Once you’ve decided that, yes, this whole cooking with toddler thing is for me, and the kiddo seems to enjoy it and I only get panic attacks about every other time now…then it’s time to get serious. It’s time to get your toddler her own kitchen tools.

I often think toddlers are clumsy because we’re trying to force them to use utensils and tools meant for adult sized hands. Watching Bean attempt to whisk something with my whisk is incredibly frustrating for everyone. But, once I handed her a child-size whisk, she could use it effortlessly and gracefully, with minimal mess. As always, having the right tools matters.

So, where to get all this stuff? Toddler-sized kitchen tools aren’t that easy to find, and you may have to hobble together a collection from different stores. Be careful also to buy tools that are meant to be used in real food prep; a lot of realistic looking child kitchen tools are for play only.

Here’s what we found:

• Whisk, from Montessori Services — we tried other whisks that were too small, or too narrow, or too cumbersome (not sure why everyone thinks a toddler needs a giganto plastic handle on everything). This is the Goldilocks of child whisks. Elegant and small.

• Blue tongs and spatula, from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (not online) — I still have no idea why BB&B sells these in small buckets lining the bottom shelves of their utensil area, but this was a major (cheap) score. They come in a ton of colors too, and Bean had a blast picking out her big girl kitchen tools.

• Wooden spoon, from Montessori Services — Bean is psyched to have a wooden spoon just like Mommy’s

• Child-sized rolling pin, from Amazon — This came in a set along with the child-sized baking sheet and muffin, pie, bread, and tart tins. She loves this thing.

• Vegetable chopper, from Amazon — This chopper is completely dull so there’s no chance your child can cut herself on it. Perfect for chopping mushrooms, peppers, and fruit.

• Cutting board, from Ikea — Just the right size for little hands.

• Child-size Mixing Bowl, from Amazon (not pictured) — This bowl with a flat bottom and silicone anti-slip guards ended up being critical for us. It was too easy for Bean to mix too aggressively and tip bowls over accidentally. This is nice and sturdy and allows her to focus on the mixing part.

• Work bench, from Ikea (not pictured) — This is also the toy shelf in Bean’s room, but we repurpose it to serve as her kitchen counter top. Ideally, we’d have room for a Learning Tower; but we live in a small apartment and that’s not happening. Sometimes, she pulls up a chair and works alongside me at the counter, other times, I want her firmly planted on the ground so that she can work her arms and fingers (like when kneading dough) without having to worry about falling off a chair. It’s just the right height, and the bottom shelf is perfect for storing a cookie sheet or mixing bowl before she needs to use it.

These are Bean’s tools. They sit on the kitchen counter next to my own tools. I’ve worked hard to make sure she understands these are tools and not toys. She may only use them at the counter, she may not take them into the living room with her toys, etc.

One of the wonderful things to see was how quickly she picked up which tools were for which tasks. Children are truly amazing. She knows that you use whisks with liquidy batters and wooden spoons for thicker mixtures. If she’s not sure, I see her watching me carefully to see which utensil I pick up and then she picks up the same. She has a lot of questions about which baked goods go in which tins.

She is just so curious at this age, and I love how cooking and baking together feeds and satisfies that curiosity.