Kids safety in The Kitchen

If you have budding Wolfgang Pucks or Julia Childs in the family, encouraging their culinary skills can be rewarding for the whole family.

Cooking teaches children many skills
Learning to cook can help turn a picky eater into an adventurous one, boost self-esteem, teach math and comprehension skills, and create hours of delicious parent-child bonding projects.

Cooking adventures begin with safety
There are more dangers for children lurking in the kitchen than anywhere else in the house. Hot stoves, sharp knives, heavy appliances and scalding liquids can all be hazardous to little chefs. By paying attention to some safety precautions, though, creating a little kitchen magic can be fun for parent and child.

Tips for keeping your young chef safe in the kitchen

a. Never leave a child unsupervised in the kitchen; make cooking a joint effort and oversee everything she does.
b. Check large appliances for proper installation. Stoves should have safety braces to prevent them from falling, refrigerators should be on level floor: microwaves should be on a flat countertop, installed in the wall, or placed on a unit specifically made to hold the appliance.
c. Keep the garbage disposal unit covered at all times; teach your little one to keep her hands out of the unit.
d. Blenders, food processors, electric beaters and grinders should only be used by adults to keep little fingers from injury.
e. Set the hot water temperature in your house lower to prevent scalding.
f. Teach your child to keep hands away from electrical sockets, especially if his hands are wet; keep electrical appliances away from water to avoid shocks.
g. Never put water on a cooking fire, instead keep a box of baking soda nearby or smother the fire with a lid. Keep a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
h. Make sure your child is not wearing any loose clothing or has hair that hangs down when cooking; teach her to keep towels, potholders, and other objects away from the burners, as they could catch fire.
i. Keep pot handles turned toward the back of the stove to prevent knocking over the pot.
j. Don’t put knives or other sharp objects into a sink full of water, as someone could reach in and get cut.
k. Teach food safety, such washing hands before and after food preparation, never putting cooked food on a plate or cutting board that has held raw food, and never eating (or licking your fingers) after handling raw food.
l. Check that the oven and other cooking appliances are turned off before you leave the kitchen.
m. Consider signing your child up for a kids-in-the-kitchen course with an instructor for some professional lessons.

Cooking skills by age
In addition to the previous precautions, make sure your child’s skill levels match their kitchen duty. Some age-specific tasks are:

a. Three-year-olds can help by washing fruits and vegetables, stirring ingredients in a bowl and pouring cold liquids. Four-year-olds can grease pans, tear lettuce, and snip herbs with a scissors.
b. Five or 6 year olds can measure ingredients and cut soft foods with a butter knife. At 7 and 8 years old, they can help plan meals, roll and shape cookies and beat ingredients.
c. Nine to 12 year olds can use the microwave oven, prepare simple recipes and use an oven and knife (with supervision).
d. Thirteen to 16-year-olds can prepare recipes with multiple ingredients independently.

Reviewed by: Patrick S. Pasquariello Jr., MD