Kitchens
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17367
Printed Date: 06 October 2025 at 4:56pm
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Topic: Kitchens
Posted By: T_Rex
Subject: Kitchens
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:07am
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Ok, so this is probably a rather random question, but DH and I are in the process of getting a new kitchen (YAY) and we want to make sure that its relatively kid-friendly because this is the house we intend to have a young family in.
So I'd be interested to hear your thoughts as to what is and isn't a good idea in a kitchen with small children in. We are planning to get a stove with dials on the top rather than the front so toddlers can't reach them. I also thought it would be sensible to have the microwave above bench height, rather than under the bench, but when I mentioned this to the guy designing the plans he said "Nah, you just slap their hands a couple of times and they learn" and then went on to say that its great that his 5-year-old can reach their microwave because he makes his own 2-minute noodles which is handy for the parents!! He then continued with his plans to have the microwave under the bench. Now I have no intention of slapping my children, especially for little things like touching the microwave (easy to say pre-kids anyway  ). I'd have to rely on me telling them not to.
So is it worth arguing to get the plans changed for things like that? Or is there really no need to worry about making the kitchen kid-friendly? FYI, my little brother was borderline ADHD and mischeif with it so maybe I've got a skewed idea of how little kids behave  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Replies:
Posted By: MonicaMouse
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:11am
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In my opinion, this is your kitchen, and you should be getting what you want out of it. Personally, I wouldn't want a microwave lower than bench height anyway.
Good luck ------------- 
Blair 15/10/2007 Daniel 30/07/2009 |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:23am
Ditto - if you want it above bench height, that's what you should get. It's your kitchen, design it how you want, not how he wants you to have it. The only thing we've decided with our new kitchen is not to have an island - simply because children can run around it and kitchen and running don't go together (and we all know that sometimes telling them no doesn't work). We (well, me) are also looking at an electronic cooktop - has touch buttons to turn it on etc, that run down the side of it (as you're looking down on it I mean) so that there's NO bits to pull on/play with and they're out of reach. DP's Mum has one and I  it.
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Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:25am
I don't think I have ever seen a microwave below bench height? We are about to start building a house - our kitchen has a wall oven (one of the cool touch ones so Ash won't burn herself) and the dials will be high enough that when she can reach them, she will know not to touch. The space for the microwave is above that. Its a bit difficult when kids have just started crawling/walking as most of them don't understand the concept of "no" so its a matter of physically moving them everytime and they will just keep going back We ended up putting a gate across our kitchen as I got so frustrated. We took it back down when she got a bit older  ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:32am
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Hmm, when I bought this house I didnt think about how kid safe it was - and it totally isnt. My solution is that I've purchased a gate so the little person wont be able to get in and out of it :P I have a massive gas cooker with dials on the front etc, but I'll be turning it off at the bottle when i'm not using it just in case, and flicking the power to the oven off when I dont need that as well!
------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: nikkitheknitter
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 12:45pm
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My opinion is that they are only toddlers for a VERY short amount of time so I wouldn't go too overboard on kiddiproofing.
But in saying that, it has been an absolute necessity to have a high cupboard to put things like the cleaning products, dishwasher powder etc to keep little fingers out. We keep all dangerous stuff in the cupboard above our fridge. Other than that it isn't so much the design as making sure that kiddos aren't unsupervised in the kitchen etc. |
Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 2:06pm
Or I was going to say otherwise make sure you choose handles that you can put kiddie locks on for the poisonous stuff ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com">
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nikkiwhyte wrote:Posted By: Bumble
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 3:37pm
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Along the line of kitchen stuff....
If you are looking at getting a new oven, get one with a cool touch front. We have one and it is fab!!! (Fisher and Paykel) Also, get the oven off the floor!!! no bending down with getting the HOT stuff out.. Ours is at waist height. ------------- formerly known as "Bee" Ethan ~ March 2003 Big 6 year old school boy! Micah ~ Aug 2008 ~ Smiley pants who loves telephones! |
Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 3:44pm
Our microwave has an automatic childlock feature on it too.  I didn't know about it until it kicked in one day when Benjy got a chair and had a play. So impressed with that!
