Your home– an otherwise safe space, has danger lurking around at every bend when you have a small kid. Especially the kitchen. With sharp kitchenware and multiple electric devices, it is probably the most dangerous room for your little one. Here is a list of 8 ways to childproof your kitchen.
As your kids learn to crawl and walk they naturally become curious and want to explore their surroundings. While keeping them fully away from the kitchen is not practical, you can always make it a safe place by childproofing it.
Below are 8 ways to childproof your kitchen and make it a kid-friendly zone:-
1. Install A Safety Gate
This is the first step to childproofing your kitchen and keeping your child safe. But, this cannot be the only way. Because, your kid could still follow you into the kitchen, if the gate isn’t latched properly or if someone opens it. And, moreover installing a gate will only work till the time the kid doesn’t learn to open it or worse climb over it.
2. Keep The Kitchen Floor Clean
With a kid going around the house, it is very important to keep the floor clean. It would be best to clean and mop the kitchen floor on a daily basis to keep the germs away. To keep the kid from slipping, clean any spillage immediately. Similarly pick up any food that falls to stop the kid from eating it.
3. Guard Your Stove
As kids learn to walk, stove knobs become easy to access. Make sure to take off the knobs when not in use or install knob covers. The lock on them prevents kids from playing with them. Also keep the pan and pot handles turned inwards and make use of the back burners while cooking, to keep the little ones from reaching for them. Installing a guard around the stove is another way to protect your kid from spills.
4. Keep Sharp Kitchenware Out Of Reach
You may find it convenient to have knives and forks on top of the kitchen counter. But with a curious kid at home, it is best avoided. Storing it in shelves or drawers beyond the kids’ reach keeps them from reaching for the sharp objects and injuring themselves.
5. Install Safety Locks On Cabinets And Drawers
Safety locks prevent kids from opening cabinets and drawers and injuring themselves. The locks can also be installed on refrigerators, toilets, cupboards, ovens and trash cans. With many options to choose from, you can keep your kids safe from any accident.
6. Unplug Electric Appliances
Every time you use an electric appliance make it a habit to unplug the device. You don’t want your curious one putting her hands into the blender, toaster or a grinder and getting injured. It is advisable to keep the appliances away as soon as you finish using them. Also see to it that there are no cables lying around, as the kids may pull them and injure themselves as the device falls on them. They could even strangle themselves with the cables.
7. Move Away The Cleaning Supplies
We often tend to keep the cleaning supplies at hand’s reach but, with a kid around it is not so advisable. Instead, find a shelf that is not reachable for your kid and keep the supplies there. And if you happen to keep it under the sink, turn off the sprayers and use a safety lock, so it is inaccessible.
8. Invest In Guards
Guards are protectors that keep kids safe from sharp table corners or wardrobe and cabinet edges. With their thick soft cushioning, guards are ideal for keeping your kids from getting accidental cuts and bumps.
It is important to keep your kid safe. But, you don’t have to restrict their entry into the kitchen. Instead, you should make it a safe place for them. This way you enable them to enter and explore. One way to do this is by dedicating them a kitchen cabinet that’s within their reach. Filling it with a kid’s kitchen set and plasticware you can watch them play while you are next to them cooking.