes is absolutely brutal. I did cookies with my 6yo last month and swore I'd never do it again. The flour footprints that somehow ended up in places we never even went is still a mystery

AAdam J.RegularDec 7

THREE HOURS?? dude. next time just do cereal or toast with them and save pancakes for solo projects

SSam Y.RegularDec 8

the egg shell thing is gonna happen 100% of the time. honestly just accept it and fish out the chunks. she's learning

CCarl L.RegularDec 7

it's exhausting because you're doing two things at once - cooking AND teaching AND managing the mess AND staying patient when they want to 'help' by doing it their way. solo cooking is like 30 mins max but add a 7yo and suddenly time doesn't work right

WWill T.RegularDec 7

The eggshell situation - did you just pick them out or did you have to restart the whole mixture? Because honestly if it's just a few pieces I'm leaving it