The kitchen can be one of the most dangerous rooms in the house for your baby. When a child begins to crawl and becomes mobile it is necessary to take extra precautions in every room of the house, especially the kitchen. Fatal accidents can happen in a split second. Burns, falls and electric shock are common in this area of the house. The stove is one of the more dangerous appliances found in the kitchen. Accidents involving the stove can prove to be fatal for babies. The best way to prevent these kinds of accidents is to childproof your stove ahead of time.
Babies may seem too little or too short to be able to reach appliances like the oven or the stove, but if they can pull themselves up to a standing position you may be surprised at how far those little arms can actually stretch. One safety item that can be purchased to help prevent burns and other accidents involving your stove are stove shields. These protective shields can be purchased at any baby specialty store, hardware store or large department stores in the baby department. The main function of stove shields is to keep your baby’s hands from touching hot burners. The stove shield puts a barrier between tiny hands and the stove top to keep children away from hot burners or pots and pans that may be cooking food on the top of the stove. Usually a stove shield is clear and it extends across the length of the stove just above the oven door. Most stove shields are easy to attach and can be removed for cleaning. They are commonly made out of heat resistant plastic that doesn’t heat up so they are not hot to the touch.
Keeping your child safe from harms way is the goal of every parent. Burns from stove burners or scalding water can be one of the most painful injuries. Teach your child at an early age to stay away from hot objects.
Some other things you can do to take precautions in the kitchen and around babies and toddlers are:
• Turn handles of pots and pans away from the edge
• Use back burners whenever possible
• Purchase pot handle covers to cover the hot handles of your pots and pans
• Keep hot pans off of counters and tables
• Buy knob covers for your stove; especially if have a gas stove
• Get an oven safety latch to prevent the oven door from being accidentally opened
• Buy a safety latch for your refrigerator to prevent your baby from crawling inside and being trapped
• Buy safety latches for kitchen cupboards
• Do not hold your child while cooking or when you are close to the oven or stove
• Don’t carry hot food or drink and a child at the same time.
Prevention is the best way to keep your baby out of harms way. If you follow a few simple steps and childproof your kitchen and the rest of your house ahead of time you can eliminate the risk of serious injury.