I second what Bee said about having your oven up off the floor. Much safer when you've got toddly ones around your feet and so much more user friendly. ------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and: 
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Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 3:52pm
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Thanks for the feedback
I'll have to check out these cool-touch ovens. Also thanks for your input Nikki, I was wondering if that might be the case. We will definitely be having some high cupboards. I know each child isn't a toddler for very long, but we are thinking multiple children (not sure how many) so thats why we wanted to think it through a bit. I don't really like the idea of the microwave under the bench anyway, so I think we'll change that regardless. I had wondered about shutting off the kitchen for a wee while too, so they are only in there when I'm keeping an eye on them, so good to hear that is a workable option too. That sounds like a neat cooktop too Kate, I wonder how far I can stretch my budget...  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 4:06pm
| Hehe - they're actually not tooooo expensive - range in price from $700 through to $2,700 (they were in a Harvey Norman catalogue last week....). |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 5:57pm
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Microwaves under the benches are the latest thing to do - strange I know, my parents had there down there and dad used to work in the building industry here in Palmy and got some friends to do their kitchen one weekend. So their microwave was low and Andrew did play with it but not for long and even now if Josh was there he would play with it but give a year he wouldn't. Can I ask who is doing your kitchen??? You can PM if you like, I know a number of the places in Palmy. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 9:02pm
| taine still plays with ours. despite being told numerous times not to. we just keep it turned off unless we are using it (really annoying when cooking rice to have it changed every few minutes). Dishwashers - turns out you can tip them over if you open them and stand on them. not too much damage - unless all the plates and glasses are in there. Fridges - fridge down the bottom - freezer up top - less chance of leaving the door open and deforsting - well less damage if you do so anyway |
Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 9:49pm
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DD and her two cousins were pretty ferel when they got together. Here are some lessons I learned.
You can open the oven door and use it as a step to get up and turn on all the elements, then walk off and leave them all turned on. You can do this about five times in one hour. If you tip the entire contents of the fridge on the floor and fingerpaint, the acid in the tomato sauce and pickles/chutneys will eat into lino and polished floors but not tiles. If you then get the pastry brush out and paint the cupboards and walls this will eat into wooden stained or painted surfaces. Melonite is hardier. Magnetic catches don't work at all and child proof latches are limited. You can use your whole body weight to hang off a handle then push off. This concept will get most cupboard doors open (my 10 month old can already do this). You can also apply this formula to opening the back door and escaping simply by kicking off against the wall once your body weight has opened the door handle. Microwaves - cripes, I wouldn't even go there. Imagine all the things that would be cooked in there if a five year old can reach it. And little ones randomly pushing buttons. Microwaves don't cope well with cooking fresh air. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: nikkitheknitter
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 9:57pm
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Ah yes, multiple children. I forget people are insane enough to have more than one!
My neighbour had a kitchen that she literally fenced off for about 5 years. Worked a treat - no tripping over kiddos while making dinner - and she got a great workout climbing over it all the time too!! |
Posted By: NovemberMum
Date Posted: 19 May 2008 at 11:49pm
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speaking of kitchens one day I am going to have my kitchen.
we currently have a gallery style kitchen and not much bench space..when we have the money I want to get our kitchen redone...figure will cost around 20k one day I tell you even if I am 70 I will have my kitchen..lol ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 20 May 2008 at 7:48am
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The oven is the problem in our kitchen - Ella tries to come over and see what I'm taking in or out of it, (she's not allowed to touch the oven, but that doesn't stop her with a lot of things) and I'm dreading her grabbing hold of one of the racks one day, 'cause lord knows she sure tries. I've been known to check the meal in the oven while holding her at bay with a foot stretched out behind me, moving it about wherever she goes ------------- Andie |
Posted By: Jessica
Date Posted: 20 May 2008 at 9:11am
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Our kitcen has jut been redone and they lso wnted to put the microwave under the bench, I said no, I think it is just another thing that could be a problem. I think it is the in thing at the moment. We move into the house on Friday and I am so excited to have new kitchen! ------------- 
Our con-joined boys 20 wk |
Posted By: Bumble
Date Posted: 20 May 2008 at 9:17am
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I definitely second the touch button cooktop. (again we have a Fisher and paykel one) also has a lock feature on it too..
But my goodness, kitchens can get soooo expensive!!! We were without one for 6 weeks when we did our renovation, and it was in winter so couldn't really use the bbq! LOL It was ummm interesting, but so worth it! ------------- formerly known as "Bee" Ethan ~ March 2003 Big 6 year old school boy! Micah ~ Aug 2008 ~ Smiley pants who loves telephones! |
Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 2:47pm
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Oh dear Jaz. Is it wrong that I found your post hilarious? If a little daunting!
I will definitely be making sure the layout allows for a baby gate should we need one. We'll put the microwave above the bench and see what we can manage in the way of appliances. Thanks for the input ladies ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 10:31pm
They are growing up to be quite nice children however.  ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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