Your kid may have made 'mud pies' at nursery, or school. This is fantastic fun (even if messy), but I wonder why we don't just make real food outside. It also avoids buying a 'kids cooking table' to put in our homes - which often end up being limited by their single use, and taking up a lot of space...

This design also doubles as a workbench, messy-craft table, potting table, and plant stall (see end step). And keeps the mess outside, allowing them to really feel in control of the fun.

My son has been to 'forest school' on occasional weekends, and presumably the insurance for letting kids near camp fires must be deemed 'reasonable'. However, as with many 'risky play' activities, I would not advise you do any of this unsupervised, and indeed, you'd need to be the judge of who 'ready' your kid is for something that can cause injury in worst case scenario. However, in good faith, I wanted to share a few tips I learned from this project, as it's been a lovely way to do something special together.

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I thought this was a nice 'cooking contraption' - not because it was a 'gizmo', per se - but because it provokes a question of why more stuff is not like this (multi-purpose, multi-benefits and easy to make from 'reclaimed' palette)?

Please be aware I cannot take any responsibility for this Instructable, follow at your own risk. However, I hope if you're of a similar persuasion, I've love to hear what other things you think are 'reasonable risks' to engage young children with, in a safe and responsible manner, but which encourages them to develop their understanding of the world.

Supplies

This was made from Pallets. If you've not worked with these before, please check out two of my previous Instructables (see step below), which gets into more detail.

The big thing to be sure of (especially when making for kids) is to look for the 'HT' - Heat Treated pallets. Do NOT use any which have 'BR' or have bromine used as a pesticide and anti-fungal agent. Indeed, if the pallet looks old, or has any evidence of spillages, avoid. Again, do so at your own risk.

I tend to look for pallets which look in mint condition and ideally have just been used for something that seems non-toxic. For example, out he back of supermarkets, or in open air markets, these have carried fruit and veg, so better chances of being 'safe'.

Use a crow-bar or recking bar to pry board apart. Flip over and remove nails by knocking through and removing with a clay hammer. Check for any cracks or defects, or any sharp bits.

Step 1: Other Pallet Projects

As mentioned, some more detailed tips on processing pallets can be found here:

https://www.instructables.com/Pallet-Sand-Pit-DIY-in-2-Hours-From-2-Pallets/

https://www.instructables.com/Go-Kart-Racer-From-Reused-Old-Scooter-Wheels/

https://www.instructables.com/Quick-Cheap-Outdoor-Water-Tray-for-Kids/

Enjoy!

Step 2: Ergonomics & Psychology

At the time of making this, my son was about 1m tall. So this was designed to be a tiny bit higher than his waist. Much the same as a kitchen counter is for adults.

Part of the reason parents (myself included) don't always relish the idea of letting kids in the kitchen is that they have to stand on a chair, whilst chopping, etc.

Not only is this risky (arguably risker than this activity you might wonder?), as a child could lose footing, and fall of a chair, whilst holding a knife, which even if blunt could go very wrong as they fall.

Similarly, I find kids only want to 'be like grown ups', and it's hard to explain this is 'just mommy's or daddy's kitchen'. They perhaps have more risk of trying to stir a pot when you're not looking, whist just trying to help. It seems easier to say 'this is your kitchen', as that way they feel they have their own gear. Oddly enough, I've done similar with tools for my son - he had a mini hammer, to my big one, see below...

Step 3: Kids Tools - an Ongoing Debate

As an aside, here are some of the tools I've modified so my young son can join in. Let me know your thoughts!

Step 4: Pilot & Screw

Perhaps the best tip I can give, when working with pallets, is to drill a hole ('pilot' hole) where you intend the screw to go. This prevents the wood from splitting.

The drill should be about 1/2 or 2/3 the diameter of the screw, and go roughly as deep (slightly less is fine) as the length. For best results, drill the two pieces to be joined in situ. You can clamp if you wish, but often you get good at holding it together with practice.

My son is shown using a impact driver. These take some practice, and so I would not advice using 'first time', but work up to slowly. He is also wearing goggles and gloves.

Step 5: Plans

Excuse the lack of 'step by step' photos, but the assembly plan above is arguably better in plan - and in many ways the focus is not to take exact measurements here, but to tailor it to your kid... as this is the whole point of the Instructables to 'design for them'.

I used 2" x 2" batons of wood, which I found in a skip. And I made the table height ("H1") a round my son's waist height. H2 was 2x H1 (more of less) - but such that the top box is within reach. Building the thing with my son is the perfect way to set the ergonomics.

