Running a family home can be hard work. When you live alone and independently, life is a whole lot easier. You only have to worry about yourself and your own safety and well being. If something in your home design is broken or malfunctioning, you know to avoid it until it is fixed and can stay out of harm’s way. If something is inconvenient, you can generally put up with the inconvenience or work your way around it. When you run a family home, on the other hand, you take on responsibility for everyone else’s safety and well being too! This means fixing problems and inconveniences immediately to prevent accidents from occurring and to stop anyone from becoming sick or injured at the same time as simplifying your day to day life. Now, you will have to eventually perfect every room in your property. But for now, let’s focus on the kitchen. Here’s everything you need to know to create the ideal family kitchen!
Childproofing
The kitchen can be a dangerous place for adults. We’ve all experienced the occasional burn when taking a tray out of the oven, or a scald from accidentally reaching over a boiling pan or steaming kettle. But the kitchen can be an extremely dangerous place for children. Little ones don’t generally know any better when it comes to anything health and safety and a small mistake could have devastating consequences. This is why you need to take the time to childproof your kitchen. This will help to reduce the chances of accidents occurring. These are just a few different steps that you can take to childproof your kitchen!
Did you read about the day my daughter cut me with a knife? It was an eye opener for me!
Get Down to Your Little Ones’ Level
The first step to take is to get down to your little ones’ level. This will give you a good idea of what they can and can’t reach and what might stand out to them as something interesting to investigate. This change of perspective can be extremely eye-opening.
Reanalyze Item Placement
Items located at a low level can be easily accessed by your children. Remove any fragile or breakable items from low cupboards and shelves. This can include bowls, plates, cups, glasses, and ceramic trays or pots. You may also want to consider relocating any cleaning products to a high cupboard or shelf. Most homeowners store these items under the sink, but if your kid gets a hold of cleaning products, they may accidentally consume them or expose them to their skin, which can cause all sorts of health problems and conditions.
Cupboard Locks
If you want to be particularly safe, you can fit your cupboards with cupboard locks. These are special locks that are designed to keep little ones out of the cupboards. This means that you can store items wherever you want without worrying that your children will be able to access them. These are also a great option for people who want to watch what their children are eating. Your children having to ask for access to the cupboards will mean that you know exactly when they are snacking and not. This can help to prevent problems such as childhood obesity.
High Countertops
Some homes (especially traditional cottages and bungalows) tend to have low countertop surfaces. This isn’t ideal for those of us with children. We use our countertops to prepare food, which means that we may leave knives and other sharp utensils on them from time to time. If the counter top is high, your children will not be able to see what is on them or reach what is on them. So, if you have low countertops, consider having new ones fitted. When it comes to pricing your countertop material be willing to invest in high-quality materials. These will be more resistant to staining and resistant to scratches and other potential problems. The better quality countertop you choose in the first place, the longer it is likely to last.
Storage Space
When you have children, you’re likely to require a whole lot more storage space than when you live alone. Having more kids means more mouths to feed, and you are likely to have a wider variety of snacks and different ingredients for evening meals than someone without dependents. This means that you’re going to have to sort out more storage space for your property. If you are running short on space, you should consider having a small extension built. This could pose as a storage cupboard and be lined with shelves that could prove perfect for organizing mason jars of food products and baskets of items such as tea towels. Alternatively, you could check out some smart storage solutions that will help you to make the most of the space that you already have available to you. You could switch standard cabinets to the floor to ceiling cabinets, upgrade to a double-door refrigerator rather than a single refrigerator, and hang your pots and pans on hanging racks instead of allowing them to use up the majority of your cupboard space. If you have a second freezer that you want to store food in away from the kitchen, you can have it installed in your shed or garage space.
Consider a Kitchen-Diner
Open plan living is in and it’s extremely functional for family use. Many parents have the problem of not being able to keep an eye on their children while they are also focusing on cooking or preparing breakfast, lunch, and evening meals. With an open plan kitchen-diner, you can seat your little ones at a table with something to distract them (maybe a jigsaw puzzle, some coloring books, or a film on a tablet. This will allow you to watch what they’re up to and ensure they are occupied at the same time as overseeing food preparation and cooking times.
These are just a few steps that you can take in order to make your kitchen as family friendly as it can possibly be. Some steps are more major than others and will require professional assistance. But some can be easily implicated today if you wish! So, determine which best suit your family’s needs and focus on improving your kitchen as soon as possible!
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