Cooking with your kids can be a fun educational activity, but it requires constant vigilance. Younger children don’t yet know the dangers of the kitchen, while older kids can forget. The hazards lurking in your kitchen might surprise you—not just the risks of fire, poisoning, and sharp objects, but also some unexpected hazards. Safety consists of making sure your kitchen is kid-friendly, adopting safe cooking and preparation habits and closely monitoring your children’s behavior in the kitchen.
Ovens and Stoves
To reduce the risk of fire, keep the exhaust hood, duct, stovetop, and oven free of grease, and wipe up grease spills as they occur. Turn the handles of pots (hot or not) toward the back of the stove. Don’t fry in deep fat when kids are around. In the event of a grease fire, don’t douse it with water—cover the pot or pan or close the oven door. Lastly, it’s a good idea to maintain a short-sleeves-only rule in the kitchen. Loose sleeves and other clothing can easily catch on fire.
Poisoning Prevention
Wash your hands before you start cooking, and wash them again after handling raw eggs, raw meat or kitchen waste. Don’t let kids taste foods—such as raw cookie dough—that are not fully cooked and contain raw egg or raw meat. Use cabinet safety devices and a watchful eye to keep children away from cleaning agents, fire extinguishers, or any chemical or poison hazards.
Hot Objects
Not only pots and pans get hot in the kitchen. Don’t let kids, and especially very young children, within touching distance of hot objects, including the oven door. Use insulating potholders to handle hot pots and pans. Don’t let your kids pick up hot pots or pans, even with potholders — that pot you may not think is heavy could tip over, and using potholders requires some dexterity.
Warn your kids when hot objects such as ovens, stove burners, rice steamers, other appliances, stirring spoons, plates, or pots come within their reach. Remind kids that food coming out of the microwave is hot, even if it doesn’t look like it. Avoid letting kids play with unheated pots and pans, as it increases the risk they’ll touch them when they’re hot.
Heavy and Sharp Objects
Heavy ceramic dishes, graters, knives, cans of food, empty cans, and corroded burner plates can all be hazards in the kitchen. Avoid letting kids handle objects they might break, drop or cut themselves on. Let kids use butter knives or plastic knives if they help with chopping or slicing.
Appliances
Don’t let cords dangle over the side of a countertop or tabletop. Keep appliances unplugged except when in use. Only let kids use appliances certified safe for children. Read carefully and follow all usage and safety directions for microwave ovens and other appliances. Only let kids use the microwave if they understand all the safety precautions. Only put objects in the microwave if they are approved for microwave oven use. Don’t let kids use the microwave if their faces are at or below the microwave’s level.
Floors
An unexpected hazard is kitchen floors. Tile, linoleum, and other slick surfaces can become slippery when wet with water, grease, food, or fallen objects. Don’t let kids run around in the kitchen. Wipe up all floor spills promptly.
General Kitchen Rules
Use safety gates and cabinet safety devices so young children have a place to play without being in the way while you work. Make sure children can see the tops of the counters they’re using—provide a stool if not. And avoid using placemats, cloth napkins, or even tablecloths around kids, since a single tug can bring everything tumbling down.
Lastly, remember that kids are creative and will investigate items you may not even consider hazards until they hurt themselves. Prevent this from happening by never leaving your kids alone in the kitchen.
