We went camping this summer, when the kids were 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. We built a campfire, and gave our eldest a long stick to use to cook little hot dogs. We went over the safety rules and supervised him closely, and he was totally safe the whole time. 4 1/2 felt like a good age to let him cook hot dogs while supervised.

Our 2 1/2 year old also wanted to copy her brother, and so we gave her a stick as well and watched her oh so closely. We gave her and her brother a chair, and put it as far as we could from the fire (the sticks were pretty long). I was surprised that she was as good as her brother at staying safe! I would never have thought a 2 1/2 year old could cook a hot dog on a campfire. I think a big part of it was that her brother was modeling safe behavior, and she likes to imitate him.

How old should a kid be to safely cook hot dogs on a campfire (while under close supervision)?