As I was showing Hunter how I was making dinner, I decided that, in general, I don't want to tell him that he's too young to do something. I'd much rather tell him that he doesn't yet have the manual dexterity/strength/critical judgement skills to do whatever I'm telling him he can't do.

See, Hunter doesn't have any control over his age. All he can do is hang out and wait, and that just seems terribly frustrating. By presenting the restrictions and requirements in terms of an undeveloped skill set, I'm trying to give him something he can actively work on to bring that long-awaited day of Being Able To Do Something closer. It gives him more control of the situation -- or, at least, presents additional options for him to consider when choosing his actions.

Of course, it would be even more useful if I could give him suggestions about what specifically he could do to develop those needed skills, which means I need to come up with ideas before he needs to ask. Parenthood just keeps comin' at you, doesn't it?