If you’re looking for how to quickly child proof your entire kitchen in under 15 minutes, keep reading! This post includes a free printable to make sure you don’t forget anything to keep your baby safe!
Click Here To Download Your Free Checklist To Child Proof Your Kitchen!
Hi friends,
The kitchen is probably the most non-little-kid friendly place in the entire house. For that reason, I believe it’s the first place you should tackle when child proofing.
At first, baby is little and only certain things will catch their eye and become a concern. As they grow older, they start to explore more and get into more things and new places.
This post is going to go over how, what and when to child proof your kitchen. We’ll start with simple things to make it baby proof, bigger things to make it toddler proof and overall things to child proof it and make it as safe as possible.
Lastly, I’ll take this as a chance to “preach” that none of these things will replace teaching your kids about safety and keeping a watchful eye. Shit gets hard sometimes and kids are crazy so having these safety measures in place is always best anyway.
This post is all about how to easily child proof your kitchen in under 15 minutes.
How To Child Proof Your Kitchen
When your little one first starts to crawl it’s so exciting but also extremely worrisome. You’ll watch them tumble and fumble all day as they practice and gain confidence. Here are the basics you’ll want to child proof your kitchen for, for any age.
1. Child Proof Outlets
6-Pack Safety Innovations Self-closing (1Screw) Standard Outlet Covers
First, covering the outlets is a child proofing given. Still, we want to make sure it isn’t so obvious that it becomes over looked. If you have any outlets within child reach, you’ll definitely want to make sure they’re covered and safe. These are hands down the best outlet covers. They’re sleek and easy! I absolutely hate normal outlet covers with a passion.. I don’t like having to prey a piece of plastic out of an outlet just to quickly plug something in. So annoying. Thats why I love these, they just slide on over when you want to use an outlet and then snap back closed when you’re done. Definitely buy these ones!
2. Use Corner Protectors
Corner Protector, Baby Proofing Table Corner Guards
3. Get a Baby Gate
Regalo Easy Step 38.5-Inch Extra Wide Walk Thru Baby Gate
Of course, a baby gate is the ultimate child proofing essential. This probably goes without saying but the best way to keep baby safe in the kitchen is to simply keep them out of the kitchen. If you have a doorway into your kitchen this is a great option. If you have an open floor plan kitchen this may be a little bit harder for you. You might want to look into long baby gates like this one or you may just have to simply leave the kitchen open.
4. Lock Sliding Doors and Windows
Sliding Glass Door Child Locks
Lastly, locks for sliding glass doors and windows. I’m thinking back to the last 3 places I’ve lived and each of them happened to have a sliding door connected to or near the kitchen. Kids are so sneaky and seem to know the secret to being escape artists. One morning my son had gotten out of bed and learned how to unlock the sliding glass door. Long story short, I found him butt ass naked in our backyard. I quickly went searching for an additional way to make sure he can’t open that again. I found these locks and they’ve done the job very well! We also put them on windows in bedrooms because I’m paranoid freak.
How To Baby Proof Your Kitchen
Next, we move on to specifically baby proofing the kitchen. You don’t have to worry about baby proofing the kitchen for a while but soon enough, that precious newborn suddenly turns about 6 months old and discovers something amazing. Crawling. Babies are so curious, here are the best baby proofing tips to keep them safe in the kitchen.
5. Lock Cabinets and Drawers
Eco-Baby Child Safety Magnetic Cabinet and Drawer Locks
First, the basics. Once baby is on the move there’s no stopping them from exploring. There are definitely some things we want to keep them out of in the kitchen, like cleaning products under the kitchen sink for example!
These child locks are the best ones you’ll find anywhere. I absolutely love these locks for a few reasons. First, they’re hidden. They aren’t an ugly, eye sore because they’re out of sight (thank god!). Second, they don’t use screws! This is huge especially if you live in an apartment or anything. Third, they can be unlocked.
These have a little switch on them that you can flip so that they stay unlocked and you don’t need the “key”. This comes in handy at night after all the kids have gone down and I’m frequently opening under the sink to clean the kitchen.
