In our family, we have the joke about the Easy Bake Oven. As background, we are a family where cooking and food preparation takes center stage. My kids have grown up in the kitchen and they are all three quite able to make an omelete or bake a cake and have been helping me out in their little aprons since they were toddlers. When my eldest daughter was elementary-school age, she so badly wanted an Easy Bake Oven and received one as a gift for Christmas from a grandparent. She used it once and when she saw how tiny the cake was and how much extra “stuff” she had to work with, she announced she was only going to do her baking in the “real oven.” The Easy Bake Oven went into the garage and stayed there for years until we sold it at a garage sale a few years later when we moved.
Now, this is not to say anything against the marvelous Easy Bake Oven, but more to make the point that often, instead of giving our children miniature and kid-size versions of things, they are far better off learning on a full-size one. Of course, there are always exceptions–small child-size furniture is better for small bodies than making them sit at large tables and desks; and things like bicycles and car seats really need to fit the child. Not to mention that many children learn to play smaller-sized musical instruments that fit their hands before moving on to the larger ones as they grow.
But, there are plenty of other times when learning how to use the “full size” works best. As a child growing up in the country, I remember that instead of having “child” versions of tools, my dad cut the handles down on fully functional adult tools in order to make them easier to manage. Have you ever tried to do anything productive with one of those flimsy and tiny hammers or saws that comes in a child’s tool set? The average child becomes frustrated with how useless those things are and gives up–but learning to use a tool or item that actually works can spark their creativity and confidence and build self esteem.
Also: Building Self-Esteem in Your Children
5 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Confidence