7 Safety Tips for Cooking with Kids

Teaching a child to cook is one of the most valuable and useful skills a parent can pass on. Most parents will want to at least teach their kids a few basic meals to help them create a healthy and sustainable habit to use throughout life.

Having kids in the kitchen, however, does pose a new set of concerns for parents. There are a lot of potentially dangerous things that can happen if kids are not informed properly. Here are seven safety tips for cooking with kids to help both kids and parents cook together in the best way possible.

Watch a how-to video

There are a lot of basic safety practices that parents do every single day, but may not know how to explain to their children. In these cases, it is good to have everyone watch an educational video with Directv packages in Texas that can explain everything to both kids and parents.

Keep off-limits items out of reach

Depending on the age of the children, parents might decide that some kitchen items will be off limits to them no matter what. It is important for parents to hide these items away or only use them themselves to keep their kids safe. Some of these items may include knifes or heavy appliances.

Stick around to supervise at all times

Again depending on the age of the children, some tasks may be alright for them to do on their own without supervision. However, it is usually best in all cases for parents to stay nearby to lend a helping hand when needed.

Find a fun way to teach them about cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is often a difficult concept to explain to children because they cannot always see the physical evidence. Parents can find a fun way to explain this by putting dye in water and spreading it around their countertops.

Try to avoid a lot of heat

Almost everything people make in the kitchen involves some sort of heat. A lot of injuries can happen from heat exposure, so this is a concern every parent should address before starting and recipe. Make sure kids are equipped with safety items like hot pads and aprons. Another idea is to try a no-bake recipe.

Instruct safety procedures as the go along

Most often, parents will not be able to think about all the possible safety concerns that they need to tell their kids until they are actually in the kitchen working. Parents can still explain as they go, using the visual aids they have to help their kids better understand the importance of those procedures.

Practice cleanliness after every cooking session

It is easy to want to sit back and relax after enjoying a meal that everyone cooked together and leave the mess for another time. However, this is a prime time to show kids how important clean-up is and the difference it can make in the overall safety of the family kitchen.

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