This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through these links. Please note that this comes at no additional cost to you, and I only recommend products that I use.
Let’s talk about kitchen safety for kids (with a free download!). You have to talk about this if you’re wanting your kids to get involved in the kitchen. This is part of a series all about getting your kids to help in the kitchen. Check out my first post here all about why you should be getting your kids to help in the kitchen.
While the kitchen is a great place for learning, it can also be unsafe if not taught properly or in not properly supervised. Let’s go over some basic kitchen safety for kids. I also have a free download checklist for you to teach your kids with or hang it up in the kitchen somewhere so you can make sure you’re following all of the safety steps. This makes for an easy review everytime your kid comes to the kitchen to help and learn!
Kids often learn first by watching. So, always make sure you are following these rules too. If your child sees you doing something unsafe, then they may think it’s okay for them to do that as well. The first step to teaching children is to always be a good example. I know we aren’t perfect, but you could at least explain to your children the correct way to do it.
First Step: Prepping Kitchen Safety
- The first thing we can do is to prep ourselves and our area correctly. If your child has long hair, make sure to pull it back out of their face. This will help prevent hair from falling into food or from being in the way. It also helps prevent your child from touching their hair which is dirty which then makes their hands dirty before handling food. Which brings me to the next step of prepping…
- Wash your hands. You will be handling food so we want to make sure we aren’t spreading germs. So, after they have put up their hair, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly.
- Put on an apron. This isn’t a crucial step but I know that my kids will wipe their hands on their clothes so I always make sure they put on an apron to help with the clean up process and to protect their clothes. Putting on an apron helps get everyone in the mood for cooking. It’s like putting on workout clothes before a workout. It sets the mood in a very practical way!
Second Step: Safety
- Don’t contaminate your work area with raw meats and eggs. If you are using a cutting board to cut up meat; always make sure to clean it before using it for anything else. I actually have an entirely different cutting board for cutting up raw meat and for cutting vegetables and other foods. Whatever meat or eggs touch, including you and your hands, needs to be cleaned thoroughly before handling other food.
- When using a knife, keep your eyes on your work at all time and keep your fingers tucked away. Even if you’re starting your toddler out with a butter knife and a banana, you can start teaching them good safety habits. Even if you think they can’t hurt themselves. When teaching older kids to use sharper knives, be sure to remind them to keep their eyes on their work. My children are taught to look at me when I’m teaching them something, so I have to remind them to keep their eyes on their work while I’m directing them.
- Always use supervision when using hot areas like a stove. Treat it like it’s always hot to avoid accidents. Always use 2 mittens or pot holders when handling something hot. I’ve made the mistake of letting my child take a small pan out of the over with just 1 mitten. They immediately went and grabbed it with their other hand once it was out of the oven. Learn from my mistake and just always have them use 2 mittens.
- Keep items away from the stove/oven. You don’t want things to melt or catch on fire. So, make sure to clear the area before turning on the stove.
- Use a step to help your child be higher up. This will help avoid accidents as well. They will have a lot more control if the counter or workspace is at waist level for your child. This will help prevent messes too! I like to use a folding step like this, so I can easily store it out of the way when not in use.
Third Step: Clean Up Kitchen Safety
- Make sure all appliances are turned off or unplugged. If you are turning off a burner, remind your child that the burner will still be hot for a while. Continue to keep items away from hot areas.
- Thoroughly clean all dishes, countertops and work areas. This is not just a good habit to help keep your kitchen clean. This also helps not to spread potential contaminated areas. Use warm soapy water on all surfaces.
- Clean your hands and put away or wash your apron. Remember that your apron can pick up some bad bacteria too. So, if you think that raw meats or eggs have gotten on it then it’s best to throw it in the wash. This is why we put on the apron to begin with. To make clean up even that much easier!
Free Check List Download
You can download this free printable to help teach your children or to hang up in the kitchen so you can easily review Kitchen Safety for Children. This is a basic checklist, and it still requires you to teach them properly how to do things safely in your kitchen. But this gives you a nice place to start and a good reminder for everyone in the kitchen.
I hope your aren’t too intimidated and you feel inspired to teach your children how to work in the kitchen. Children learn fast and while every child learns at a different rate, I think most children can do at least something in the kitchen. If your child is actively wanting to get involved, that is a good indicator that they are ready. By 18 months all of my children have wanted to get involved somehow. Even if that meant playing in the water while I was doing the dishes. But I let that happen and I’m happy to report that I have 3 good helpers whenever it comes time to do the dishes.
So, let me know in the comments about your experiences with your kids in the kitchen. How do you handle kitchen safety for your kids in the home?
Check out these easy recipes to get your child involved in the kitchen and make sure to follow along with the rest of this series about getting your kids to help in the kitchen!
[…] Check out the next post on this series about Kitchen Safety for Kids. […]