Kitchen Safety for Kids
Friday, July 3rd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Terrific New eBook On How To Broil Delicious Foods Cooking with children is a special way for parents and children to connect. Even very young children can participate in cooking in age-appropriate ways. Time spent in the kitchen offers an ideal learning environment and creates cherished, enduring memories that last a lifetime. When cooking with children, however, the first thing that should be taught is kitchen safety. Children should only use a stove if they have been trained by an adult. Pan handles should be turned into the middle of the stove at all times and the stove should be immediately turned off when finished. If something on the stove catches fire, it should be smothered with a lid and the burner should be turned off. If the fire has leaping flames, the child should immediately leave the house and call 911. Emphasize that baking soda, flour or water should never be thrown on a kitchen fire. You can encourage your children to have fun in the kitchen as you follow recipes and prepare meals and holiday treats together. Kitchen safety, however, should always be paramount and constantly reinforced. When the right precautions are in place, children and parents can relax and truly enjoy the art of cooking. Author: Pablo Maiorino 
Particularly in this era of children with two working parents, many kids are home by themselves several hours a day and the kitchen is often the first place they go for a meal or snack after school. It’s a time when many accidents, including cuts and burns, can occur. That’s why, when you’re in the kitchen together, it’s vitally important to teach children kitchen safety and what they should do in case of an emergency.
The first thing to teach children is that they should always wash their hands with soap and warm water, making sure to get between fingers and under fingernails, before they touch any food. They should wash again any time they cough, sneeze or use the bathroom.
Parents should demonstrate the proper use of utensils, especially knives. Remember to keep your kitchen knives sharp – more cuts occur from dull knives than from sharp ones. Teach children to always cut food away from themselves.
Give specific directions for using the microwave oven. Microwave cooking is easy and convenient but because the food coming out is very hot, it can cause severe burns. Food should be allowed to cool for several minutes before eating. Make sure your child knows how to program the microwave oven (so that 20 seconds is not programmed as 20 minutes). Identify microwave-safe cookware they can use. Instruct them how to cover foods in the microwave so they don’t splatter and to always use potholders to remove hot dishes.
Hot liquids, not fire, are the most common cause of burns to children. Instruct children that if they are burned, they should hold the burn under cool, running water for several minutes. If the burn begins to blister, it should be loosely covered with a clean cloth or sterile gauze. They should immediately tell a grown-up the burn has occurred as it may require medical attention.
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