Easy Bake Oven

My daughters best friend has an easy bake oven and they want to play every time they are together... (they are 6) however this is NOT something your kid can play with without adult supervision. So question is how much are you willing to play with it? The friends mother and I (also friends) have figured that letting the girls make real cupcakes is actually easier, cheaper,(The easy bake mixes which only make single servings are pretty expensive compared to a whole box of cake mix or brownie mix.) safer (kids know not to touch the oven or something right out of the oven... they forget sometimes when it is a "toy") and less time comsuming than playing easy bake oven. Not to mention they taste ALOT better! Hope this helps!

Regardless of the age listed on the package, this item is a potential fire and burn hazard and adult supervision is required. The level of supervision is up to you.

As a child, I was cooking and baking with my mom at a young age. My parents probably couldn't have justified the money spent on something like that when we had a perfectly good kitchen. I did, however, love playing with one at my friend's house. For me it was my love of unusually sized things--either especially small or large.

I started cooking full dinners for our family five by age 10, so you really have to make the judgement call on your own daughter. If you cook a lot at home, involve her in that preparation and get a better idea of her concepts of danger in the kitchen. My 2.5 year old has been "cooking" with me since she was around a year. Obviously, she isn't cooking on her own, but she certainly understands about knives and the oven and the stove. She also has the basics about measuring things.

i remember enjoying my holly hobby oven--good times--i used it all the time. my 5 year old has one and her brother plays with it too. i think the only drawback is you have to measure pretty good and you need a timer because there isn't one on the oven, and you can only play with it for so long because then the oven starts to get hot(the surrounding plastic)always let her play with adult supervision.

Hi J.-

I am considering this for my daughter as well. The previous poster mentioned my main concern. I know my daughter will want to play with it A LOT but I'm afraid buying the mixes for it will get expensive and with 2 other children it's hard for me to sit one on one with her and do this kind of activity. As much as I would like to, reality sets in and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those toys that my daughter asks me to play all the time but I'll be saying "now's not a good time" a lot. My daughter is only 5 (will be 6 in March) so maybe your daughter would be more independent with it than mine would be.

Good luck,
K.

If you have the time and energy and you think your daughter is up for it, maybe you could let her help with cooking for the family. I started cooking when I was 5 and I loved it. I learned a valuable skill, had a great sense of pride that I had helped prepare food for the rest of my family, learned to tell time, worked on math skills and reading skills when using a recipe and got to spend some great time with my Mom. By the time I was 8 or 10, I was preparing dinner for the family on my own. With 4 kids, you could probably use the help!! My Mom had 4 kids too and it was a great help to her. As for the Easy Bake oven, I wanted one when I was a kid, but once I got to use the real, grown-up oven, I could care less about the toy. I hope this helps.

My daughter has a cool-bake oven (she's 4) that I bought her for her birthday. I keep her oven in the kitchen so if she wants to bake I pull it out and let her have at it. She uses it at least once a week. Now the easy bakes have a variety of mixes, not just the old-school cakes, mac'n'cheese, etc. Great to teach her and let her make her own snack.
Hope this helps.

The recommended age for an Easy Bake Oven is 8-12 years. You mention that your daughter is 8; the previous posters mention that their daughters were younger... (And perhaps this explains why the younger children need an adult within arms reach to supervise-?) I had an easy bake oven but it wasn't something I used all the time... And I don't remember getting any special cake and cookie mixes bake then. I always used half or a third of the regular baking mixes, or just baked the whole cake mix in a bizillion little cupcake pans.

I would ask myself where I envision her using the Easy Bake Oven... Would this be something she plays with on the porch or garage/driveway? If you see her using it in your kitchen, then I'm not sure why she wouldn't just use the regular oven, toaster oven or use the convection setting on the microwave... If you are hoping to inspire a love of cooking with the Easy Bake, perhaps consider signing her up for some children's baking/cooking classes instead.