How to Childproof a Kitchen

It’s a high priority for any parent to ensure that every room in a home is adequately safe for their children to wander around. When it comes to child-proofing a kitchen, precautionary measures can be taken during the initial design stages, and they can additionally be implemented into an old kitchen to maximize safety. Homeowners who are considering a particular facet of kitchen remodeling (such as refacing kitchen cabinets san diego) should definitely have these key childproofing tenets in mind.

Designing a Kitchen With Children in Mind Child-Friendly Cabinet Storage Parents customizing their cabinetry should designate a cabinet or drawer for their children to use. These cabinets or drawers should be low enough for the children to reach at any time. Rounded Edge Details It’s important for countertop surfaces to have rounded edge details for all homes that have energetic children running around. All it takes is one collision with a sharp, hard countertop corner for a child to suffer a significant bruise.

Low Countertop Heights Additionally, countertop heights in homes with young children should be as low as possible. If it would be impractical for the homeowner to have every square inch of the countertop lower than standard, it is advised that one section of the countertop - the one children spend most of their time around - should be as low as convenience allows. Practical Countertop Materials Every parent knows how inherently messy children can be. Certain countertop materials - like natural marble, for instance - don’t handle peanut butter smears and grape juice stains particularly well. If possible, and if it suits the design preferences of the homeowner, it’s best to opt for a durable, non-porous material such as engineered quartz to take on all the obstacles that can arise should a young child fix herself up with an afternoon snack.

Child-Proofing the Current Kitchen Cabinet Door and Drawer Locks These are an absolute necessity for parents with young children. At any given time, there is a myriad of dangerous kitchen supplies that can prove very harmful should a child get his or her hands on them. Adding a Baby Gate This obviously only applies to parents with babies and toddlers (and particularly to galley kitchen designs), but it’s advised that parents install a baby gate so that they aren’t met with the surprise of finding their youngsters wandering about the kitchen unsupervised. Keep Dangerous Items in High Places While it’s advised that frequently used (albeit entirely safe) items be stored close to the ground so that children can have full access, it’s even more important to ensure that all potentially dangerous items be kept high up so that children can not access them readily