The Width was simply set by what 'felt right' - so about 2 1/2ft wide. But this can of course be whatever you feel is best. Likewise, the 'reach' or Depth ("D1") is about 1 1/2 Foot.

"X" - is the standard width of the planks from 1 disassembled pallet. Everything is relative to this dimention. Blue 'x' and '->' show were a added screws.

Step 6: Painting

I used water based paint for fences. (similar to this - link).

Goggles and Gloves again.

As mentioned previously, there is something exciting for kids 'doing grown-up stuff', and this feels more 'epic' than paints at school, and has more demand for control and managing a different scale of brush and task.

I'm of course hoping he'll be painting fences, Karate Kid -style in a few years time!

Step 7: Optional: Chalk Board

We happened to have some synthetic roofing tiles spare. I cut them into strips after a realised that they made good 'chalk boards' - you can of course just paint some wood with black paint (perhaps use ply for a smoother finish), and you have this nice extra feature.

Step 8: Outdoor Power - Tips & Suggestions

IP rated plug sockets are an excellent investment for anyone who mows the lawn, uses powertools outsider, or indeed, wants to make a Mini Kitchen for their kids. Having spent some years in workshops making products that use mains voltage, I have always (and I mean always) used a RCD plug to stay safe(er). Even in my workshop, I have them as standard. They are cheap and may save you life. But get them installed by a professional.

To put into plain English two key terms you need to know when ordering the Socket:

IP Rated - this means 'Ingress Protection', and is a standard of how much dirt and water you can throw at a thing before it leaks. Safe to say, you want this to be high, and IP66 or 67 are fine.

RCD - 'Residual Current Device', this is quite complex to explain, but essential if you did get an electric shock (say from a split cable, water, faulty product, etc.), the device realises that the resistance (ie your body conducting) has suddenly changed, and it shuts off the power. This does NOT mean you don't get an electric shock, it means you get it for slightly less time than if you just had a fuse, which takes longer to go 'pop' and break the circuit. In short, for a few pounds more it might save your life, or make your shock last less long. But to re-iterate it will not stop you getting an electric shock in the first place if you do something risky.

Please note, I'm less familiar with the US/Global system, (please feel free to comment if you are knowledgable on this!), so please do ask an Electrician in your local area what is the safest thing to do.

Suggested Socket (UK): https://amzn.to/4ia2TdF

Suggested Socket (US): https://amzn.to/2V3emWS and https://amzn.to/2WQ6314

(Apparently, I'm told in the US it's a "GFCI outdoor outlet" to search for. Good luck!

Disclaimer: Please do seek professional advice on any installation to do with Mains Electricity, and of course use your own judgement on deciding if your kid(s) can use anything plugged into them responsibly, even with constant supervision. Lastly, although there are cheaper alternatives, buying quality is worth it when kids are involved.

Step 9: Hot Plates & Parenting/Supervision Tips

I suggest a fair quality Hot Plate / Cooker like this - it is arguably safer than Gas. This hot plate is also more 'grippy' and the saucepan does not skid around easily.

I'll be honest and say the notion of having an electric cooker outside once seemed very foreign to me... Coming from rainy and cold Cumbria (in the North of England)! Later in life I travelled to Hong Kong, (where I met my wife to be), and the idea of an electric (or sometimes Gas) cooker, in the middle of a table was very common - and great fun! I have never heard of tables being flipped over, and people being scalded by boiling hot water, so this implies a cultural etiquette around being calm and aware in such occasions - both adults and kids alike.

My point being, there is of course an 'absolute' health and safety perspective that would potentially rule this out altogether for some people and I respect that. However, safe behaviour can be learned; very much in the same way most people don't stick metal in toasters in the West, people in Asia don't raise their kids to roughhouse around on a Hot Pot night. The clue is in the name, after all!

So in an age of litigation and anxiety, I do not casually advise letting a giddy kid near a REALLY HOT STOVE - this is not something that is right for everyone. However, if you'd like to benefit from some anecdotal hindsight, but ultimately make your own risk-assessment, these would be my tips...

Stability & Surroundings:

Ensure the Hot Plate is level, stable, and can't slip. Sounds obvious, but any wobbles will be amplified.
Keep the cable tucked away to avoid tripping. In all the excitement, kids and adults may forget.
Make sure the Saucepan is a similar size to the Hot Plate - this avoids it slipping off, or exposing hot plate unnecessarily.

Tailor it to your Kid:

Keep a conversation going, and weave in questions on "what they think might happen if...", or "let's do x to be safer, do you agree?" etc. Discussion is better than barking order all the time.
Ergonomics - make sure the table is at waist-height or lower. Just as with Adults, this is much better for posture, control, and avoids spilling or splashing near the face as much. (See image).
Cooking things that really hold their attention, and that have different jobs (Apple Crumble has many steps, each quite simple, but allows focus to be held for longer overall).

