I was so proud when I finished this RIT that I took a picture of it. I then promptly ran upstairs to email the photo to my mother who lives in Germany, hoping she was still awake so I could show it to her. Luckily she was, and said she loved how it turned out. Sadly, I left my toddler downstairs while the icing was drying. Lesson learned.

Sorry this happened to you, but you have to admit she is toooooo cute, that picture came out great.

Thanks, Uniqueask. I agree she is too cute. I was shocked for about a second, and then I had to laugh. It wasn't her fault I left tasty icing within her reach.

Ahhh...I would be heart broken as I know how long those take to do....Funny thing though is I've been cakin for about 10 years now and my kids are 8 and 6 and they have never touched any of my cake stuff..I guess they knew how growly I'd get! LOL

Thanks for the reply, Kiddiekakes. It sounds like you have some smart kids. Actually, this may turn out to be a good thing. I wasn't really happy with the color of the outlining. Now, I can have an excuse to go buy some good black food coloring.

I can sure sympathize with you! I made my mom a cake for her birthday at the beginning of this month. I was so proud of it (it's the pink buttercream with chocolate ganache in my photos). I put it in the fridge and went to get ready for the party, when I came back to get it out of the fridge it had two HUGE bites taken out of one side. I stood there with my mouth hanging open and turned around to see my 3 yr old standing there with chocolate all over his face...looking at me with big innocent eyes! I said "What did you do?!" , he shrugged his shoulders and said " I didn't do nuttin." I was so glad the cake was for my mom because she thought it was funny. Had it been a paid order...not so funny...lol What a precious memory it made..Im quite sure yours is too! I love how she still has the fingers in her mouth even though she was "caught red handed"

been there and done that a million times............I have 3 kids, now 10, 7, and 5 all of whom love anything with SUGAR especially mommy's cake and icing...sooooo now we have a deal.......if they don't look at/talk to me or TOUCH anything remotely near the kitchen when I'm working on a cake, they get all the scraps when I'm finished! (minus the cake scraps I sneak into the freezer for cake balls lol)........all the random pieces of fondant, cake, cookie, etc. they get it all in a bowl and they love it!!

my_4_dumplins, thanks for sharing your story. Your cake turned out beautifully! I'm glad it was for someone in your family, too. Really, your cake is gorgeous. Hopefully, someday I can make one like that. It's definitely going into my favorites!

KHalstead,

That is a terrific idea. I'll definitely be using that in the future!

aww but she's so cute with her little icing filled fingers in her mouth

Aww, sorry that happened! Kids are funny! mine loove to have tastes of the frosting and always beg me for it. My 6yr old son always sneaks a taste of frosting when I'm out of the kitchen!

We've all been there...When my son was in kindergarten he took a pencil and picked every lace point off of a dummy cake I'd done.

My daughter never did anything like that, though, for some reason. When she was about 2 she would walk up to me while I was decorating and say "Is dat cake fo us?" I'd tell her no, and she would say "Is fo a yady?" (Lady). I'd tell her yes, and she'd walk away. Such self-control, I never understood it.

AH nature at its finest;kids and sugar they just can't help it! Hopefully your second attempt turned out smashing! I can totally relate to this post. I have a 2.5 year old son who just loves to be involved in my baking expeditions; I call him my apprentice. Sometimes he makes for serious trouble in the kitchen though. He'd eat every flower I make if I let him whether it is fondant, gumpaste or royal icing it really does not matter to him. He also loves to steal my piping bags....so much so that I started to fill one just for him whenever I had one out and I'd let him pipe onto paper plates so he'd let me get my stuff done!! I am attaching a picture that I almost forgot about taking until I read this post. Take notice of the spoon he was using to scoop up and eat all of the icing he had piped...YUM!!! Well happy baking to you and your young one!!
Suzi

That is just too cute! I know I have threatened mine many of times when it comes to the cakes... haha. But I have also started bribing them with the cake balls and of course the occasional leftover scrap of MMF.

that turned out so good. I can feel your pain! My 2.5 year daughter will do anything to get into the frosting bowl

Thanks, everyone. These posts are great and really cheering me up. They're all making me laugh. This is better than therapy. Suzisweet, your little boy is adorable. He looks so intent on his project. My kids (5 and 2) love to help in the kitchen, too. It's always way more work than if I did things on my own, but definitely worth it.

