For kids and adults alike, life is a continual opportunity for injury. Some activities increase the likelihood of injury more than others and although cooking is not the riskiest hobby, accidents can happen. When kids are in the kitchen, it’s important they know the rules so they can have a safe, owie-free experience.

Two of the biggest potential pains causing culprits in the kitchen are tools and heat.

Heat from the stove and tools like knives or food processors are essentials for lots of recipes. If you’re cooking with kids, both temperature and tool concerns need to be addressed. Age is one key indicator of a child’s readiness to use a particular tool or the stove, but it shouldn’t be the only indicator. We all know our own children and their skill levels; there are five year olds that are conscientious enough to use a knife and eight year olds that shouldn’t be trusted alone with a sharp fork. Once you’ve decided if your son or daughter is ready to use a particular tool, make sure you demonstrate how to use it and review the safety rules. The oven and stove are obvious kitchen dangers, too. Remember, knowledge is power. Show your kids the hot vs. non-hot parts of the stove so they know what how not to get burned.

Another safety consideration to emphasize is keeping things clean. Hand washing and isolation of raw meats like chicken are must-have habits for a healthy kitchen. Make it a habit to go to the sink and wash hands every time you cook anything, even a peanut butter sandwich, and it will become second nature for you and your kids. And, when preparing meat, I recommend a separate cutting board that is dishwasher safe and making sure all hands and tools that touch the meat are promptly washed and/or moved to the sink. Tell your kids why you’re handling meats like this as well. This is another area where information is key; kids like to know ‘why’ just as much as adults. If they know something can make them sick, they’ll avoid it.

There are a couple of other kitchen dangers that I like to mention as well. They seem seem innocent, but can end up causing tears or a trip to the emergency room:

1) Ingredients like pepper, garlic or onions can cause some serious eye burning if there is contact. If you work with ingredients that are spicy or ‘hot’, it’s best to make sure an older child who has been warned of potential dangers handles them. If a younger child helps with this hot-stuff, make sure you are right there next to them so they don’t start rubbing their eyes. And, make sure everyone who touches these ingredients washes their hands immediately after contact (eye rubbing + onion hands = crying child).

2) Stool, chairs and counters seem harmless; Most of the time they are, but the memory of New Years Eve 2008 remains in my memory forever. It was 9:00 a.m. on December 31, 2008. Sophia and I were in the kitchen making some coffee for me. Sophie was only five years old and was shorter than she is now, so she stood on her trusty Strawberry Shortcake stool. Approximately 2 minutes after getting on her stool, she promptly lost her balance and fell off, breaking her right arm (for the second time in her short 5 years of life, by the way). We spent the rest of New Years Eve in and out of the Hospital. Stools can be tippy; kids can fall off chairs and counters. We all know to be aware of it, but continual reminder to the kids helps them remember.

As parents we all have to come to terms with the fact that accidents happen. Kids can, and do, get hurt. Providing structure, information and rules give kids valuable resources when working in the kitchen. So, make sure your kids know the rules and your family cooking experience will by fun, tasty and SAFE!

I know that kitchens are places that contain lots of potential owies for kids (and adults), but let’s face it, any room in the house can be a potential hazard for kids. Sophia has broken her arm twice in her short six years on this planet, and only one of those breaks occurred in the kitchen. And the breaking really had more to do with the stool she was standing on and then fell off of, then the fact that we were in the kitchen. Either way, kitchens do have items like knives that cut and ovens that burn and graters that grate–all of these tools can cause pain and distress.

Just like you wouldn’t keep your kids out of sports like hockey and football, the possible injuries are no reason to keep your kids out of the kitchen. Alex and Sophia both cut stuff with sharp knives; they know how to hold the knife and all of the rules about using them. Alex uses the stove, with my supervision, for making things like dippety do eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches. I also let Sophia flip things like pancakes and cheesy eggs. And, yes, they’ve both gotten little burns or grated a finger, but so have I.

When you learn to ride a bike, you fall and get scrapes. When you learn to swim, you get lots of water up your nose. But that first time you make it around the block on your bike, or across the pool without grasping for the side, you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. The more you practice something, the better you get at it, but you also open yourself up to the ‘owies’ associated. Each of our owies have been earned and the food we made while getting these experience scars–well it tasted that much more delicious.