Welcome to Child Safety Products Tips

Stove Guard

Minimize your children's risk of getting burned. An important product to further safety in the kitchen is a stove guard or shield, which puts a barrier between your hot burners and your child's hands. The guard attaches to the stove so children can't reach past it but adults can still access the burners. Prince Lionheart and Safety 1st are two of the brands that make this kitchen safety product. Both are adjustable to fit your stove style and dimensions. As with any products for kitchen safety for kids, make sure that you follow directions to correctly install the guard, and that it is secure. Test it yourself before allowing your child in the kitchen. Also, never rely on this barrier alone to keep your child safe. Still take the time to teach your child that the stove is hot, and never leave a child unattended in the kitchen.

Handling Meat in the Kitchen

Children are at a much higher risk for bacterial infections such as E.coli. Therefore it is vital to take extra precautions in kitchen safety and sanitation, especially when it comes to handling meat. Don´t store raw fish in your refrigerator for more than 24 hours. Raw poultry or ground beef will keep for 1-2 days, while raw red meat will keep for 3-5 days. Be sure to clean up any leaks of meat juice from countertops and your hands. Never place cooked meat on a plate used for raw meat. Cook all meat and poultry at a minimum oven temperature of 325°F.

Cook Thoroughly

Keep your family´s food safe by cooking it thoroughly! Red meat (cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit) should have its juices run clear. Fish should flake with a fork. Scramble or cook eggs until the yolk and white aren´t runny. Avoid Caesar salad, homemade mayonnaise, chocolate mousse, or any other recipe that calls for raw or partially cooked eggs.

Teaching Kids Kitchen Safety

Children learn by watching and doing. But they need verbal assistance as well. Therefore, take the time to teach them safety in the kitchen. As you cook, handle kitchen products properly. Take the time to explain how each product works, as it's needed for each recipe. What you do and what you say will go a long way in teaching kids the safe way to work in the kitchen.

Serve with Clean Stuff

When it´s time to serve your meal, don´t use the dishes or utensils that you used to prepare the food. Use clean fresh utensils. Remember that raw meats especially contain bacteria that loves to cling to utensils!

Store Food Right

Store your foods safely by keeping your refrigerator as cold as possible. The temperature should be just short of freezing your food. Your freezer should be at zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Keep fresh meat, poultry, and fish on a plate, or wrapped in a second plastic bag to keep their raw juices from contaminating other food. If you aren´t going to eat them for a few days, put them in the freezer to stop the growth of bacteria.

Refrigerate

Don´t leave any perishable foods out more than two hours. If your child is bringing his lunch to school, use an insulated carrier with a cold pack. Teach him to keep his lunch out of direct sunlight, and off the radiator.

Wall Anchor

When you think of employing home safety tips in the kitchen, perhaps an obvious place to start is by securing your appliances to prevent them from tipping. Consider using a wall anchor to hold your oven, refrigerator and washer and drier in place. That way even if your child climbs up or pulls on it, it will not be able to fall on him or her. Wall anchors are also available for small appliances like toasters and microwaves. Most wall anchors consist of a simple strap or cable that that attaches to the back of an appliance with a snap-hook fastener. The other end of the strap screws into the wall. The best place to put a wall anchor is in the middle to upper portion of the appliance. In addition to keeping your curious child safe, these wall anchors can also be valuable to have during hurricanes and tornados that could dislodge unsecured small and large items. So on many fronts, these are an important part of your strategy to ensure kitchen safety for kids.

Fire Extinguisher

You should be sure to have a fire extinguisher located centrally in your kitchen within easy reach should a grease fire occur. It is important that you don't keep the extinguisher right next to the stove, since you could be burned if a fire occurred and you had to lean over to access it. Yet select a spot for it that is in plain sight and won't be hard to get in seconds. Most home safety tips in the kitchen suggest mounting it by the kitchen door. Also, never rely on one fire extinguisher for many rooms. Have several handy in various locations throughout your house so you can respond right away in a firer emergency.

