Five Ways to Occupy a Toddler While in the Kitchen

Your toddler has outgrown his bouncy seat, no longer will sit in the bouncing jungle toy for long stretches of a time so you can cook, and cannot be left alone to explore the house while you prepare family meals. Sound familiar? If so, you probably have mixed emotions about letting your little one roam the kitchen freely while you cook...after all there are hot pans, glass items, and maybe even splattering grease that you have to deal with. But yet, you have to keep baby The following five tips are fantastic ways to keep baby happy while you remain productive.

One: Create a space for baby that blends in with the rest of the kitchen. In our kitchen we have a set of wooden pullout drawers with a cabinet face on them. I let the bottom two drawers be for baby. There are kitchen items in them, but only items that do not pose any threat of harm to a youngster. You can put whatever you like in it, that you think your toddler will like to play with. Some examples are wooden and plastic spoons, plastic bowls, metal pan and spoon (if you can stand the noise little ones love to bang these...be careful not to leave good pans in this place, however, because the rims get bent easily and then lids do not fit properly), or cookie sheets. Children this age love to explore and use things the 'big people' in the house are using. The key to this being a success is to let baby find the spot. Once he or she does, there is a highly likely chance that he/she will return to that spot, time and time again. This is a great way to know baby is safe and still allow you the time and space needed to cook a meal.

Two: Refrigerator toys are a great way to entertain baby while you prepare dinner. Leapfrog has two especially great ones: The Fridge DJ and the Fridge Farm. Both toys attach to the refrigerator with a magnet or can be used when off of the appliance as well. The first plays songs, sings the alphabet, lights up, etc. The second is a matching game of sorts where the baby puts the animals together and gets verbally rewarded for doing so. If a match is not made, there are still lots of good things going on with this toy. The baby can move either of the toys all around the appliance while you are cooking. Or they can take it off and make a game of it on the floor. Both items occupy the baby for a good length of time. Again, the key here is to let baby discover the toys on their own. They are bound to occupy themselves longer if they think they are the ones who 'found' or 'discovered' the toy. Also, if you only have this toy in the kitchen, your toddler may begin to associate the time you cook (or load the dishwasher) with the time he or she plays with the fridge toys.

Three: Put a basket full of baby goodies under a counter, inside of a cupboard, or in some other space you know he or she is likely to come across it. Make sure there is a nice soft rug for baby to sit on near this spot, so he or she can settle in to play.

Four: The toddler years are the perfect time for play acting. Consider purchasing a plastic children's kitchen for baby to work in while you are preparing meals. Some of the sets they have out today are phenomenal. They look a lot like traditional kitchen appliances and have many assorted pieces that go along with them, such as pots, pans, cooking utensils, etc. You can also add pieces here and there to keep baby interested. Or you can add a plastic shopping cart on wheels with assorted plastic 'groceries' so they can keep their kitchen stocked. This is a toy that will grow with them for quite a few years, so it can be a really good investment.

Five: You can set up an educational center in the kitchen for your toddler. Maybe a blackboard with extra large pieces of chalk (little pieces will probably end up in your toddler's mouth, so use caution if opting for chalk, even the big pieces, which if they fall on a floor may splinter off into smaller pieces or break). Or maybe a children's television and DVD player so they can watch Baby Einstein. If opting for this, add a child-sized couch or chair, and you have a whole baby theatre, so to speak. Or you can purchase a Playskool makes a really great mp3 player for little ones that has some pre-programmed favorites, and you can add your own music, or record songs you or siblings or other friends/family members) sing on it. You may even want to set the mp3 player up in a portable crib in the kitchen because it attaches to the side of a crib with a fabric cover, if you so desire. This is also a great solution for keeping your toddler safe and within eye and ear shot than having him happily occupied as well.

Whatever you decide, taking a little time out to plan ways to occupy your toddler while you are in the kitchen, by allowing him or her in there with you, but making sure they are safe, is a win-win situation.