I wiWhat Age for an Easy Bake Oven?

My oldest son got one as a present from his grandparents one year because he loved to help cook. I can't remember how old he was. We made a few mixes that came with it, it took as long to bake those little cakes as it would to bake a full sized one! The pans it came with rusted super fast and had to be thrown out. It's sitting on a shelf and hasn't been touched in years because I keep forgetting to buy new replacement pans for it which means it's useless.
I have to agree with the other posters in getting kids sized cooking gear. You can find super cool Mickey Mouse kitchen stuff or something else that is fun. Get a kids cookbook, Rachel Ray has one, we've got a Dr Seuss one and a couple Star Wars ones.

We got more daughter one but the things she cooked were not good and were so small. It is way more fun to make a batch of real cookies or brownies. Personally, I think it is a waste of money.

My granddaughter had an Easy Bake oven when she was around 8 and quickly lost interest in it. Baking with Mom was much more fun.

I suggest that he's too young for it because it does get hot. It uses a light bulb to do the baking and things do get somewhat hot. And there are steps that must be followed for the dough to bake. He would need constant supervision.

We have one for several years it's been used maybe a half dozen times, it takes forever , it's messier than normal cooking , and they really can burn them selves with them.
It's just more fun and easier to just cook for real.
Get him an apron set and a mommy and me cookbook. to help in the kitchen with you,

I got one for our neighbors when the girls were 4 and 8. Their mom said it was a great toy to use with very strict supervision. My SIL said the same thing...with supervision it was great for her 5 yo. But they both said the interest was a little short lived. My niece didn't like the size of the cakes. There wasn't enough to share. But the next year I got them their own kid sized cooking stuff....oven mitts, knife, pans, easy to read measuring cups and spoons and apron to use in a real oven. This was a MUCH bigger hit with them. Four years later and they still use much of that stuff!

We got one for my 8 yo last year for Christmas. It is so much worse than the one we had as kids. The things that you bake from the mixes are so so tiny, like smaller than the size of my pinky. It was really not worth the trouble. And you can't bake normal recipes in the thing, you have to go find the mixes. And it is so hard to maneuver the things in the oven that it takes an adult to do it. Our oven "mysteriously" disappeared. If you like baking with him, than do the real thing. It will be much more fun. Trust me on this. And--it is no longer with a light bulb--regular power for the new oven.

No I would never buy an easy bake oven.However I do get them their own cooking tools,my 9 yr old wanted the As seen on TV cake ball maker loves it just help w/ prepping & oven use,my 5 yr old wants the Lil Pie maker it is so cute another as sen on TV,their are Nostalgia items all over that look really cool i'd rather buy that and spend the money on items to make it with that to keep replacing items for the easy bake oven

Incredibly an old girlfriend of my brother in law got my daughter one when she was two! So age appropriate, NOT!

We put it away for a few years but you know that thing never had much appeal to my daughter or myself. She's actually a great cook and loves to bake at 14 just from helping me in the kitchen when she was younger.

I suggest getting some fun kid baking stuff for him to use in the kitchen with you. A boyish apron, little cupcake papers, mini muffin tins, little cake pans and a fun book for ideas. You can buy some really neat stuff online. My daughter uses mini cake pans to make little layer cakes and a pastry bag to decorate. She makes the sweetest most adorable little cakes, cookies and cupcakes no easy bake needed!

Personally, I think they're a waste of money for what they do. As long as you are totally supervising the baking process with him, he should be ok. I have one that sits on a shelf taking up space that was used maybe 4 times. My kids were disappointed in how small the cookies and cakes turned out. They're used to when we bake a cake or batch of cookies, they can enjoy it for several days, not one minute. Good luck!

I got my daughter one last year (she's 5, turning 6 in a few weeks). With immediate/constant adult supervision, it is ok for this age but if you want him to do it without assistance, you should wait.

LOL I still remember getting MY Easy Bake Oven.
It was Christmas, 1973, I was five and a half and in kindergarten.
I LOVED it, though I do remember needing help as I wasn't quite reading yet.
It probably says ages eight and up because some (sorry) dimwitted kids have never been taught not to touch a light bulb!

Ugg those darn Easy Bake ovens!! I can't wait to gather all the pieces of ours and sneak it out to Goodwill. So much work for one teeny tiny piece of food.

But yes if you help him you guys could make some tiny foods with the Easy Bake together. But I like the PPers suggestion on an apron and a cookbook for real cooking :)

Not sure if you've seen the catalog or website, "for small hands." They have
Lots of Montessori supplies--because of that, they have lots of household "tools" for kids that are real, high quality, but sized for them. They have some cool cooking tools and gadgets for kids--check them out. You have such an opportunity--to make memories with your son, to teach him about math while doing things like measuring ingredients, and teaching nutrition. You're also giving him a life-long skill--cooking and baking are in my list of "things I want my kids to be able to do when they leave the nest." I say start em young! Good luck to you.

They still make them? I so so so wanted one when I was little. Right up until I saw an actual one - a light bulb?. I would let him help you bake for real. At 4-1/2 my son could measure, mix and crack eggs. He could cut out cookies using a cookie cutter and put them on the sheet. He was fine that I would have to put them into the oven and take them out. Plus, I would think real baked goods taste better than those cooked under a light bulb. I suspect that by age 8 he would be cooking for real and the easy bake will just not be interesting to him.

my daughter is 5 and will be getting one for xmas. she will only get to use it with strict supervision. i think it would be best to wait on it and just let him help you in the kitchen and i dont say that because he is a boy its just the age :). however if he can understand things that should be a few years ahead of him then get it. baking is a healthy hobby to have :) and a great bonding time for you both