Any woman spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Separately, you have to cook for young children, and this is the extra time spent at the stove. How to combine classes with your baby and cooking? Is it possible? Quite.
Leaving a small child unattended is unacceptable at any age. That is why many mothers prefer to take the baby with them to the kitchen. Meanwhile, the kitchen space can be called the most dangerous in the house. How to prevent the unsafe moments that always accompany a child being in the kitchen?
First you need to cast your "kitchen kingdom" with a critical look. Where can the baby get hurt? What could threaten him?
Safe kitchen
Furniture
It is advisable to think about safe furniture in advance, even before the birth of the crumbs. We choose tables, chairs and cabinets with rounded corners (if not possible, then buy special nozzles for furniture corners). Particular attention to chairs, they should be as stable as possible. Try to get a table that looks great without oilcloth or tablecloth. After all, children often pull over their edge and pull on themselves everything on the table.
The drawers in which you hold sharp objects should be locked. Otherwise, you will have to shift everything higher, out of reach. After the birth of the baby, your assistants will also be locks that can be installed on the doors. Then your curious child will not be able to pull out from the locker what he does not need to play with at all.
Floor
Attention to the floor. With the advent of a new family member in the house, you will have to clean the kitchen more often, especially when the baby begins to crawl. Eliminate all slippery surfaces; this is an additional reason for injury. Rugs will not save - they will become so dirty so quickly that you simply will not have time to clean them so often. It is better to choose a laminate. The kid will often spill water and other liquids, and many types of laminate do not like this. You cannot constantly change coverage. The best solution in your case is textured linoleum or unpolished porcelain stoneware.
Sockets
Close attention should be paid to the location of outlets. They should not be too low. Although in any case it is advisable to use special plugs.
Plate
It is advisable to cook on distant burners, so that the child does not have the opportunity to knock over a hot frying pan or pan with all the contents. By the way, in most cases, it is the content that causes the main misfortunes. If you cook in large quantities and occupy all cooking zones, try to place the dishes on the stove so that the handles are turned away from the edge.
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The handles of the stove should be recessed, the child will not guess that it must first be pressed and then turned. Modern stoves are available with child protection, but if there is no protection, then protect the handles special locking caps will help. Caps are suitable for any stove - for gas, or electric stoves.
It is advisable to purchase a special protective screen on the stove. It is installed on its edge and does not allow the child to reach a boiling pot or teapot. The screen made of transparent heat-resistant plastic is quite transparent and light, but at the same time it protects the baby from touching hot objects. If it is not possible to install such a screen, cook exclusively on distant burners.
When the baby gets older, be sure to explain that you can’t play with the stove, it’s dangerous. Describe the possible consequences in paints.
Household Appliances
You can not ignore household appliances. It is advisable that all appliances have retractable cords. Anyway, it’s better not to leave the same kettle permanently plugged in, but plug it in as needed.
If you are just going to purchase household appliances, try to choose one that is equipped with a parental control function. Children sometimes accidentally turn on a button that is completely unnecessary in this situation.
Lockers
We remove all cutting and piercing objects in the upper lockers, the child will not reach them soon yet. We hide there medicines, vinegar, matches and other items that could be dangerous for the baby. Cleaning products are also best stored in upper cabinets.
In the lower cabinets you can store pots, unbreakable dishes, various plastic bottles and containers. Even if the crumbs reach them, there will be no harm from this, except for a few additional minutes to clean the kitchen. In addition, you can be sure that the child will like these “adult toys” and you will be provided with some free time.
Highchair
When the baby can already sit on its own, many mothers begin to seat him in a special highchair. The thing, of course, is convenient, but do not forget to make sure that it is well stable. It is advisable to install it at a certain distance from the walls and large objects. It happens that the baby pushes away from them and falls with a chair. It is also recommended to use seat belts. They can come complete with a high chair, but you can also mount it yourself. The stool must be placed in an area remote from the stove and electrical appliances.
Keep away from stoves toys that are flammable. The same goes for kitchen towels and potholders. Also remember the oven door, which has the feature of heating up. It is worth a little to lose sight of the baby, and he will definitely get burns. When cooking casseroles and other dishes using the oven, try to take the child out of the kitchen. Moreover, your constant supervision of the cooking process is not necessary at all.
Related article: The most useful purchases to ensure the safety of the child in the house – https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/eto-polezno-znat/samyie-poleznyie-pokupki-dlya-obespecheniya-bezopasnosti-rebenka-v-dome.html
Video: How to protect children in the kitchen. Safety precautions
How to occupy a child in the kitchen (crumbs up to 6 months)
Children of this age still do not care where to be, the main thing is that his mom is nearby. The kid needs her constant presence. And poor mothers begin to rush between affairs in the kitchen and the crying baby in the room. Such clutter can be avoided by using various devices.
Slings firmly entered our everyday life.Undoubtedly, the thing is very convenient, allows mom to constantly be with the baby and at the same time go about their business. Only here for the kitchen to use it is not so convenient. There are two main disadvantages:
- the baby, “hanging” on the mother, obscures the view quite well, and cooking is completely uncomfortable;
- in case of carelessness, the baby will be the first victim, because accidentally spilled boiling water, for example, will fall first on the child.
It is much more convenient and safer to use a car seat in the form of a cradle. Many of them are equipped with an arc to which toys are easily attached. Toys need to be changed periodically so that the baby does not lose interest in this occupation. You can safely use such a chair until the moment the baby learns to roll over and sit down. The seated child should already be in the highchair.
