Thanksgiving Kitchen Safety

Halloween is over. Everyone has started bundling up in their cozy sweaters, the leaves are changing, and there is a cool crispness to the air. Know what that means? Thanksgiving is almost here!!

The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially at Thanksgiving. Kids love to be involved in holiday preparations. Safety in the kitchen is important especially on Thanksgiving day when there is so much going on. Here are a few tips to keep your home and family safe during the Thanksgiving holidays.

1. Avoid carrying or holding a child while cooking on the stove. Ask a visiting relative or family member to be the designated child wrangler and lead younger kids away from the kitchen to more fun activities.
2. Use the back burners of your stove, and turn pot handles away from the edge. Thanksgiving tends to make you use every single cookware product you have in your house, but it is important to make sure that curious little hands don’t have the ability to pull down any pots or pans from the stove.
3. Check to make sure appliance cords are coiled and away from counter edges. Those little curious hands again, but with all the blenders, mixers and food processors being used, counter-top space can be limited and cords find their way close to the edge.
4. Take a minute to test your smoke alarms. Testing your smoke alarms is not just a great idea before embarking on a cooking adventure (which it is), but something that you should regularly do for the safety of your family.
5. Teach your kids how to cook safely. Thanksgiving is first and foremost a day for family and coming together. Use the time to explain and model safety cooking lessons for your children. It is a great start to a long life of making safe decisions in the kitchen.

Purohit Pediatrics hopes that you and your family have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!