Tip of the Week – June 15, 2009
June 15, 2009 by Jo
Filed under Child Safety, Family, Home Safety, Safety
Keeping Your Kitchen Safe
In most households, the kitchen is the busiest place in the entire house. It is, also, the site for most household accidents.
Why not take a few minutes to review some basic kitchen safety tips:
General Kitchen Safety Tips
*Keep appliance cords out of reach. Buy appliances with shorter cords, or tie the extra length and keep it safely out of the way; don’t let extra cord length dangle.
*Keep smaller appliances (anything but the stove and fridge) unplugged when not in use, and tack cords behind them.
*Keep garbage container safely covered, and make sure it is not tippable.
*Install and use good lighting in the kitchen.
*Keep matches away from children; store them in closed metal containers.
*Never leave plastic bags lying around; they can suffocate a child.
*Keep safety locks on cabinets and cupboards. Keep drawers containing cutlery and sharp utensils locked.
*Keep the dishwasher door locked; when using it, place knives blade down, and fill the soap container only when ready to turn the appliance on.
Cooking Safety Tips
* Turn pan and pot handles inward, away from the front of the stove, but not over another burner.
*Use safety guards around a stove top if toddlers are insistent on exploring the stove top.
*Keep baking soda and a fire extinguisher next to the stove, and know how to use them. If a fire is small and contained, you may try to extinguish it yourself. If a cooking fire breaks out, use these to put it out, but call the fire department anyway.
*Never pour water on a grease fire — it will only spread it.
*If possible, keep microwave in a spot where children cannot reach the controls; always keep a glass of water in the microwave in case it gets turned on by accident.
General Storage Tips
* Store glass pop bottles away from children; if tipped or dropped, these can explode and cause serious injury.
*Use lead-free drinking containers, cups, and pitcher; acidic juices (orange, tomato, lemonade) draw out toxic lead from poorly sealed ceramics.
*Keep potentially harmful items out of the bottom shelves of the fridge out of children’s reach.
Storing Dangerous Household Chemicals
*Adults treat household cleaners and chemicals with respect; they have learned that these can cause great harm if misused, splattered on the eyes or skin, or inadvertently swallowed. It’s extremely important that these solutions be kept away from children, and that children be taught to recognize warning symbols denoting toxicity.
*If at all possible, household cleaners, insecticides, and other toxic chemicals should not be kept in the kitchen at all, but locked away in an area that’s out of bounds, or at least unreachable, to kids. And remember that “green”, or environmentally friendly products, even though frequently less toxic, still can pose a danger if swallowed.
*When purchasing cleaners and other dangerous chemicals, look for child-resistant containers.
* Store cleaners or other toxic fluids in their original containers.
* Always replace the cap before you set a container of cleaning fluid or other dangerous product down, even if you are still using it.
* Keep the telephone numbers of your doctor, poison control center, ambulance and fire department prominently by every phone in the house.
At The Table – Hot Foods & Drinks
* Young children don’t understand that hot drinks can be dangerous. They see parents drinking from cups much like their own, and are sometimes tempted to reach for a drink not belonging to them. For this reason, keep hot drinks (and any hot foods or dishes) in the center of the table, away from a child’s reach. Keep condiments, salt and pepper at a safe distance, too.
* If you are sitting at the table with a child in your lap, don’t drink anything hot. The child may jostle your hand when you are holding the hot drink, and it could spill and scald.
* Remember that water in a kettle or teapot can scald up to half an hour after it has boiled.
* Don’t carry hot drinks over a child’s head.
* Don’t walk near or over children (playing on the floor) while you are carrying a hot drink.
Because of the large amount of time spent everyday in our kitchens, we tend, at times, to over look basic safety guidelines. Remember, it only takes a second for an accident to happen that will affect our us for a life time.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Loading ...
