Kitchen Essential

Not for nothing is the kitchen called the heart of the home.

The family tends to gravitate towards the kitchen at all times of the day and, while it must serve primarily as a food preparation area, it’s good if it also has a comfortable, companionable and welcoming atmosphere.

If there are children in the house, try to incorporate a space in the kitchen where they can play, paint and draw and, when they’re older, do their homework. It will allow you to keep an eye on them while you get on with your own tasks and, at the same time, provide them with occupation, education and company.

From the earliest age, children are intrigued by the kitchen. It is, after all, the place where parents spend a lot of time, it’s the source of food and, above all, it’s filled with grown-ups’ toys. These `toys‘ can spell danger to unsupervised youngsters but it is possible to organise the kitchen so that it gives pleasure to both parent and child.

At the crawling stage, a playpen keeps the baby out of harm’s way and reduces the chances of your tripping over scattered toys. Make sure you can see each other and, so that he doesn’t feel left out, give the child some safe kitchen utensils to play with. A spoon and a plastic jelly mould or, if you can stand the noise, a saucepan will do nicely as musical instruments. A child who can stand and walk is going to want a more active involvement — washing up and cooking are still fun at this age. Invest in sturdy steps so that she can reach the sink and worktop; a pinafore-type apron that offers maximum protection to clothes is also a good idea. A sinkful of sudsy water and some plastic beakers, or a bowl of flour and water ‘dough’ will keep preschoolers entertained for some time. Try to set up the play area away from where you are working so that you can get on with things unhindered and without having to watch for inquisitive fingers near the food processor. Resign yourself to the fact that the trade-off for this lack of interruption is that you will have to clear up puddles of water and spills of flour.

Older children will get pleasure, not just from playing with dough, but from making something, too. Simple biscuit recipes or jam tarts are good starting points, even if dolly, teddy and the dog eat most of the end products. As the child grows older, get him more involved with meal preparation. A simple explanation of why you are serving certain foods together will help lay the basis of good dietary knowledge.

Take advantage of a willingness to wash lettuce leaves and lay the table while it lasts. For some time this ‘help’ will undoubtedly slow things down rather than speed them up, so for the sake of your nerves, make allowances for this. After all, it’s probably better to take an hour and have a happy child than half an hour and have a child who feels neglected.

Introducing children to the kitchen and aspects of safety and diet at an early age will help them understand the intrigue of the many ‘toys‘ it contains

From the earliest age, children are intrigued by the kitchen. It is, after all, the place where parents spend a lot of time, it’s the source of food and it’s filled with grown-ups’ toys. These ‘toys‘ can spell danger to unsupervised youngsters.

Gradually introduce the child to the supervised use of kitchen tools and appliances. Moving blades, control knobs, glowing elements, flames and steam are all fascinating to a child and there is less risk of accidents if she understands how to use them. You may reap the benefits in other ways — with tea and toast brought to you in bed on Sunday morning.

Safety with Children in Mind

• Keep appliance cords as short as possible (look for models that have cord storage): toddlers may well be tempted to yank on trailing cords.
• Cover all electric out‑lets that are not in use to stop inquisitive young fingers. Use purchased socket covers.
• Store knives and other sharp implements out of reach of children. Wall- mounted magnetic racks can be positioned safely; wooden knife blocks can be kept at the back of the work surface. Use plastic guards with food processor blades and electric knife blades.
• Be aware of possible risk items: serrated edges for cutting foil and film can cut young skin too; plastic film can cause suffocation.
• Whenever possible, cook on the back burners of the stove. Keep handles turned towards the back so that they cannot be knocked by passers-by or grabbed by children.
• Buy a stove guard to stop pans being pulled off the top of the stove.
• Make sure children are out of the way when you serve up hot food.
• Keep all household deter‑gents, cleaners, bleaches, scourers and anything else that may possibly be poisonous on the highest shelf possible. Do not transfer the contents to soft drink bottles.
• Don’t add dishwasher detergent until you are ready to switch on the machine.
• Fit childproof catches to all drawers and cupboards that contain anything that is potentially harmful. Remove those catches before disposing of cupboards, fridges and freezers—children, finding a new ‘play house’ have been known to get trapped.
• Keep all rubbish out of reach of children.
• Never leave an iron on when you leave the room, and don’t let young children anywhere near the board while you are ironing.

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