Making Your Kitchen Secure

Your child may scamper around the kitchen like she owns the place but in truth she does not. This much-used room in the house can be a dangerous place for kids.

Most medical experts say that a kitchen is a dangerous place for small children. As examples, parents have unintentionally knocked scalding food or boiling water on wandering tots and children have pulled pots of hot food, searing oil, or boiling water down on themselves. Even the act of eating can turn into an all-out emergency if a child gulps down overheated food or starts to choke.

Here are some ways to nip trouble in the bud when you have kitchen duty:

1. Swivel the handles

Turn all pot handles toward the back of the stove. In that way, small hands can’t reach up and grab them.

2. Wave off

Do not use microwaves to heat baby food or formulas. Microwaves heat unevenly and food that is lukewarm or cool on the outside can have a scalding-hot pocket in the center. That searing-hot surprise can burn your child’s mouth.

3. Hold the kid or the pot — and not both

If you are holding something hot — in or out of the kitchen — don’t hold your child, too. If the child needs attention just as the soup comes to a boil, set the soup aside and then pay attention to the child. If you ever fell holding both, you and your child could get injured.

4. Monitor food

Cut food into slivers so that your child can’t choke on it. Think about a hot dog, for example. If you cut it crosswise, it is the perfect circumference of a child’s esophagus. Like a cork getting stuck in a pipe, that round hot dog can get jammed in the child’s throat on the way down. And there are some foods that you should never give a child who is under the age of three. Popcorn, nuts, and hard candy should be off-limits to these toddlers.

5. Keep the cords out of reach

Always try to bundle up loose cords and keep them hidden.

6. Lock up the poisons

There are more than one million poison exposures every year in children under age six — and about 50 of those children die. Surprisingly, most of the common poisons can be found in the kitchen, though these are not the usual poisons people find very alarming. For example, dishwasher soap and other cleaning materials when left unattended in the kitchen can be reached by toddlers.

Parents could prevent almost all of this poisoning with a few simple measures. Medicines and cleaning products should be stored in their original containers with child-resistant caps. Potentially dangerous household items and medicines need to be locked out of sight and reach of children.

7. Don’t turn your back from the stove when cooking

Too often, people walk away from the stove for a second to answer the phone or take care of the baby. A home fire can start when you turn your back even just for a few seconds.

If the phone rings or there is some other interruption, turn off and take something with you such as a great big wooden spoon or ladle or a hot pad so that you have a constant reminder with you. That way, even if you are distracted for a few minutes, the reminder in your hand will prompt you to get right back to the kitchen and to the stove.

Boiled down, keeping safety tips handy all the time while in the kitchen and maintaining childproof items in the area will not only save lives but save money as well. Accidents that happen in the kitchen do not just put lives in danger but also your resources.

Jo is a content writer for ‘Benchmark Interiors’ (http://www.benchmarkinteriors.co.uk), a UK kitchen furniture firm that specializes in bespoke handmade kitchens, bedroom and home office furniture development and fabrication. If you want an expert to assist you on your kitchen planning in order to keep the place safe and protected all the time or just would like to know more about bespoke kitchens design then you should have a look at Benchmark Interiors.