My little cousin Ella is at that stage when she wants to do everything herself. But I felt very frustrated the other night watching her trying to cut her chicken with the dull butter knife that came with her toddler silverware. Indepedent, she didn't want me to cut up her dinner. She's very dexterous (and very careful), so I offered her an adult-sized knife. It was too big and unwieldly for her to manipulate however and I finally ended up cutting her meat for her over her very strong protests. I wondered, is there a child-sized knife that will actually cut food without cutting off her tiny fingers?

After a lot of internet searching I discovered the KiddiKutter. The soft-handled knife, with its brightly colored rounded snaggle-toothed blade, resembles the cartoon version of my dad's electric carving knife from the 70s. Made in Australia, it works by sawing, easily cutting everything from carrots to meat, even bread and tomatoes. BPA-free, it's adaptable for both left and right handed use, is dishwasher safe and comes in four bright colors. As an added plus, you can toss it in your bag without fear of cutting your fingers searching for it.

• KiddiKutter Knife (KiddiKutter, $11.95 AUD + shipping, ages 3+)

Here are some others worth checking out:

• Zyliss Lettuce Knife (Cooks Warehouse, $4, not specifically marketed as a child's knife but it's made from plastic and gets a good review as a child's knife from many parents here, here and here for starters.)

• Kai, My First Knife (Williams Sonoma, $40, age 9+)

• 3-Piece Nylon Knife Set (Curious Chef, $9)

• My Safe Cutter (Pampered Chef, $4.50)

(Images as linked)

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