People often say “the kitchen is the Heart of the Home” and that is so true. It is where meals are created ─ nourishing bodies, minds and souls; where the family comes together to eat, sharing chatter and quality time; where activity is centered ─ whether it’s preparing food, washing up or attending to groceries; and where mum usually spends most of her time.

Your toddler knows this very well and will want to be in the thick of the action whenever you’re in it. However, the kitchen has also been named as one of the top-most dangerous places in the home (after the bathroom and the stairs). But for a curious mobile child keen on climbing up everything he sees and putting everything he finds into his mouth ─ this is adventureland!

Keep the Child Out of the Kitchen

One of the best ways to keep a child out of harm’s way ─ whether it’s on the stairs, the bathroom or the kitchen ─ is to install a child or baby gate. (Image Credit: VeryWellFamily/Allen Donikowski/Moment/Getty Images)

Most child experts will advice you to keep a toddler out of the kitchen altogether. Install a childgate so that he can watch you and you can watch him too without him being in the way. You just might trip over him while holding a boiling pot of soup.

Don’t Cook and Carry Child at Same Time

And don’t cook while having a child straddled at your hips. You can’t pay attention to both at the same time. If you have a maid looking after your child ─ please advice her never to do such a thing. There is nothing to be gained from this sort of heroics but everything to lose, including lives.

Even if you have the toddler in a sling ─ since baby wearing seems to be so popularly used for every activity these days ─ he could suddenly kick the wok as it is sizzling or lunge and grab its contents with his hands. By 12 months of age, your child will have newfound agility in his body. He will be wiggly, full of movement and find it impossible to stay still. Plus, he will be mighty curious.

Even if he does nothing at all, hot oil might splatter out of the wok on to him. Or some piece of clothing might catch fire from the gas stove. Why take chances?

Be careful of flammable objects or fabric that could catch on fire. Most house fires start in the kitchen and most accidents are due to human error and carelessness. (Image Credit: HealthFacts.Ng)

“Accidental injuries are most common in children over one year of age. Children under five are most at risk from an injury in the home, with boys more likely to be injured than girls,” says Your.MD. “Burns and scalds are common injuries in young children,” the website further says. And in Malaysia, “statistics have shown that a child dies every two weeks from fire and burn injuries, and 54% respondents in a survey have reported incidents of burns and scalds at home,” says New Straits Times in a 2017 report.

The problem is ─ your child has no sense of danger. He will reach for that pot handle on the stove or your freshly-made hot cup noodles on the counter and you cannot expect him to heed your “no” or understand the concept of danger even if you explain it to him.

First Aid for Burns and Scalds

Hot drinks scald! And so does steam. Do not hold a small child and hot drink at the same time. Do not place hot drinks close to surface edges where the child will be tempted to grab it.

Get medical help straight away if the child is under five years age or if you are pregnant or if the person of any age has other injuries or is going into shock with signs that include cold, clammy skin, sweating, rapid, shallow breathing and weakness or dizziness.

While waiting for hospital treatment, First Aid must be administered to treat burns or scalds as soon as possible. This will limit the amount of damage to the skin.

Treating Burns and Scalds

To treat a burn, follow the First Aid advice below:

Immediately get the person away from the heat source to stop the burning. If he or she is in flames, douse with water or smother flames with blanket. If it is an older child or adult in flames ─ stop, drop and roll.
Cool the burn with cool running water for 10-30 minutes. Do not use ice, iced water or any creams or greasy substances such as butter, cream, mayonnaise or even toothpaste. These are old wives tales. Greasy substances may cause more damage or increase the risk of infection to the burnt area.
Gently but quickly remove any clothing or jewellery that is near the burnt area of skin but do not move anything that is stuck to the skin. The burnt area will swell and blister. It is important to remove rings and other items before this happens.
Do not burst any blisters.
Make sure the person keeps warm – for example by using a blanket – but take care not to rub it against the burnt area.
Cover the burn by placing a layer of cling film over the burn to prevent infection. Watch the video to see how the cling film should be wrapped ─ not tightly around the arm but lengthwise. If you don’t have clingfilm, you can use a clean plastic bag.
Use painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, to treat any pain.

Demonstrations by St John’s Ambulance on How to Treat a Burn

The Best Treatment for Burns is to Prevent it

“Prevention is Better than Cure” as they say and the best way to prevent a kitchen accident is to cordon the room off from the toddler by using a childgate. However if you find that you cannot install a childgate due to the configuration of your home or you don’t want to install one, make sure the child is strapped into a high chair or placed in a playpen whenever he is allowed into the kitchen with you. Don’t forget to give him his toys.

Also remember that dangers in the kitchen are not limited to burning and scalding only. Hazards include poisoning, tripping or falling down, choking on foreign objects or food, or getting crushed by kitchen appliances such as the fridge when pulled down.

Here are Precautions you Should Take to Minimise Risks in the Kitchen

If you are using a gas stove as most Malaysian homes are, before turning on the fire, tie up long hair, roll up long sleeves and ensure that any flowy, loose fabric such as headscarves do not get in the way or catch on something.
Always turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so your child can’t reach up and grab them.
Wipe up spills as soon as they happen. Wet or greasy spots can be slippery.
If your toddler is allowed to explore the kitchen on his own, ensure that the floor, corners, ledges and back of stoves, cabinets and the washing machine are at all times, spotless. This is because a crawling child will put anything he finds on the floor into his mouth ─ including cicak (lizard) and rat droppings. The latter is especially dangerous, and let’s face it ─ the back lanes of homes, drains of restaurants and dumpster sites of apartment blocks ─ are infested with the rodents. They like to come into houses and make the kitchen their home as that is where they can find food. Rats can spread 35 diseases to humans through their feces, urine, saliva and their bites. In Malaysia, the rat urine disease called Leptospirosis remains a big concern as it can be fatal.

Be aware that children are out to discover the world. They will put anything and everything they find into their mouths. This includes fruit and vegetable rinds in the trash, fish bones, durian and rambutan seeds and other choking hazards. (Image Credit: First Cry Parenting)

Ensure you do not put down cockroach and rat poison in the kitchen for obvious reasons.
Store all chemicals, cleaners, and other dangerous products in a high cabinet or get a lock to lock the cabinet if you have to place them in the cabinet under the sink. Be careful about mothballs. They are round and candy coloured. Your toddler will think they are sweets and put them in his mouth.
Make sure pet food such as kibbles are not within reach of the toddler. Even though they are edible, they are usually very hard and can become choking hazards for the child.
Remove other child-inedible food items such as raw potatoes, raw sweet potatoes, onions, shallots and garlic if you store them in baskets at toddler-reachable levels in the kitchen.

Keep this drawer safely locked up. (Image Credit: The Container Store)

Keep knives, forks, scissors, icepicks and other sharp instruments in a latched drawer.
Unplug appliances when they are not in use so your child cannot turn them on.
Don’t allow electrical cords to dangle where your child can reach and tug on them, possibly pulling a heavy appliance like an iron or a toaster or food processor down on himself.
Whenever you have to walk with hot liquid— a bowl of soup or fish curry —be sure you know where your child is so you don’t trip over him.
Don’t warm baby bottles in a microwave oven. The liquid heats unevenly, so there may be pockets of milk hot enough to scald your baby’s mouth when he drinks. Also, some overheated baby bottles have exploded when they were removed from the microwave.

For more stories on child safety and babycare, visit Motherhood.com.my.