Get kids baking safely
Many children grow up without a basic knowledge of food or food preparation.
This is hardly surprising as parents quite rightly want to keep their children out of the potentially dangerous kitchen.
One in ten children will have an accident whilst in the kitchen and last year, nearly 800 kids under the age of 12 were admitted to hospital with burns or scalds from hot drinks, food, fats and cooking oils.
National Baking Week running from 19 to 23 October, is aiming to get kids back in the kitchen safely.
“From around the age of five there are tasks children can start learning to do under supervision in the kitchen, and as children grow and develop life skills they can get more involved in everyday kitchen tasks” says Katrina Phillips, the Chief Executive of CAPT.
“This helps them build confidence and skills whilst learning about the dangers that go along with these things too.”
CAPT is a UK charity working to reduce the number of children and young people killed, disabled or seriously injured in accidents.
It is working with National Baking Week and mum Fay Ripley, to try and encourage parents back to get baking with their children.
The celebrity mum of two has recently released Fay’s Family Food with recipes for children to create. “Cooking is lots of fun for children as well as an essential skill, but the kitchen can be a hazardous place with sharp utensils, hot appliances and scalding liquid,” says Fay.
“Learning to follow recipes, preparing food and baking dishes helps children to develop skills for the future as well as being a great activity for spending family time together. By making kitchen safety a part of learning how to cook children can get involved, rather than being discouraged.”
For families baking together, CAPT has put together some essential advice:
If using any hot appliances, such as a kettle or oven, make sure children understand how this can be dangerous and keep young children at a distance
Show older children how to use an oven glove when taking anything out of the oven and how to put it down safely on a heatproof surface
Pick a recipe that is easy to follow and doesn’t have too many ingredients so that you can focus on supervising your child and not reading through the recipe – and helps to keep it fun
Before you get started, allocate tasks to children which are right for their age and ability for example buttering a cake tin, sifting flour or cracking eggs
Supervise and show children how to use kitchen equipment safely, i.e. when grating vegetables or whisking eggs
Always supervise children when they are using knives or other potentially hazardous utensils
www.capt.org.uk/parents