Keeping Your Kitchen Safe

The first place to start with home safety tips in the kitchen is with cleanliness. Before handling food, you should always wash your hands in warm soapy water. Scrub them for at least fifteen seconds and rinse thoroughly. Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables. Keep countertops clean as well as any pots, pans or cooking utensils. Cutting boards, too, need regular attention in order to ensure they are not harboring bacteria that can be harmful to you and your children.

Keep it Clean

Bacteria can also live on hands, kitchen towels, sponges, cutting boards, and knives. Throughout food preparation, keep everything clean with hot soapy water, and avoid contaminating anything with the juices of raw food. Replace your sponge every few weeks, and use a plastic rather than wooden cutting board.

Keep it cool!

Hidden bacteria in your meal may cause food borne illness in your family. Bacteria will multiply to dangerous levels between 60 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Stay out of this danger zone with proper cold storage, handling, and cooking.

Cold air must always circulate in the fridge, so don´t overcrowd it.

Cutting Boards Are Safety Products, Too

But only if you keep them clean! Choose a smooth, durable and nonabsorbent surface. Plastic is less porous than wood, making it less likely to harbor bacteria, and easier to clean. Wash your board with hot soapy water, and scrub brush to remove food and dirt particles. After washing it, sanitize your board in the dishwasher or by rinsing it in dilute chlorine bleach solution of 1-teaspoon bleach to 1-gallon water.

Baking Soda

Did you ever have a pan fire happen when you were cooking? If so, you know how scary – and dangerous – that can be. Therefore, take the risk out of using your stovetop by having baby soda on hand at all times. While this substance is usually used for baking, it can also double as a fire extinguisher if needed. Here are some home safety tips in the kitchen on how to use the baking soda if a small cooking fire occurs: First turn off the gas or electricity right away, then sprinkle handfuls of the baking soda at the base of the flames. As soon as you have it under control, call your local fire department for help, just in case the flames re-ignite. Also, a few more things you should remember when it comes to safety in the kitchen is never use baking soda on deep fat fryers, since this could cause splattering. Also never use water on an electrical fire.

Child-Resistant Caps

Many kitchen cleaners and chemicals can be harmful to babies and children. Therefore, look for products that have child-resistant caps to prevent curious hands from opening them. This is an important way to ensure safety in the kitchen. Of course, your dangerous products should be stored safely in high cabinets that are protected by childproof latches. But the reality is that some determined youngsters have figured out how to open even well-secured places, so it is always a good idea to have a multi-faceted kitchen safety plan in place. That way, if you forget to put a cleaning product away, at least you know it will be difficult for your child to open it. Be sure to keep your products in their original containers as well, so the child-resistant caps can be effective to create kitchen safety for kids.

Fire and Kitchen Safety

Fire is a major hazard in the kitchen. That's why kitchen safety for kids should always include a run-down of fire-safe behavior. Wear short sleeves in the kitchen, as long sleeves are more apt to catch fire. Use oven mitts and never a towel to move hot pans. The loose parts of the towel can fall onto a hot burner and catch on fire. Show children how to use a fire extinguisher. Keep at least one nearby -- and regularly serviced!

Tablecloths

When it comes to kitchen safety for kids, you need to look beyond the obvious. For instance, tablecloths can be very pretty, but did you know they could actually be very dangerous if you have babies or toddlers in your house? Many young children like to pull on things, which could pose a hazard when it comes to your table covering. A baby who yanks on the tablecloth could dislodge it – and anything on it -- and lose his or her balance in the process. Most home safety tips in the kitchen will remind you that if your table is set with dishes and silverware, or if you have other heavy objects or a centerpiece on it. These can land on your child. If you find you must use a tablecloth for a special occasion, be sure to wait until the last minute to put it on and don't leave your child near it unattended. You might also try using tablecloth clamps or weights to hold the cloth in place. Just make sure if you try one of these options that they are child-safe first.

Protect Little Fingers in the Kitchen

Cabinets and drawers can't stay closed all the time! Help prevent little fingers from getting injured. Install finger protectors on the insides of your drawers and cabinets. They stay firmly in place preventing sudden re-closing before your child has had a chance to remove his/her hand. Spacers are included so that the protectors can be used in virtually every size of cabinet and drawer. Adults are able to release the protectors easily with one hand. The protector automatically relock when closed.