In any household, there are numerous appliances which pose safety threats to children, but kettles are often overlooked. Here, we look at some of the safety risks these appliances pose and the preventative measures you can take to protect your children.
Risks
There can be a few risks posed to your child with the standard off-the-shelf kettle. The first of these is that the child can tug on the cord, potentially causing the kettle to fall, running the risk of spilling boiling water onto them. This can lead to severe burns, which is obviously a massive danger.
Another risk is that parts of the kettle can fall off, particularly with plastic kettles. Kettles can be built up of numerous parts, some of which can fall off, especially if the kettle is an old one. These small components can then pose choking hazards to young children.
It may sound obvious, but the outside of a boiling kettle can get very hot. There is always the concern that a child may touch the outside of the kettle, burning themselves in the process.
While none of these risks are completely avoidable, there certain measures that you can take to prevent them:
Cordless kettle
Some kettles nowadays, such as the Delonghi kettle, have a base that plugs into the mains that the kettle sits on to warm up. This means that there isn’t a wire trailing down, meaning that there is nothing for a child to grab hold of, other than the base, which can be pushed right back onto the countertop.
Stainless steel kettle
A stainless steel kettle tends to be made of one solid and continuous piece rather than lots of separate pieces, meaning that it is less likely that something will fall or break off. Although these kettles seem studier, the outside material can get extremely hot when boiling, so it is important that you never leave the kettle unattended when children are present.
Keep children out of way
While this is hard to achieve, it is the safest way to ensure that there are no accidents with the kettle around your children. No kettle will ever be completely safe due to the nature of the appliance, but ensuring your children aren’t left alone with them removes the chance of an accident.