{Related Post: The BEST & Easiest Way To Organize Under The Kitchen Sink!}
6. Put Grocery Bags Up – Baby Proof Kitchen
simplehuman Wall Mount Grocery Bag Dispenser
Where do you keep your extra grocery bags? This is an interesting question for some reason lol! I’ve taken notice to this recently actually haha. We keep ours under the kitchen sink (which we keep locked) but I’ve seen others who keep them out in the open in their kitchen. If you’re one of those who keeps all their grocery bags inside one large grocery bag or keeps them in a sack hanging from a door knob, you’re definitely going to want to change that! We use this grocery bag dispenser to keep all of our bags in one tight, contained space, locked away. If you prefer to keep your bags out for easy access, I’d recommend this to be able to mount them up and out of the way.
7. Add Non-Slip Pads To Mats and Rugs
Crawling is slippery business! If you have mats, rugs or runners in you kitchen this is perfect for you. Luckily, many mats seem to have a grip added to them but we have a couple that are more “pretty” and just for looks that don’t. My 2nd son just started crawling about 2 months ago and slipped a few times before I finally woke up and got some of these. One of those things you don’t even really consider until it’s a problem. Be smarter than me lol
How To Toddler Proof Your Kitchen
Okay, here’s the fun part. Time to get serious about child proofing. Toddlers are the ultimate challenge. These little humans can crawl, climb and run and are serious about exploring! Let’s talk about how to keep them as safe as possible while in the kitchen!
8. Cover Your Stove Knobs
Honestly, I didn’t even think about toddler proofing the stove with my first. We lived in an apartment with a standard electric stove with the knobs far out of reach. My daughter wasn’t a climber and it truthfully wasn’t even on my radar. With my second, I quickly found myself looking for a way to keep his hands off of these knobs! We have a flat top stove and the controls are low and well within reach of little hands. Not only are these a safety precaution but also a sanity saver because my son would not stop ripping the knobs off and throwing them everywhere.
9. Keep Your Oven Locked
EUDEMON 1 PackChildproof Oven Door Lock
If you’re lucky enough to be one of those with a lock option on your oven, you can skip past this one. If not, you’re definitely going to need this! Toddlers love sticking their heads in places they don’t belong and using everything they see as a climbing structure. Ovens are no exception. There is a 99.99% chance guarantee that at some point your toddler will try to hang from the oven handle and fall smack on their back when it swings open. Be apart of the .01% that thought ahead and bought this!
10. Hide Your Knives
The damn knife block. Why. Why is this such an object of interest for my toddler? The world may never know but when I found this I was so happy! I had seriously never heard of an in drawer knife block until scrolling a Facebook mom group one day and someone had posted about this. I immediately bought one and re-arranged my drawers. Out of sight, out of mind fixed our issue for the most part. We added a magnet lock to that drawer too though for extra safety!
11. Use A Stove Guard – Child Proof Kitchen
Toddlers love to help out in the kitchen! They absolutely love it and as moms we tend to enjoy teaching them how to cook ourselves too. One thing I’m cautious of of course is anything to do with the stove. We have a flat stove stop that fades in and out of bright red when it’s on. When its faded out, you could easily mistakes the stove for being off. This is a perfect tool to keep little hand safe. Especially if you have a gas stove with an open flame.. I’d strongly recommend this if you have a curious toddler.
12. Lock The Fridge
Munchkin Xtraguard Dual Action Multi Use Latches
Finally, last on our list is to lock the fridge. I went back and forth on this one for so long. Do I lock the fridge or not? I wanted my kids to have access to food whenever but also was super tired of hearing the fridge beeping from being left open or cleaning up a smashed carton of eggs. Ultimately, we decided to get a lock. My five year old daughter is able to open this but my two year old still hasn’t figured it out. I’m glad that my oldest can open it since she’s a bit more trustworthy and my middle kiddo hasn’t been able to break anything else so it’s a win!
I feel you suggestions are very helpful for new moms and experienced one. That you for letting us know how easy this process is.