How To Child-Proof Your Kitchen

Make your kitchen safe for everyone in your family with these easy tips.

When you're cooking, be sure to place pot and pans on the back burners where kids are less likely to reach them. Keep the cookware handles turned inward, making it even more difficult for children to reach. When you're baking, cool baked goods on a wire cooling rack and put hot sheet pans back in the oven (with the oven turned off) until they're completely cool.

Many people store bottles of cleaning products — like bleach or drain cleaner — under their kitchen sinks. If you have bottles that you aren't sure you'll use, toss them and keep your supply to a minimum. Then, invest in an inexpensive child-proof lock for that cabinet or move the cleaning products out of your child's reach.

If you have children, the odds are good that your refrigerator door is plastered with their artwork. Small magnets (including the magnets glued to the back of a larger object) are a choking hazard. If you're using magnets in your kitchen, check to be sure that they're too large to be swallowed.  If they're not, replace them or switch to tape. 

Don't store cooking ingredients (including salt and pepper shakers) or alcohol anywhere that you child can reach them. Many of these bottles and packages are simple for a child to open, and their contents are easy to ingest.

As in any other room in the house, remember to keep electrical outlets covered in the kitchen. Err on the side of safety and cover all outlets, even if you think they're out of your child's reach.

If you have any objects hanging or dangling in your kitchen (including the cords to small, counter-top appliances), make sure they're well out of your child's reach. Even the string attached to the blinds in your window can pose a threat: it can easily get tangled around a child's neck. 

Check for sharp objects (like knives, graters, and can openers) that are not only within your child's reach but that could be if they climbed up on a step stool or chair (even young children are capable of more climbing than most parents realize).  If you have a knife block, consider buying cases for the individual knives and storing them in a drawer. Even better? Lock the drawer with a child-proof lock.

Even if you think your children are too young to understand, talk with them routinely about potential hazards in the kitchen.  A simple reminder that ovens and stoves are hot and that knives are sharp, repeated over time, can help children be more aware of their surroundings and avoid injuries.