Creating A Kid-Friendly Kitchen

10.25.18

Creating A Kid-Friendly Kitchen

Studies have shown that children greatly benefit from spending time in the kitchen learning how to cook and helping out with the daily chores. A kitchen that welcomes children allows for both growth and development through creativity and learning. By allowing children to help you cook, you’re not only creating wholesome memories but you’re also opening the door for healthy eating habits. Cooking is more involved than just heating up food – it also requires planning. Through cooking, children can learn how to meal plan, shop for healthy ingredients, and even hone their mathematical skills. These life skills will follow them all throughout school and into adulthood.

Some parents or grandparents have concerns about having their children in the kitchen. Sharp knives, hot surfaces, and general messes may be enough to want to keep children out of the kitchen. However, learning safety measures is a valuable and necessary lesson for young children that can actually help protect them throughout life. Below we show you how to create a kid-friendly kitchen that provides a space for growing that won’t require much work from you.

Induction Cooking

One of our favorite new technologies is induction. It uses a magnetic field to rapidly heat your pot of water (up to 8 times faster than a conventional electric cooktop), allows for swift temperature adjustments, and is exceptionally efficient. But when it comes to children, our favorite feature is safety. The technology of induction heats only the pan, not the cooktop surface. So while the pot itself will be hot, the surface remains cool the entire time so children won’t accidentally get hurt by touching the surface once the pan has been removed.

Smudge-Proof Finish

If you have ever spent time around children, you know the messiness that can ensue. Throw in some flour and sauces, and you have a perfect recipe for a mess. While messes can understandably cause some frustration, we should also make room for moments of freedom where messes and fun can happen. For all the other times, there are smudge-proof, fingerprint-resistant finishes that keep your kitchen appliances looking stunning.

Refrigerated Snack Drawer

Healthy choices start with healthy options. While we want our children to learn to make healthy choices on their own, sometimes they need a little practice to make perfect. Instead of storing healthy snacks where they can quickly become camouflaged next to tempting, not-so-healthy foods (such as cake or sodas), provide them with a dedicated place for healthy options they can easily access on their own. A refrigerated snack drawer keeps healthy foods like fruits, cheese, veggies, and the like, in one place so children can practice making good decisions every day.

Teach Caution

The kitchen is a great place to start teaching children about taking proper safety measures, from handling sharp knives to handling raw meats. By teaching children to slow down and be cautious, kids can become aware of their surroundings and nearby dangers, such as a burner left on or a knife sitting out, and how to safely handle themselves in that type of situation. Of course, keep things age appropriate and store certain dangers out of reach if you feel your child cannot handle them, such as knives, blenders, and other sharp kitchen tools.