Transforming Your Kitchen into A Kid-Friendly Zone
With the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be hard to include the littles in mealtime prep. Especially when the last thing you want to do is try helping Timmy cut the vegetables, clean up excess flour from the counter, or take an additional thirty minutes to cook a twenty-minute meal.
However, there are many benefits to including your kids in mealtime preparations! It can boost their confidence, promote creativity, improve both kitchen and fine motor skills, encourage bonding between family members, build healthy lifelong habits, and strengthen their reading and math skills. Yet, granting your kids access to these buildable skills can feel almost impossible without the proper kitchen setup.
Read through to discover the multitude of ways you can upgrade your kitchen to accommodate the whole family!
Figure 1
Gadgets, Appliances, and The Like
A Stairway to Heaven? More Like a Stairway to The Countertop
Remodeling the entire kitchen can feel unnecessary, considering the children you are remodeling for will eventually grow up. However, the walls don’t need to be gutted and the countertops lowered to shin level to create an accessible space for your family.
To start your remodeling journey, it is best to start with simple additions to the existing space. This ensures your money is not wasted on something you may not incorporate into your daily routine, or on something your child has no interest in.
If there is only one gadget you buy to assist your littles in developing these critical skills, we recommend a kitchen step stool. This is a great tool to have for your kitchen. Depending on the quality and size of the stool, it will grow with your little and you!
Figure 2
There are numerous options online of various price points to choose from. Most of them will have a “backboard” or rope to prevent your child from falling backward, an excellent safety feature for your littles and one of the main reasons we recommend it.
These stools aid in preventing children from climbing onto countertops to access those hard-to-reach places, preventing those big falls from happening.
An excellent feature to look for is if it has wheels. Wheels allow your children more freedom through the kitchen, as they can move the device to other areas of the kitchen they want to access. This is a great way for your children to develop independence as they grow. Be sure to set the rules depending on their age and do NOT forget to show them how to set the locks!
The Remodeling Route
If remodeling feels like the right choice for you and your family, there are some things you must consider before diving into the project. These are things like sanitization and floor plans.
Sanitization is essential to your children’s health and well-being. Without it, the transmission of diseases can spread like wildfire in your home. Affecting both your children and you. Yet, when we
talk about sanitization, we are not talking about the cleaning agents that help stop the spread of germs. We are discussing the materials used, like for your countertops, and sink bowls.
The material that is best to use slightly changes depending on the product we are discussing. For countertops, you want to look for these three main characteristics: non-porous, easy maintenance, and cleanliness. A non-porous countertop simply means that any spills that occur do not seep into the material. Thus, preventing a breeding ground for germs on your countertops! As for the ease of maintenance and cleanliness, it reflects just that.
Hygienic countertops require minimal to no maintenance and should be easily cleaned. The top three recognized hygienic countertops are made of quartz, granite, and stainless steel. It should be noted that granite countertops are naturally porous. However, a good sealer can prevent germs from hiding within the tiny pores of the stone.
Figure 3: Drexmore Waterfall Pull-Down Faucet with Beveled Edge Work Station Sink Kit
SKU: 482-8090
As for sinks, there are numerous options available. However, if you are looking for one naturally hygienic, look to these top three choices: Stainless Steel, Granite Composite, and Vitreous China. Each of these sinks is antimicrobial, stain resistant, lasts an average of 15-30 years, easy to clean, and scratch resistant. However, Vitreous China is the only one of these sinks that also is dented, chip, and hard water stain resistant.
At CMI, we offer all these materials for your sink, with our Granite Composite coming in five finishes. Navigate to our website, cmiproduct.com, to see all our available options.
As for the layout, an open floor plan is often recommended to have. This is due to its ability to maximize your area while creating a natural flow from space to space. Yet, you do not need to knock down a wall to achieve a good kitchen for your family. Having separate areas for children to release their excitement, get creative, or prepare a snack helps them understand what actions belong in which rooms.
