Would You Buy Your Nephew an Easy-Bake Oven?
I had some misconceptions about boys before I was fortunate enough to give birth to one. I was afraid that my son wouldn't love books. I thought he wouldn't want to cook with me. That's what the stereotypes would have had me believe.
It was pretty sweet, then, when my toddler boy learned to read in part through Mollie Katzen's "Salad People" and "Pretend Soup," sounding out directions as we prepared granola and popovers and even broccoli quiche. My happiest times in the kitchen are still when he -- and his little brother -- join me.
So it was a disappointment, when I looked to share some cooking fun with two young nephews, to find that I didn't have much beyond those Katzen books to offer them. I would have loved to buy them the baking kit that Tracy came across last month, but all my beliefs about the gender-neutral nature of cooking dissolve like spun sugar before its pure pinkness and princess-appeal.
I wouldn't have wanted an aggressively "boy" version of that gift either. (My eldest has no more interest in dinos and trucks than in tutus and tiaras.) But is there something wrong with a nice kit aimed equally at boys or girls?
The "Chef's Essentials" kit? All pink and purple, modeled by a young girl. Easy-Bake ovens and supplies? Lots of pink, and I don't see a boy on any boxes. Even a fun novelty book on baking in silicone cups would have looked a lot more appealing to me if a boy could have joined the girls on the cover. Beyond the photos, the designs and colors make it pretty clear which team they're targeting.
So, my nephews are gettting Mollie Katzen books. I'm also a fan of Cindy Mushet's "Baking Kids Love," which is full of joyous kids of all stripes, with nothing that declares allegiance to one gender over another. My nephews are a little young for the Zyliss knives that Melissa liked, but that may be the best I have to offer.
What else might be fun for two little boys who like to cook? And, is there any way we can kick the idea (in places other than the Food Network) that the kitchen is only the place for women's work?
-- Rebekah Denn
internet services on January 17, 2011 at 02:52 AM
In market many good product is available like maggie and also noodals soup.I like the maggie and noodle soup for the fast recipe.
HopeSew on January 17, 2011 at 04:05 AM
How funny. I was just looking at the link to the Zyliss plastic knife today, and it had some recommendations for other plastic knives which led to the Curious Chef line of kids' cooking tools. They have a whole assortment of gender neutral sets and individual cooking & baking gadgets. Paula Deen also has a colorful, neutral baking set for kids. I'm also tired of the pink & purple overkill. For all the talk of equality and thwarting stereotypes...
Don't give up; just search again on Amazon, and you'll find good things for your young chefs. As for real life impact, see if you can visit the firehouse in your neighborhood at dinner time. That's one kitchen where the men rule. :)
Paul A'Barge on January 17, 2011 at 07:00 AM
Knives!
Get those boys some knives and start right away teaching them how to use them safely, always with supervision. They'll realize that the cooking is the cool context for using those knives and then you're half way home.
Phelps on January 17, 2011 at 05:42 PM
I might buy it because soon it will be the only way to get a regular light bulb.
John on January 18, 2011 at 03:16 PM
Must be nice having a child that doesn't conform to stereotypes. My daughter loves Barbie, and Disney princess collection crap, and will not sit on the couch five minutes with me to watch MMA. On top of that, she doesn't like the 22 I got her for Christmas, (It even has a pink stock, and she still wont touch it). She just wants to play house, dolls, and dress up with her friends.
Doug Collins on January 18, 2011 at 03:35 PM
How about getting something from the Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts and doing some outdoor cooking with them? You can bake in a dutch oven in or over a camp fire. These are skills that a lot of people could use in an emergency.
Leanne Opaskar on January 18, 2011 at 03:59 PM
I recently purchased the Sesame Street "C is for Cooking" cookbook for some friends' kids. Gender-neutral, kid-friendly, and full of tasty-looking recipes! (:
Lyssa on January 18, 2011 at 04:09 PM
I've always dreamed of teaching my (presently hypothetical) children to cook and cook well, but, having eaten some of my baby sister's lightbulb baked creations, I don't think I would get either a daughter or son an Easy-Bake Oven. Maybe I'm just expressing the over-optimism of someone who is not a parent, but is it really out of the question to teach a child to use an oven safely? (with supervision, of course, but I believe that the Easy-Bake calls for supervision as well)
John Davies on January 18, 2011 at 07:42 PM
Depending on what part of the world you're in, I think it would be great fun to build a solar oven and learn to cook in it. It's great for when the power is out or when camping.
Unfortunately, here in Pittsburgh a solar oven would not be a good use of time.
comatus on January 18, 2011 at 08:36 PM
Yep, I'm a scouter, and I teach iron cookery to "little boys." My guys are avid watchers of TV chef shows and the food-prep and recipe segments of hunting and fishing networks.
Tonight I was tasked with guiding a patrol in writing out menus for a weekend campout. They can't spell "biscuit" and they can't spell "quiche." But for a trail lunch, one scout called for "goose's patay on crackers, with cut up water chest-nuts in it." Now that, right there, is good eatin--if you fix it right.
If he shows up this weekend with a half-canteen of Cote de Beauny, I'm going to have to be prepared to tell him it's too minerally.
Anne on January 24, 2011 at 10:53 PM
Disney has several wonderful cookbooks aimed at cooking with kids of both genders!
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