As the holiday cooking season approaches, Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents and caregivers to check the kitchen for preventable hazards and to supervise children at all times in the kitchen.

“It’s important to keep cabinets closed and locked, and to store hazardous substances out of reach, but that’s not enough,” says Jan Stegelman, Safe Kids Kansas coordinator. “The most important safety precaution in the kitchen is constant, close, attentive supervision.”

Whether a child is helping an adult cook or simply watching, he or she always should be actively supervised – which means that the child is in sight and in reach at all times.

“Because young children have thinner skin than adults, they burn more severely and at lower temperatures,” Stegelman says.

Scald burns from hot liquid or steam are the most common type of burns among children ages 4 and under. A child will suffer a full-thickness burn (third-degree burn) after just three seconds of exposure to 140-degree water.

Safe Kids Kansas recommends these precautions against kitchen burns:

¢ Never leave a hot stove unattended. (Unattended food on the stove is the No. 1 cause of home fires.)

¢ Never hold a child while cooking or carrying hot items.

¢ Cook on back burners whenever possible, and turn all handles toward the back of the stove.

¢ Don’t allow loose-fitting clothing in the kitchen.

¢ Keep hot foods and liquids away from the edges of counters and tables. Be especially careful around tablecloths – children can pull hot dishes down onto themselves.

¢ Tie up the electrical cords of small appliances. A toddler playing with a dangling cord can pull a toaster or microwave down from a countertop.