My kids love to watch me work on a cake, but the one who is always begging for a spoon full of frosting is the big baby in the house...yep...you guessed it...hubby!

My kids are 9 and 8. Whenever I make a cake, I save the levelling cut offs and some BC (both loose and in piping bags) and let them go for it! Keeps them out of my stuff when the know there's a 'no holds barred' treat coming!

I'll bet you'd get a good price if you decide to sell her off.

I have locks on my cake fridges because of my kids! Had one who opened the fridge one time and picked off a 3D fondant number off the top...I barely got it fixed and stable enough for the customer to pick it up. Now I lock up!

I only bake for family, but my big girls know to stay far away. Actually, when my oldest turned 4 i made the first fondant cake I was proud of, with a big loopy fondant bow on top. Woke up the morning of the party and the loops were missing pieces, looked like a mouse had a party. Thats the cake she had for her party, lesson learned. but my little boy, just look at him in my avatar. so i cannot bake when hes awake

That picture is so sweet! It really is priceless.

I don't usually bake or decorate with the kids awake, but when I do I give them their own fondant or piping bags, and a scrap of cake. For some unknown reason, which was not inherited from ME, my 3 year old dislikes sugar or anything sweet. She loves the cake scraps, my 5 year old loves the icing. Neither one of them like the taste of fondant, go figure! lol!

I don't have any pictures, but my little guy (he'll be two in a month) is notorious for getting into my cakes and cupcakes! I couple of months ago, I tried my first tiara out of fondant (I have never used gumpaste and it had a while to dry). I wasn't sure I was even going to use it, but it didn't matter anyway because I came into the kitchen the day before the party and he was sitting on the floor with half of it gone. I actually called my DH at work I was so upset, lol.

I'm also trying to find a place to let things cool. It seems like any place I put them, he's able to reach it. I think he's got Stretch Armstrong arms, lol.

ccordes wrote:

Try some tylose powder in your fondant next time. It dries pretty quickly. I tried it for trees (lawn cake in my photos) and it worked great!

I love this thread! I have 2 girls almost 6 and almost 2 and my oldest will sit and help me decorate a cake if I have enough time to do it. Knows to wash her hands and tie back her hair and get her apron. The other one likes to steal things mommy needs off the table. I was working on some chocolate carriages which I used cookies for the wheels and had them far enough back that little hands couldn't reach, or so I thought. Next thing I know she is on a chair grabbing the cookie wheel and stuffing it into her mouth. As frustrating as it gets sometimes, I am glad I have these moments with them now because in a couple of years they won't want anything to do with me.

Your RIT was stunning. I hope the 2nd one came out just how you wanted it! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

How cute the pictures are. I can totally relate. My kids are all grown and out of the house. I get the honor of having my grandson (2 yrs old) who loves to help grandma in the kitchen. He loves to sit on the counter while the stand mixer is gowing. He doesn't touch because he knows he gets to lick the beaters when grandma is done!

I sometimes wish I could have had my grandchildren first! LOL

My girls always have been happy with the bowls and beaters, but the dogs are another story. I left a lattice crust blueberry pie (for the family) cooling way back on the counter. When I went back to check on it, it had been carefully pulled forward to the very edge of the counter and the entire center of it was missing. I thought it might have been the kids until I saw the dog -- his muzzle was a tell-tale shade of deep blue and he definitely had blueberry breath!

Oh, I love these stories! These stories are so therapeutic! I'm always surprised at what my kids can reach. I never would have thought about a dog being able to reach a pie on the counter. Maybe we should all build a cooling/drying rack that borders the ceiling of our kitchens.

Thanks, Shannie13. I haven't redone the RIT yet. I'm just making the cake as a surprise for a friend from my church, so it doesn't have to be done by certain day (luckily).