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The kitchen is one of the most popular rooms in most homes because let’s face it, that’s where lots of the action is. When your baby becomes mobile, you’ll want to think one step ahead and try to minimize the dangers there. To keep your fearless adventurer safe and sound, here are some top kitchen child-proofing tactics to keep in mind:

• Get into the habit of drinking hot beverages from a travel mug to avoid spills. Use placemats instead of a tablecloth. A common scenario: “Mom puts her coffee on a table with a tablecloth, which gets pulled from the table coffee and all,” says Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council, in Washington, D.C.
• Use safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers to prevent mishaps from household products such as plastic wrap, food storage bags, knives, scissors, and other sharp objects, refrigerator magnets or any small kitchen knickknacks.  
• Lock household cleaners, any type of liquor, vitamins and medicine, even those with child-resistant packaging, in their original containers a cabinet out of your child’s sight and reach. Keep in mind that child-resistant packaging isn’t childproof. Persistent toddlers may be able to pry them open.
• Push electric coffeepots and teakettles away from the counter edges, and wrap dangling cords in a twist tie.
• Turn the water heater down to 120 degrees F or lower to prevent scalds from faucets. An infant’s skin burns much more easily than an adult’s.
• Cook on the back burners of the stove, and turn pan handles so they don’t extend over the edge of the cooktop. Pull off front stove knobs and store them safely until it’s time to cook. You can also buy childproof knob covers and stove shields, which block a child’s access to the stove top.
• Don’t leave your toddler alone in a high chair, and always use safety straps.
• In the pantry, move all breakables, such as drinking glasses and dishes as well as plastic bags and cooking sprays and oils up, to the third shelf from the bottom. The same goes for foods that are choking hazards for toddlers, such as raisins and peanuts.
• Don’t store alcohol or cooking oil under or above the stove or oven, from which heat radiates. These flammable substances can easily ignite if they get hot enough, which is a fire hazard. Store these substances in an out-of-reach location for your child.
• When you cook, use a safety gate or keep your child in a play yard or high chair—in view but out of harm’s way.
• Keep your kitchen stepstool in a closet when you’re not using it to prevent your little one from climbing into trouble.

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