Cooking Up Creativity in a Play Kitchen

One of my favorite toys as a youngster was my play kitchen. It offered so many opportunities and appealed to me at different ages. I could have tea parties with my dolls, cook a gourmet meal for my parents or even play restaurant with my friends.

Like everything else, play kitchens have come a long way since the boxy, wooden units of my youth. Now equipped with pretend granite counters, fresco painted backgrounds, pretend stainless steel appliances and Euro-styled cabinetry, it's no wonder some parents are more befuddled shopping for a play kitchen then they are choosing a real dishwasher.

Help is on the way. Toy manufacturer The Step2 Company has put together the "Ultimate Play Kitchen Guide" where parents can learn about play kitchen designs and how to choose the best play kitchen for their home. They can also enter the Dream Kitchen Contest where one lucky family will win a new dream kitchen suite from Frigidaire , including a refrigerator, dishwasher, over the counter microwave, and oven, as well as a new Step2 play kitchen of their choice.

Barbara Beery, the author of 11 best-selling kids' cook books and founder of the Batter Up Kids Cooking School, says that parents and kids cooking together is very important to a child's development. "There has been an overwhelming increase in interest for having kids in the kitchen at an early age," Beery says. "Parents recognize that even by starting with play kitchens during the toddler years, you are promoting creativity, collaboration and role modeling. It leads to a greater comfort level with food and hopefully a lifetime of creative cooking."

Do your kids have a pretend kitchen?

Related: Top Play Kitchens