Curiosity And Potential Harm: A Guide To Childproofing Your Kitchen

AD | Collaborative post


They say the kitchen is the heart of a home, so naturally, everything emanates from the room. Eventually, all that goes on in the home end up in the kitchen as the gravity of food and water pulls all those in the house toward one common goal. If you have small children, a place of solace can be a dangerous, hazardous arena which can lead to accidents and potential harm. A kitchen doesn’t have to be entirely designed for growing families because there are ways to make the room childproof. The kitchen is full of menacing characteristics, with heat, fire, sharp objects like knives and lethal chemicals such as detergents and so on. Young children are at that age where curiosity of their surroundings, leads them to adventure around to experience new things and all too often test things with the use of their mouths.

General hygiene

It’s up to you the parents to keep the kitchen clean. It’s often been commented by scientists, that an average kitchen countertop has more bacteria per square inch than the family toilet seat. Therefore if you have toddlers that sit on high-chairs and eat from their plate, which is on the counter, they may drop food onto the countertop and unknowingly pick it up and eat it. Moreover, because their immune system is still developing, this can result in your child becoming ill and getting an infection. Therefore you must regularly wipe the countertops and the sides of floor cupboards with an antibacterial chemical.

Bathing in the sink

As children of the ages of 3-5 are still too small to place in the bathtub, bathing them in the kitchen sink is the most common form of cleaning their bodies. Modern sinks from www.tapwarehouse.com/category/kitchen-sinks have composite materials which are non-slippy. Additionally, they have designs that are under mounted and deep-seated, which stops children who are standing from slipping and decreases the chance of them tumbling out when they stand. Your children also have more room to play and splash about because the stainless steel tap fittings are swivel-mounted and able to be moved out of the way. With the ability to fit flexible faucet sprayers, you can use the rinse faucet like a miniature shower appliances to thoroughly wash your children without the need to pour water on them with a jug.

Childproofing the dishwasher

You’ll soon realise when first becoming a parent, just how strong children can be. It’s imperative then that the dishwasher is childproof as the noise and vibrations of the appliance can captivate a child. When the dishwasher is cleaning, children can become curious and try to open the door to see what’s inside. This is incredibly dangerous as the hot water can scald them and gravely damage their skin, eyes, and limbs. Even if the dishwasher has finished a cycle, the door must be childproofed as knives, and sharp objects are just waiting there in their reach. Modern dishwashers come ready with child locks, however, if you don’t have such an appliance that has this feature, use multi-use safety latches that clench the door shut and cannot open without them being taken off. Multipurpose straps are another good idea as they perform the same function, but can also be used to keep fridge doors, cupboards and toilet lids shut. If applied correctly, they can also prevent the turning of doorknobs.

Chemicals

Cleaning detergents are lethal if ingested, so instead of wholly relying on safety latches, it’s best just to put them out of sight and out of reach. With your children out of the room, so they can’t remember seeing you put the brightly coloured bottles in a specific location, take them from underneath the sink. Then, store them in an overhead cupboard, perfectly out of reach and out of sight. Do the same with your washing machine, dishwasher liquids, powders and tablets, as these too stir their curiosity.

Microwave

You guessed it, put safety-latched on the door of your microwave too. The beeps, stranges humming noises, inner light and digital display, can captivate children. If their inquisitive nature persists, they could do themselves or something else harm. It’s sometimes heard about that children will experiment with animals, and heaven forbids if your children puts their toys, or the family pet into the microwave to see what happens. Don’t teach your children how to use the microwave and warn them of dangers regarding heat.

Secure the trash

Children adventure around the home and could come across the trash and try to explore inside it, doing themselves potential harm. Opened tins with sharp edges, waste food and plastic bags all go into the bin. Kids can do the strangest things and should the try to touch or put anything that’s in the trash in their mouths; they could choke or cut themselves really badly. Again, safety-latches come to the rescue.

Save

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.