Designing a Kid-Friendly Kitchen
Your kids will love getting involved with cooking along with you in the kitchen, but to get your kitchen kid-friendly you’ll need to make some adjustments. Here are excellent tips to improve and upgrade your kitchen, so your kids won’t have trouble getting in on the action.
Special Enhancements
Lowered countertops
Since kids are naturally smaller people than adults, there’s always the need to adjust for your kid’s height. A great idea is to build lower countertops that can go alongside your preparation area. If you prefer to have your kids closer to you, you can also provide step blocks or platforms they can stand on so the countertop is the right height for them. This makes it a whole lot easier if you have some help preparing snacks or cookies.
Just make sure that any kinds of steps or platforms have a gripping surface so there isn’t any risk of slipping if it gets wet.
Easy to use faucets
Many of the best parts of technology in the kitchen are the advancements that make everyday things feel super simple. Water faucets are getting a lot smarter and can turn on automatically once the little sensor inside notices there are hands below the tap. This will be perfect for little kids who naturally will need to wash their hands before they touch any kind of food.
This will also go great with automatic soap dispensers that are placed close to your kitchen faucet. Placing hand towels close to this tap will also help when it comes time to dry their little hands.
Storage cabinets made for kids
Kitchen cabinets aren’t such a bad idea to rearrange, so they are easier to place items into with little hands. In this case, labeled storage bins that have pictures of plates, utensils, and kitchen accessories are put onto these bins to help organize them easier. Roll-out cabinets are also a good idea since they aren’t hard to pull open by little kids. This works best if the cabinets are lower to the ground so they can still use them instead of higher cabinets. See more cabinet ideas here.
Keep edges rounded
Any countertops or little tables should have rounded edges so you don’t have little accidents. With square edges, these are big problems for little kid’s heads that can bump their head around or along these edges. Try to choose countertops that are specially rounded or add self-adhesive rubber bumpers to squared-off tables. These can reduce little accidents that you want to avoid when doing anything in the kitchen.
Dedicate a special area
When you have kids, they’ll appreciate having a little table that’s all their own. If they’re still at that age where they aren’t big enough to sit at the dinner table, a smaller kitchen prep table will be great for two or more kids. This way, they’ll have an area where they can sit down and help with light kitchen tasks and learn responsibilities in the kitchen. As long as you can keep an eye on what they’re doing, you can go about your tasks as well.
Safety considerations
Keep sharp items safe
Don’t let items that can be potentially sharp, like cutting knives sit on the countertops where your kids can reach for these dangerous utensils. Find a spot where they are out of reach and away from their grasp. Always supervise your kids if they’re cutting anything with butter knives or using safety scissors. Just as you would practice kitchen safety around sharp items, you want to let your kids know certain items are off-limits.
Child proof cabinets and doors
Adding special locks to the inside of cabinet draws will keep small hands from reaching for cutlery or knives. This also works great for spots that you want certain toddlers or young kids from getting into areas that have breakable items. These locks aren’t easy for kids to open and will keep your cabinets child safe. Only put these locks on certain doors or cabinets that you don’t want kids getting into.
Switch to eco-friendly cleaners
Under the sink in your kitchen, you’ll likely have cleaners and cleaning supplies that are used for all sorts of kitchen cleaning. These days, the number of chemical cleaners that you buy such as oven degreasers and cleaning sprays contain very toxic chemicals. When you have kids it’s better to switch to non-toxic natural cleaners that aren’t going to be dangerous if your kids find them.
Buying 100% natural kitchen cleaners is also better to switch over to because of the environment. Mainly, you just want to use friendly cleaners that won’t be risky to have under your sink if your child happens to find them by accident.
Make a special recycling area
Teaching your kids to recycle is always a good idea when they’re young. They’ll always remember to select the exact items to recycle as they grow up, which is something a lot of adults have trouble with these days. Have select bins for plastic bottles, paper, and aluminum cans. Show your kid which items go into each bin by adding pictures they can identify which recycle items are which.