Minimise / Mitigate:

Wear a waterproof apron if you like (this keeps any splashes from soaking into clothes.
Likewise, wear proper shoes.
Wear goggles if cooking with liquids.
Avoid large amounts of things like syrup, sugar, oil - as these not only boil hotter than water, but sick to skin, or hold in clothes and burn the skin deeper.
Ideally cook things that are thick - like Apple Crumble, as I did here for our fist attempt.

Lastly, if you noticed the cooking knife, this is also a thing I made - the knife is sharper than a plastic 'kiddo' knife, but not so sharp as to be able to cut deep. You can make one here: LINK. This again is part of the same approach to make it 'as real as possible', but only as far as they can be reasonably safe/self-aware of the risks.

Advice/Disclaimer: I did this cooking projects with my son who is 5. As you can see from various Instructables, I've raised my son in a very strict/firm way about safety around tools (if he's silly, he gets 1 warning, then it's over.). I am by no means perfect, and I hope (but do not know for sure) if this is 'good parenting', but what works for me might need revision for you. As idilic as it may look in photos, it requires a fair degree of concentration on the task at hand, as well as being a few steps ahead of him, so only do this if you really feel you have a good ability to anticipate your child's temperament - ie when they are being too silly, or not focussing, or just tired and will make a mistake. If you are in doubt, start off simpler and work up to the more complex/tricky stuff. Take breaks, and discuss what you're doing and repeat instructions if they look unsure (to avoid guesswork). You know your kids better than anyone. Have fun, and be safe.

Step 10: Understanding Process

One of the nice aspects of having the recipe above, is that it provides an easy reference to the sequence of things. One often takes for granted that recipes are listed in order you prepare/use the ingredients, and you should try and do the same. The result works really well to focus their attention - and rub-off / strike-out / tick, as they go.

You could add times for simmering and other details.

I also think it's a nice 'role-reversal' to have an adult use a chalk board, usually a kid's thing, as a proper tool.

Step 11: Making the Apple Mixture

In case curious - I used this Recipe from BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/applecrumble_2971

Fundamentally, the goal is to take your time and allow them to feel in control as much as possible.

The 'delay' of the heat is also quite interesting for them at this age, as it requires some calm nerves when it over-shoots, and gets too hot, and then take a while to simmer down again. All good learning, so long as as a parent you're also fine with that! If in doubt, go slow and steady.

Step 12: Making the Crumble Mixture

My son found Maths at school pretty difficult. I think it's primarily because we didn't 'drill' him in Times Tables, or do any of the online games, so one can seem to 'lag'. However, I would say that schools do teach Maths in a very 'abstract' way sometimes, and cooking seems to be an excellent way for a kid to really appreciate the difference between 100g and 200g.

I found that my son would add a spoon of flour, let's say it added about 30g of flour each spoon - he would gingerly add a spoon to say 100g, when it was way off 200g. It took him a few times baking to really anticipate the relationship between the volume of flour and its incremental mass - or to put it simply, to check in loads of flour until about 170g, and then take it slow to land on exactly 200g.

I would say looking back, cooking has been one of the best Maths lessons, and he now seems to be on par for maths, which is great, but more so - enjoying it, after seeing the practical utility of it.

Step 13: Putting It Together!

The concentration you see on kids' faces when they're in the flow of cooking is quite special!

Picky eating is not something with an 'easy fix' in kids, but I will say if kids have just cooked it, it certainly compels them to at least try what they created. As ever, the luxury of such things is time...

Step 14: Animal Protein?

This was one of these moments you enjoy as an adult - you know what's coming, but want to see when they 'see it' also!

I spotted a tiny hole in the apple, and I was curious to see if he noticed, after peeling. Nope.

After chopping? Nope.

So I cut it in half alongside the hole, and as I expected, there was a worm inside the core.

As you can imagine, the next 10mins was all questions - and it's great to have these moments of the reality of where food comes from, and how little 'imperfections' like this are par of the course.

Step 15: Other Uses: Plan Stall

I loved that this was not just a 'cooking table', or a 'craft table' - but also a 'potting table' and in time - 'plant stall'.

It's perhaps the nicest lesson, aside from the independence of cooking, to have created a multi-use table / bench, which because of its ergonomics is more suitable for a lot of activities kids usually struggle with.

Do share any other tips and tricks, and if you made this or one similar!

Thanks

Jude

Introduction: My First Outdoor Cookery Table