Stove Safety: The Best Oven Locks & More
Kitchens can be a great place for family bonding. Recounting your day at the inner table or baking cookies together can become special memories between a parent and their child. However, a kitchen can also be a very dangerous place for an unattended child. The potential hazards are numerous. For instance, a heavy pot can fall on them, the heat from the oven or stove can burn them, and boiling water can scald them.
We’ve already discussed burn safety on this blog. Now let’s look at how you can protect your child from an oven- or stove-related kitchen disaster. At Child Safety Store, we want to keep children safe from harm. Here are some childproofing safety tips that address the dangers of stoves and ovens.
Cover the Stove Knobs
Kids are curious. They also observe adults and love to imitate their actions. Therefore, even if the stove is off, a child may attempt to turn it on. This is especially dangerous if you have a gas stove, which can release hazardous gas into the room. Removing the knobs can eliminate this dangerous possibility.
While removing your stove knobs is an efficient way to keep everyone safe, it isn’t exactly the most convenient option when you need to use the appliance regularly. Instead, you may choose to use a stove knob cover. One useful cover option is the Safety 1st Child Proof Clear View Stove Knob Covers. This set of five covers fit right over the knobs to prevent children from being able to turn them. Inaddition, the covers are clear, allowing you to easily see whether the burner is in use. When it's time to cook, simply pop open the cover's hinged lid to access the knob.
Turn Your Handles
When you are cooking on the stovetop, turn the handles of your pots and pans inward or to the side. If they are accessible from the front of the stove, it is possible for a child to get to them. Even better, pair this habit with that of using only the back burners. This helps to keep hot food and water out of reach from the kids.
The Oven Lock
Kids will use any means possible to gain access to hard-to-reach places. For instance, they may stand on open oven doors to get to the stove or knobs. Using an oven lock can prevent this from happening, and will help to avoid any chance of your child getting access to the inside of the oven or top of the stove.
Another valuable childproofing device is the oven lock. The Safety 1st Oven Lock is a plastic latch that is mounted with one end on the front of the oven and the other end on its side. These stop the door from being opened and they work on most standard microwaves and stoves.
You can learn more about this product in this informative video:
Just because you heed the advice above doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still be extra careful in the kitchen. When you are cooking, you may want to use a safety gate to close off the kitchen and keep your kids in another room that is still visible from the stove. This will best ensure that your children are safe from harm!