Hot Plate Thoughts

As a child I learned to stay away from the oven all together. Anytime I would go near it, whether it was hot or not, my mother would sternly say, “No, hot!” I always associated the word “hot” with possible harm. I was conditioned to do so as far back as I can remember. It was the same way with our gas heaters. It didn’t matter what time of year it was I was always told they were hot and I would get hurt if I got too close. To this day I am keenly aware of the possibility of get burnt if I get too close to a hot burner on a stove or touch the door on an oven that is on. I always use pot holders or towels to open the oven door or move a pan off of an burner.

I am the oldest of six girls at 25 with my baby sister being 4 so I have had the opportunity to help teach my little sisters about the danger of hot stoves. I used the same approach that my mother used with me. Anytime one of them would get too close to the stove, even if it was off, I would tell them to stay away from it because it was hot and could burn them. I would point at it and say, “Hot! Don’t touch.” They eventually learned to the point where they would tell me not to touch it when I would go to take something out of the oven and would even try to teach our pets that it was hot. Conditioning is a powerful tool when it comes to parenting. If you associate an action with an unpleasant outcome a child will be less likely to perform the action.

Child proofing kitchens is a great start to reduce stove related injuries. If a kitchen is enclosed, placing a baby gate in the doorway would be the first step, however, most homes have an open floor plan for living areas nowadays. My master bedroom is right off of my kitchen and the other side of it is open to the living and dining areas, so a baby gate would not be feasible for me if I had a little one trying to get into everything. I found a few child proofing tools made specifically for stoves that I would try if I had a child.

First, I would purchase latches like Munckin’s Xtraguard Dual Action Multi Use Latches (Amazon, n.d.) to keep the oven door from being opened without activating the buttons on both sides, a task a baby wouldn’t be able to do. I would also get knob covers (Amazon, n.d.) to prevent the burners on the stove from being inadvertently turned on. A stove guard such as TotShield’s (Amazon, n.d.) would be very useful in preventing a child from reaching up and touching hot pots on the stove. And a door shield that would reduce heat to the touch such as ClevaMama’s Transparent Oven Door Guard (ClevaMama, n.d.) would help prevent burns from touching the oven door. Common sense practices I would use would include turning pot handles inwards, away from the edge of the stove, and using the back burners first.

As far as advancing technology to reduce the need for child proofing an alarm would be useful in scaring little ones if they reached past a sensor. It would also alert parents that may have taken their eye off their kids to do other tasks that they need to get them away from the stove. It may also be too little, too late and startle the child causing them to touch the hot surface. It would be helpful if the oven door was insulated so well that it was virtually cool to the touch even when it was on. Another thing that would be useful in preventing burns would be burners that were cooled in seconds after being turned off to prevent burns when parents are done cooking and less vigilant.

Reflections

While conditioning is a great way to teach safety measures, I think it is important not to scare a child through it. Children should be taught that using tools in a way that it is not meant to be allows for consequences, i.e. touching the oven door is not part of using the oven so getting burned is consequence of doing so. However, they should not grow up to be afraid to boil water when the time is right. My 11 year old sister was taught that using the stove in ways she shouldn't would cause harm, but she is now responsible for making tea for the family since she is old enough to understand why there are consequences to touching a hot eye.

References

Amazon. (n.d.). Munchkin Xtraguard Dual Action Multi Use Latches, 2 Count. Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Xtraguard-Action-Multi-Latches/dp/B007A2ZSZ8/ref=pd_sim_75_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B007A2ZSZ8&pd_rd_r=e47029cf-af15-11e8-96dd-777fa7fb2507&pd_rd_w=ir0sF&pd_rd_wg=FbrC6&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=

Amazon. (n.d.). Safety 1st Clear View Stove Knob Covers, 5 Count. Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Clear-Stove-Covers/dp/B00068O22S/ref=pd_sbs_75_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00068O22S&pd_rd_r=e47029cf-af15-11e8-96dd-777fa7fb2507&pd_rd_w=V7fqg&pd_rd_wg=FbrC6&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=0bb14103-7

Amazon. (n.d.). TotShield Stove Guard for Free Standing Gas and Electric Stove. Retrieved from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TotShield-Stove-Guard-Standing-Electric/dp/B001RR7GY8/ref=asc_df_B001RR7GY8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198066152051&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7006501543028120028&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=90

ClevaMama. (n.d.). Transparent Oven Door Guard. Retrieved from CleveMama: https://www.clevamama.com/transparent-oven-door-guard.html