While I don't want to raise my kid genderless, I do believe in not holding him to his perceived gender. He does have the boy trains and trucks and dinosaurs but he also has the girl baby doll with bottle. He talks about castles and is currently obsessed with the colour pink. The kitchen seemed to me pretty gender neutral. Go to any restaurant and you'll notice most of the cooks are male. On TV most chefs are male. And if cooking was really such a 'girl' thing then men living alone would starve.
His kitchen
He has learned a lot with the kitchen, more than he would have learned without it. I don't cook. I 'prepare' things, usually boxed stuff or frozen stuff or very basic things. And he's not allowed in the kitchen anyway, I'm paranoid about flames.
He has a sandwich making set from Melissa & Doug. He makes some pretty decent looking sandwiches and knows the names to the ingredients. He's never made an actual sandwich so I think that's good. He knows the bread goes on the outside and calls out the different ingredients. He also has a pizza set, also from Melissa & Doug. He knows all about adding pepperoni and peppers, which is quite cute. And he uses the play knives to cut the slices. He has learned what knives are for without ever touching a real one. And the other food pieces, mostly also Melissa & Doug with some generic plastic fruits and veggies, have been great for reinforcing the names of different foods.
He has recently begun using the dishes to serve his meals. He coordinates the colours of the plates, bowls, cups, and utensils to match. This wasn't something I showed him but a conclusion he drew on his own. He also 'cooks' in the little pot and pan. He turns the knob and says it's hot. He stirs whatever he has put in there, which can range from play food to his collection of beads and strings to letter blocks, and serves it. He then washes them in the sink.
Early attempts at meals
His kitchen, from Kidkraft, doesn't make any sounds other than clicking when the knobs are turned. It has drawings that he has figured out on his own. I never taught him what they represented simply because it has never been part of our play. He 'cooks' and I 'eat' his meals. The most I do is ask what I am eating. The refrigerator door has a water and ice dispenser drawn on. I think he has only been to one home with an actual refrigerator with that feature and I don't know if he saw what it does. But the hint it gave, a picture of a glass with ice, was enough to stir his imagination. It has three differently coloured levers and he says each one is something different: water, juice, and milk. They are clearly labeled crushed ice, cold water, and cubed ice, but that's not important. He makes noise for the liquid pouring onto the cup and 'drinks.'
His discovery of the microwave also surprised me, but let me know how much he is actually paying attention to us. He puts things in there, presses the buttons, and makes a whirling sound. He then 'beeps' and takes out what he put in, saying it's hot. Another interesting one is the phone. It's a cordless phone attached to the side. He pushes the buttons and has conversations.
I had an 'order' to all his kitchen accessories, and when put away it looks real nice and neat. I guess that's my inner little girl coming out. But it never lasts and when he does help me put things away he doesn't put them away that way. I'm not about to get overly picky about how he puts things away so I've decided that all the kitchen stuff can go in a plastic bin that goes on the kitchen. I can have my little girl moments once in while and put stuff in their 'correct' place knowing it won't last.
Every kitchen must have the yellow pages
Do your little ones have a play kitchen? Is it something they like playing with?
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