At the beginning of the year, I ordered several child safe knives to try out in our home. I planned to review them here, but I’m also excited to report back our experiences more generally with including Zane in the meal prep process. Getting our our now 2-year-old involved in the kitchen has been a game changer, and I can’t recommend it enough!

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There are plenty of other options outside the knives we purchased. I stuck with the three available on Amazon, two of which were Prime eligible. Here are the details for each, as well as a summary of our experiences (from top to bottom in first photo):

  1. Curious Chef Medium Nylon Plastic Knife ($7.63): Recommended for ages 5 and up, Zane uses this knife on occasion (and has successfully cut zucchini and apple with it), but it is not his most requested choice. My guess is since it’s designed for an older child, it’s not as comfortable in his two-year-old hands. We will keep this one for occasional use and see if he starts to prefer it as he gets bigger.
  2. Zyliss Lettuce Knife ($3.95): This is marketed as a lettuce knife and not as child safe, but because the design is similar to some child safe products, others have reviewed it as a knife for kids. This appealed to me both because it was the least expensive option and I thought I might get dual use out of it. In the end, Zane never used it and neither did I. It might be fabulous for chopping lettuce but out of habit I always reach for my chef’s knife, which I’ve never had complaints about. It’s larger than the medium Curious Chef knife, so I’m supposing he would rather use one of the smaller options anyway.
  3. Kuhn Rikon Kinderkitchen Dog Knife ($9.00): This is the smallest and most expensive (by just a little). Like the Curious Chef knife, it is capable of cutting through raw fruits and vegetables. Zane requests this knife most often and uses it easily. The cutesy design isn’t my preference but doesn’t bother me, either. I’m not sure Zane has even noticed that it’s a dog!

My recommendation is that if you only want to purchase one knife, get the Kuhn Rikon for a toddler or the Curious Chef for a child 5 and older. I’m glad to have both, since we have the room in our knife block and Zane can choose which one he’d rather use (I change my preferences based on what I’m cutting too, after all!).

How you introduce knife use to your child will depend on his or her age and temperament. At this point, I’ve been able to help Zane understand that he needs to hold the knife by the handle with the blade pointing toward the counter and that it should only be used to cut food, but he can’t follow more advanced instructions such as keeping the point of the blade on the cutting surface while chopping. Overall, I’ve been amazed at what he’s been able to do with these knives – such a good reminder not to underestimate!

Getting our toddler to participate more in executing our meals has been even more rewarding than I anticipated. Before, cooking dinner was a hit-or-miss experience: Either Zane was having a great time playing independently, or he was wanting my attention and unhappy it was focused on something else. Now he always has the option to help me, which has made our evening routine more consistently smooth.

Of course, oftentimes the “help” is more in a figurative sense, but it’s rarely disruptive. Zane can’t take requests for a certain size cut, or chop tender herbs without making a bruised mess, but at this point he’s pretty satisfied to practice his knife skills on whatever I give him – sometimes this means kale stems or something else that won’t actually be making its way into the dish. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had the occasional cutting mat of minced garlic incidentally knocked to the floor, but overall our meal prep time has been enjoyable. It’s an opportunity to simultaneously learn and play, all while getting a nourishing meal to the table.

Zane shoulders more of the chopping responsibility when we make smoothies, since the size and uniformity of the pieces don’t matter much. I love this 3-ingredient recipe for its simplicity and bright flavor, and its green hue also makes it a fitting St. Patrick’s Day snack!

Super Simple Green Smoothie

2 oranges, peeled and segmented
1 banana, peeled roughly chopped
2 handfuls spinach, thoroughly washed

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.

Serves 2