Enlisting your child's help in the kitchen has many advantages: Cooking is a fun way to bond, builds your child's self-esteem and confidence, and helps your child develop a healthy attitude about food. And the more your child helps in the kitchen now, the more likely he'll help out as he gets older.

How can you make pint-size kitchen duty enjoyable for everyone? Start with these tips:

Supervise, of course. And be sure you're the one to handle the more dangerous duties, like using sharp knives and turning on the oven or stove.

Set clear rules about kitchen safety. Teach your child to tie back long hair and to wash her hands before getting started and after handling raw meat or eggs. Similarly, make sure your child knows it's unsafe to nibble cookie dough or cake batter that has raw eggs in it. 

For things that are safe to sample, have your taste tester use a clean spoon that goes into the sink, not back into the bowl.

Let your child know what jobs are safe for her to do and which ones are for a grown-up to do (like turning on the stove and using knives).

Dress the part. Tie a small apron around your child, or dress him in an old shirt. You can even go all out and get him his own chef's hat and apron. This not only keeps him clean, it adds to his sense of ceremony about the work at hand.

Keep it simple. Preschoolers probably won't have the patience or attention span to make an elaborate recipe, so start with something that only takes 5 or 10 minutes. Make a salad together and talk about all the colors of vegetables you're putting into it or let her sprinkle pizza toppings on a pizza.

Work at his level. Let your child sit on a stool or chair to reach the counter, or move the work to a lower table.

Show your child how to measure. Even if your child can't fill a measuring spoon or cup on her own, you can show how it's done and let her pour ingredients into the bowl or pot.

Give your child the fun tasks. Depending on your child's dexterity, he might like to wash fruits and vegetables, tear lettuce for a salad, break cauliflower into pieces, wrap potatoes in foil for baking, or knead dough. Older preschoolers can peel oranges or hard-boiled eggs, set the table, or mash potatoes.

Let your child be creative. Set out some healthy ingredients and let your child create a new snack. (Avoid foods that may be choking hazards.) Have her choose a new kind of bread, mini rice cake, or whole grain cracker. Include spreads like low-fat cream cheese or peanut butter (spread thinly), bean dip, or sugar-free jam. Toppings could be apple or banana slices, cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces, or small slices of cheese or hard-boiled egg.

Have your child help with the cleanup. Cleaning up is part of the cooking process. Your child can help wash or rinse plastic or unbreakable dishes, dry pots with a towel, load the dishwasher, or sponge down a counter. Let him sweep up with a short-handled broom and dustpan.

For additional resources, see BabyCenter's list of make-it-together cookbooks.