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The best cooking gift for a child is a real tool sized for them, and an invitation to use it with you. We’ve matched these ideas to the jobs children can actually do at each age, from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ guidance (see cooking with kids by age), so nothing ends up in a drawer because they aren’t ready for it yet.
Ages 2 to 4
This is the age of rinsing, stirring, mashing and cutting shapes, with an adult right there.
Ages 2 to 4
A child-size apron
Good for: feeling like part of the team
- An adjustable neck strap
- Machine-washable
Ages 2 to 4
Big, simple cookie cutters
Good for: cutting shapes from dough, one of the first jobs toddlers can do
- One-piece cutters with no small parts
- Dishwasher-safe
Ages 2 to 4
A small salad spinner
Good for: washing and drying salad, a job toddlers love
- A mechanism simple enough for small hands
- A non-slip base
Ages 5 to 7
Fine motor skills are catching up: snipping, scooping, and their first knife on soft food.
Ages 5 to 7
A nylon knife set
Good for: a first knife for soft food, with an adult beside them
- A serrated edge
- A handle sized for small hands
Ages 5 to 7
Measuring cups and spoons
Good for: baking together and learning fractions on the side
- Markings that are stamped in, not printed on
- Metric and US measures if you use recipes from both
Before you buy a knife
Which knife, when?
Our guide to kid-safe knives covers each stage and how to teach the bridge and claw grips.
Ages 8 to 12
Following recipes, measuring accurately, the oven and the hob, all with supervision.
Ages 8 to 12
Opinel Le Petit Chef set
Good for: a first real knife
- Opinel describes a rounded tip, a finger ring on the knife and peeler, and a finger guard
- Real and sharp: Opinel recommends adult supervision
Ages 8 to 12
A digital kitchen scale
Good for: measuring accurately, which the Academy lists for 9- to 12-year-olds
- Grams and ounces
- A tare button to zero the bowl
Ages 8 to 12
Oven gloves that fit smaller hands
Good for: getting trays in and out, with an adult nearby
- Full-hand coverage
- A stated heat rating
Ages 8 to 12
A digital food thermometer
Good for: checking meat is done, a job the Academy lists from age 7
- Reads in a few seconds
- Easy-to-read display
Cookbooks worth giving
Cookbook
The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
Good for: confident readers who want real recipes
- From America’s Test Kitchen Kids (Sourcebooks, 2018)
Cookbook
Kid Chef: The Foodie Kids Cookbook
Good for: children who like to know why a recipe works
- By Melina Hammer (2016)
Cookbook
The Silver Spoon for Children
Good for: Italian family cooking
- Phaidon’s children’s edition, by Amanda Grant (2009)
For young bakers there’s a separate guide: gifts for kids who love to bake.
Small gifts and stocking fillers
- Cookie cutters in a theme they love
- A silicone spatula of their own
- A kitchen timer they’re in charge of
- A silicone pastry brush for “painting” oil and glaze
- A recipe notebook for writing up their own recipes
The gift that costs nothing
Put a “cooking date” voucher in with whatever you give: one recipe, chosen by them, made together. Three that work well: homemade pizza, simple cupcakes and banana pancakes.
How we put this together: ideas matched to the kitchen jobs children can do at each age, from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ guidance. We have not tested these products ourselves and don’t claim to have. There are no prices here: they change daily, so each button opens a live search on Amazon.
