When you have young children in the house, it can be difficult to keep them out of the kitchen. However, a kitchen can be a fairly dangerous place for a child as it has knives and other dangerous objects that the children could hurt themselves with. Mostly toddlers or children are at a stage where touching and feeling everything is their priority so pulling the refrigerator handles or pulling pans and pots out of their place, which again can lead to injury.
This is why we believe there are general safety measures that need to be taken when it comes to kids and the way they interact in the kitchen. However, keeping an eye on them at all times is not humanly possible so there are other ways you can design your kitchen to be kid-friendly as we have listed down a few ways of ensuring safety for kids today.
- Stoves
The biggest risk and attraction for kids is fire. It intrigues them and they usually want to feel it or touch it. This is why one needs to be extra careful around the stove. There are a few things you can do to make your stove kid-friendly. Make sure that there are no leaks and they work well. This will then help make sure that there is no fault and the chances of an accident taking place while your child is around are reduced.
Another way you can ensure safety is by using the back burners. This will then make it impossible for the child to reach the actual stove no matter how low it is. This will also ensure that they are as far away from the heat and fire as possible. You also must remove all flammable objects away from the fire or the stove as that it can be a huge danger to your child. Lastly, you could also place childproof covers on the stoves when not in use to ensure your child does not touch them.
- Refrigerators and Freezers
Make sure to use a childproof buckle or similar apparatus to keep the door shut. When a child sees a fridge, his first instinct is to go open and pull it. Once they can open it, it increases the likelihood of the fridge crashing down on top of them. These buckles will help prevent this from occurring. Magnets can be the reason children are attracted to refrigerators and will not put them in their mouths. If your child is very young, then we suggest that you remove these magnets as they can become not only a choking hazard, but can also cause unwanted attention to the freezer or fridge.
- Small appliances
When you are done using small appliances for example toasters, coffee makers, blenders, etc., you should unplug them and return them to a place where they are stored. Otherwise, your child may put their hand in them leading to injury. We also suggest that you use cord shorteners to ensure that there is no wire for your child to trip on or play with making the kitchen comparatively safer. You could even invest in a magnetic knife holder which will ensure your child will not take the knife out keeping him safe.
