We don’t let Ollie watch any TV and his computer/iPad/iPhone screen time is regulated. But when he gets the iPad, one of his favorite things to do is watch YouTube videos, which he picks from ones I’ve favorited. At some point I favorited a video of a woman making a fire truck cake because it’s similar to the one I made for Ollie’s 2nd birthday. He’s watched this one, and many related cake-making videos, more than anything else. Often he mentions “Laurie Gaylin” when we’re in the kitchen, and I had to ask, “Who’s that?” Turns out she’s the woman making all the cakes in his videos. Here’s the fire truck cake:
So Sunday morning I was running around the house, trying to get stuff done before friends came over to watch the Super Bowl. Talking half to myself and half to Ollie, I said, “I’ve got to find my pastry bag!” because I wanted to pipe the deviled egg filling into the whites. (This may seem like overkill but it’s way easier and faster than trying to get that yolky glue off a spoon.)
Ollie casually says, “Or a freezer bag.”
“What?” I ask him, not understanding what he’s even talking about.
“Or a freezer bag,” he repeats to me. “Laurie Gaylin says you can use a pastry bag or a frosting bag or just a freezer bag.”
Fellow bakers, your mouth must have dropped when you read that sentence, as mine did when he said it. The kid is really learning something from all those videos.
(Turns out her name is Laurie Gelman, and she’s the host, not the baker. But who quibbles with a three year old?)
My mouth just dropped. Ollie is amazing. He needs his own show!
Love it! So smart… And, I’d rather have a kid picking up baking tips than all the stuff that’s on tv!
How is YouTube different from a DVR or a particular TV channel. I never get how in the 21st Century people can justify not letting their kids watch tvs. Surely TVs, and the level of entertainment that has been developed through them, is in part responsible for the current shape of the internet. A bit like not letting your kid read a book.
*jaw drop* WOW! I concur with @Adriana, “Ollie’s Kitchen Tricks” would make a fine show 🙂
We have pretty much the same TV/media tools policy for our son, Max. It makes it particularly easy to implement since we don’t have a TV!
He is really into Sesame Street and tuning him into that channel is handy, as then he just touches the next video he wants to watch on the iPad. As a result, the iPad is now called “Ernie.”
I’ve been feeling a little at a loss lately as to what else to put on his radar. Your cake-making related videos are a fab idea! He loves to help me bake and help us in the kitchen in general, so I’m going to give “Laurie Gaylin” a go…
And duh to me! Favouriting videos ahead of time would make it all much easier when its “show time”…
Any other videos or channels you recommend for toddlers/school-aged kids?
“Mom, you call that a mince? That’s hardly a dice!”
I would watch Cooking with Ollie.