When toddlers are around, childproofing the kitchen is an inevitable necessity. When my niece crawled after me into the kitchen, I nearly freaked out, especially because I had not seen her. By the time I did, she was already near the stove. That was the moment I decided that I simply had to childproof my kitchen. Here are a few pointers that I discovered on child proofing the kitchen.
Childproof Measure 1 – Kitchen Structure
Install a Safety Gate at the kitchen entrance- When it comes to childproofing, prevention is always better than cure. Remove and store all potentially harmful objects like, matches, knives and other sharp objects, cleaning liquid and other such poisonous chemicals in a cabinet. The cabinet should be on a higher level such that it is accessible only to adults. Install Child Safety latches on all Lower level cabinets and even your refrigerator. Install Corner Guards for all your shelves and tables that your child can reach.
Stools and Chairs- keep them away from the counter and stoves and don’t let children climb on them. Install a Stove Top Guard. This will help prevent the children from playing with the stove knobs and protects them from the hot burners.
Childproof Measure 2 – Kitchen Behaviour
Never bring hot liquid near the child or leave it unattended. Be careful with table cloths; don’t let them hang too far on the sides as children have a tendency to pull them down. When using the stove, resort to the back burners and always turn the pot or pan handles towards the back. Always wash your hands before you approach your children after you have been in the kitchen, especially if you touch meat, chicken, fish or eggs. Never leave any of the electrical appliances in the kitchen plugged in. Keep them out of your child’s reach. Something else you can do to improve the effectiveness of your childproof measures is to leave an entire lower level cabinet with safe blunt, light and harmless objects for the child to explore. This will keep them occupied. Remember to change content once in a while! Make sure that the cabinet is not near your stove oven or other electrical appliances.
From the heart, hats off to all the women who juggle, house work, caring for the child and a professional life! I found it hard when I was babysitting my niece. Hope fully I will be better prepared the next time as the new measures would have helped me childproof my kitchen and hopefully I can use it for the rest of the house. Hope they work for you too!
Mary-Anne is a featured member and regular contributor at iFood.tv, http://www.ifood.tv, featuring recipes from all over the world.
