How to Make Your Kitchen Child Friendly

We've finally moved house! Hurrah! One of the (many) rooms which needs a complete overhaul is our kitchen. Not only is it dated but definitely wasn't designed with kids in mind! You may also be in this situation, a stylishly placed dishwasher, built in knife block and low-placed wine rack aren't very practical when there are little ones running around!

So how can you make your kitchen kid friendly without comprising style and sophistication? Don’t worry – you don’t have to wrap everything in bubble wrap either! Here you’ll find a few tips on how to make your kitchen a safer place for everyone to enjoy.

The floor

If your floor is a heavy tile, then perhaps consider placing a few rugs along the floor – with some anti-slip grips underneath. That way, should any tripping accidents occur, then your little ones have a little cushioning to break their fall. Alternatively, you could switch to laminate. Installing laminate flooring means that spills and breakages are quick and easy to clean up and with a laminate underlay from DFD the floor can absorb sound and be slightly more cushioned than it’s tile counterpart!

Keep knives safe

Knife, fork, scissors, skewers… Anyone who wants to make their kitchen safe for children, should definitely make sure that drawers where sharp objects are kept up high, are locked and or with child-proof fittings, found in hardware stores. Another alternative is to keep those items right at the back of draws, to make them unreachable. Knives, inside knife blocks, must always be kept so that children cannot come into contact with them.

Safe placement of toxins

Detergent, alcohol and other chemicals are extremely dangerous for children who put everything in their mouth. Therefore it is recommended to store kitchen cleaners, dish-washing machine tablets, washing up liquid and Co. in a place that the kids cannot reach, or, even better, in a locked cupboard. The same goes for the alcohol too - not until they’re much older!

The stove

The stove is a particular hazard in the kitchen, careless use of hot stove ranges can leave the kids with their fingers burnt, or worse. So you should basically never leave children alone in the kitchen when stove is in operation. In addition, you should consider purchasing a guard and covers for the hob. It’s also advisable to cook on the rear burners and make sure that the handle of the pot never extend beyond the kitchen counter top.

Crockery & glassware

People say, shards bring luck, but throw children into that equation and you’re going to be feeling anything but lucky. Therefore, it’s advisable to always keep glass and porcelain out of reach of little ones; kept and stored in the lower cabinets or housing units. In your high up storage, store light-weight materials, like plastics and fabrics.

Sharp edges

If there are small children moving freely in the kitchen, one should have as many rounded shapes and edges as possible. If you love one particular piece of furniture, you can always attach some child friendly rubber edging, to make it safe. Small bumps of course can never be completely avoided, but serious injuries are excluded in this way.

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