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Making dinner with a toddler can be a disaster or a wonderful experience that teaches your toddler and gives you a memory to treasure. I have had some wonderful memories of laughing while cracking eggs to painful memories of pulling my hair out while cleaning up the sauce off my floor. What separates the two outcomes? Patience, prep and praise. Although you may not want to go through the trial and error and the clean up I urge you to try cooking with your toddler. There are benefits that outweigh the mess and possible frustration. One benefit is that a child is more likely to eat what she has a hand in cooking. In addition, you teach your toddler order and patience. There is also no short order of fun and games that comes with this adventure. Your toddler is desparately seeking your attention and hey you have to cook anyway, right? Here are a few tips to keep your hair firmly attached to your head and your floor free from at least the entire jar of sauce.

First, be patient. Go into this little escapade knowing you may have more of mess or take longer than normal. Convince yourself to be okay with a spill or two and that a 30 minute Rachel Ray meal may take 40-60 minutes. Your toddler will one day grow old enough to want nothing to do with the kitchen so enjoy the time you have. You are a parent of a toddler first and the chef of the house second. Keep your eyes on the grand picture and not how sloppy the cake is frosted. In order to achieve this you also must dictate the proper times when a toddler can help. You may not want your toddler to help you prepare Christmas dinner or bake your sister's wedding cake.

Second, prep your meal in advance. This will not take as long as it sounds and you can even do this with your little one. Get your recipe and have your toddler help your gather the ingredients and measuring spoons and cups if needed. If you have time pre-measure and chop ingredients to make things even easier. Make sure you have everything you need out and ready before you start. You do not want to be struggling to find the measuring cup while unbeknowst to you your toddler is adding her own ingredients to the bowel. Also, you may not want to make something new on the night you have your toddler helping out.

Third, praise your little one each time she does a task or waits patiently while you explain your plan. The more you praise your toddler for positive behavior the more positively she will react. Once she sees value in being patient she will learn to be

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