Toddler Pumpkin Carving: Easy Ways to Safely Get Their Help

Fall is such a great time of year with so many opportunities for fun family traditions. Carving pumpkins is something my husband and I have done almost every year since we were dating. It is a great craft for all ages and craft skill levels. This year, I wanted to see how toddler pumpkin carving would go.

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My goal was to see how much I could get my 2 1/2 year old daughter safely involved. My first pumpkin carving plan was to try using my daughter’s toddler safe knives. They work surprisingly well for plastic knives, but they were no match for our pumpkin. With actual carving out of the picture, I found a few other ways to get my toddler to help make her own jack o’lantern.

Ways a Toddler Can Help Carve a Pumpkin

Supplies:

• Pumpkin
• Knife
• Spoon
• Scissors
• Glue stick

4 Safe Steps to Toddler Pumpkin Carving:

1. Cutting Top – Parent

First, we needed to cut the top off of the pumpkin. This is where I tried to use my daughter’s knife and it didn’t work. Instead, I cut it off for her. Afterwards, I let her stab her knife into where I had already cut a few times. I counted it as practice for trying again another year.

2. Scooping Seeds – Toddler

For the next part, my daughter got to really help. I gave her a spoon and let her scoop out all the seeds into a bowl. Every once in a while, I scraped the sides for her to make it easier. She had a lot of fun with this part. There is also no reason to waste the seeds. It is so easy to roast them for a yummy snack. I followed these directions and they turned out great.

3. Face Design – Toddler

Even though my daughter wasn’t going to be able to do any actual carving, I still wanted her to get to design her pumpkin. I found these super cool free jack o’lantern face printables and let her choose her favorite eyes, nose, and mouth. After she chose, I printed and cut them out. Then, I had my daughter glue the facial features on the pumpkin using a glue stick.

4. Carving Face – Parent

Lastly, while my daughter was napping, I cut around the face pieces she had glued on. This was much safer than actual toddler pumpkin carving. Once everything was cut out, it was done. When she woke up, I showed it to her. She thought it was really cool and helped me carry it outside.

Conclusion of Safe Toddler Pumpkin Carving

Overall, getting my daughter’s help carving a pumpkin was a lot of fun for both of us. I always enjoy the challenge of finding ways to get her involved age appropriately. This toddler pumpkin carving was no exception. Read here on some fun ways I have learned to get her involved cooking in the kitchen as well.

Also, if you haven’t started any family traditions of your own, you should try some of these fun fall ideas. Lastly, for more fun fall crafts you can do with your child, check out these coffee filter pumpkins, toilet paper mummy decorations and tissue ghost decorations. Happy Fall!