The cradle can be placed facing the refrigerator. After all, you probably have various magnets that hang on it. Children are very fond of looking at them. You can use magnets to attach other pictures to the surface of the refrigerator.
Going about your business, do not forget to play with the child along the way, he now loves all sorts of “crap”.
Try not to be silent. Say everything that comes to mind, let it be just a description of your actions. The baby will feel the presence of her mother and will not once again distract her from business.
Activities for children from 6 to 12 months
At this age, the baby can and should be accustomed to the word "no." Only these prohibitions should not be too many, otherwise the crumb will simply get confused, which is really impossible. The word should apply to dangerous things that a child should not take under any circumstances (matches, for example).
Children of this age are already crawling and an armchair is not enough. The child no longer wants to sit in one place, he needs to explore the space. Come up with games that will not cause you any inconvenience or unnecessary trouble. Believe me, you can think of a lot of them.
- Pour any cereal into the bowl and let the child finger it. There will be no limit to delight. And if you bury small toys there, the baby will have double pleasure. In addition, such a game develops finger motility;
You can entrust your baby with multi-colored pots with lids. He will be happy to pick up the lid of the right size to the dishes. Such a game will not bring excess chaos in the kitchen; it is not difficult to remove the dishes. Or you can pour plastic lids from cans or food containers in front of your child. Let the baby sort them by color or size;- You probably have a medium sized plastic container. Fold a few small items in it, the child will pull them out and fold them back. And if you pour beans or any cereal into the container and close the lid, the crumb will gladly rattle it. Such a rattle attracts children's attention much better than purchased;
- Some mummies put toys in a grid for washing clothes and slightly tighten it. Only extracting all the treasures will take a sufficient amount of time, and even folding toys back is even longer and more interesting;
- At the age of a year, children are already beginning to realize the size of things. Make a hole in any box and put toys there. The size of the toys should allow them to be removed, but with little effort. The baby can pull out items and fold them back many times before losing interest in this activity;
- Another trick is to hang the magnets on the refrigerator closer to the floor. The child will take them off with interest and hang them back. Just make sure that the magnets do not contain small parts with which the child can choke. They should also be strong and not peel off when they first get into the child’s mouth. And the fact that they get there, you can have no doubt;
- Do not forget about water. A rare child does not like to mess with her. Let the crumbs pour it over the glasses and bathe their toys;
- Any kitchen utensils are suitable as toys: from pots and ladles to wooden spoons. A crazy crash is provided for you, but the baby is busy and does not interfere with mom.
Do not forget to talk with baby. He already understands more, will learn new words from you and even remember some.
Safe games in the kitchen
Children older than a year already seek to help their mother. After such help, you will have to clean up a little more, but a happy face will surely make you smile. Do not turn the attention of the crumbs to other things. Let him help while he expresses such a desire. Permanent prohibitions for many children simply “discourage” the desire to help, and then it will be much more difficult to make them do it.
So, what can you trust a little helper? Of course, the simplest thing from an adult perspective:
- sort through cereals;
- wash vegetables or fruits;
- knead and roll out the dough;
- salt soup or another dish;
- pour water into the container you need;
- help mom measure loose products with a measuring cup.
Children of two years and older can already imitate mom. Let the baby cook soup and feed her toy animals or dolls. You can also allow the child to bathe his “friends” in a basin not far from his mother.
Cereals and pasta are excellent materials for creativity. Beads can be made from pasta by stringing them on twine. Krupa is suitable for applications.
You can still sprinkle on a dark-colored tray a little small semolina such as semolina. Show the child how to draw an asterisk, stripes and everything that he imagines on such a “sheet”.
Around the age of 3-4 years, the child can be entrusted with washing dishes and sinks. Of course, much will have to be washed anew, but this is nothing compared to the proud and contented look of your beloved assistant.
And do not forget about the conversation. Do not play silence, replenish the vocabulary of your child. Soon, he will already remember what form certain objects have, what food can be liquid, salty, sweet, what color vegetables and much more.
The games we have proposed are not at all complicated and do not require material costs. With their help, you can develop fine motor skills, replenish the vocabulary of the baby, accustom him to work. And at the same time free up time for cooking for the whole family. The main thing is to provide the child with safety in the kitchen, and your imagination will tell you everything else.
Further on: how to secure a home for a child >>>
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Watch the video
On the cabinet doors, special constipation on the suction cups is cheap and cheerful.
And I just turned on the TV and put my favorite cartoons for my daughter and she stopped
be interested in what's on the stove, in the refrigerator, etc. .. It’s better not to let a child go into the kitchen at all.
Once I read a tip in a magazine that came in handy to me, I hope it helps someone too. When the baby begins to be interested in the contents of the drawers in the kitchen, you just need to twist the handles from the doors to the inside. And the baby will not be able to open the cabinet for a long time, and it will not be difficult for you to open it. I got used to open- with my foot) and even when I later twisted the handles back, I opened my legs for a few more months-)))) conveniently by the way-) now my daughter is 3 years old and she has no interest in drawers. Maybe because they didn’t immediately let them in?
I can say that when I was designing the kitchen, I immediately discussed with the designer that moment that the kitchen should be thought out to the smallest detail. That everything in it should be harmonious and well thought out. Moreover, when the child is in the house, it is important that the kitchen is safe. I purchased my kitchen at the Beaver factory, and I am very glad that I took advantage of the help of a designer who made me a competent project.