The Accessories That Assist
When letting your child into a space with dangerous items, it is best to get accessories that help prevent accidents from happening. Preventing accidents is not only for your children but your appliances and products.
Figure 4
For your sink, we recommend a basket strainer along with a garbage disposal stopper, if your sink has one. A basket strainer prevents your child from throwing food down the drain, saving your sink, drain, and pipes from blockages or sewer overflow due to food’s oil, fat, and grease. A garbage disposal stopper can prevent your child from sticking utensils or non-food items down the garbage disposal, protecting their blades and your little’s hands.
For your cabinets, it is wise to “baby-proof” them, especially the ones that you don’t need or want your child to get into. Allowing your child to be independent in this area can lead to exploration,
which is great! Nonetheless, unrestricted access to dangerous products or items may not be the best course of action, especially if your child has unsupervised, to your knowledge or not, access to the area.
At CMI you can get a stainless-steel basket strainer that matches the color of your sink or faucet. For the garbage disposal stopper, we carry a Brushed Nickel and Oil-Rubbed Bronze finish with a Brass construction. View our website, cmiproduct.com, to see our vast finish options!
It is Your Time to Shine!
With these tips, your kitchen can transform into a place of learning, growth, and bonding for your whole family!
Beautifully finished, dependably functional.
Are you experiencing any issues with the installation of these products? With a CMI product, you have access to our live Customer Service team Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. Our support team specializes in assisting customers with their product issues and directing them on how to fix them. You can call 1.800.626.3525, to receive help on the phone.
Ensure that you have your product’s date of purchase from your receipt, SKU number, model number, and date code before calling. These details, the SKU number, model number, and date code, are located on the customer service tag. This tag is attached to all CMI products to ensure you have open access to our Support Team. The tag is in different locations depending upon which CMI product you need assistance with. Our kitchen faucets have them located on the supply tubes. The lavatory faucets have them located on the lock nuts. Finally, our tub and shower faucets have them located on the escutcheon plate.
Having this information ready allows our Support Team to effectively help you and understand exactly what products and problems they are dealing with. If you are not a fan of the phone, there are other options available for you! For online assistance, email Help@cmiproduct.com to receive live help.
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FOR FURTHER INQUIRIES, CONTACT US!
Phone: 1.800.626.3525
Email: Help@cmiproduct.com
Citations
Fig. 1
STUDIOS, LIGHTFIELD. “Partial view of woman and child rolling out dough near cookie cutters on kitchen table, panoramic shot.” stock.adobe,
https://stock.adobe.com/search?filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aphoto%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aillustration%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Azip_vector%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Avideo%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Atemplate%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3A3d%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aaudio%5D=0&filters%5Binclude_stock_enterprise%5D=0&filters%5Bis_editorial%5D=0&filters%5Bfree_collection%5D=0&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aimage%5D=1&order=relevance&safe_search=1&native_visual_search=661807ee8f7ab&similar_content_id=&model_id=&serie_id=&find_similar_by=all&limit=100&search_page=1&search_type=usertyped&acp=&get_facets=0&asset_id=372527902
Fig. 2
Roman, Fenton. “Mother and daughter washing dishes together in kitchen at home.” Istockphoto, 23 February 2024, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/mother-and-daughter-washing-dishes-together-in-kitchen-at-home-gm2015048974-561078467
Fig. 3
CMI product. “Drexmore™ Waterfall Pull-Down Faucet with Beveled Edge Work Station Sink Kit.” https://www.cmiproduct.com/product/482-8090-drexmore-33-x-22-stainless-steel-work-station-sink-kit/
Fig. 4
Opryshko, Oleg. “Hand plugs the sink drain hole with a drain plug.” istockphoto, 11 February 2024, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/hand-plugs-the-sink-drain-hole-with-a-drain-plug-gm1994472004-559794802?searchscope=image%2Cfilm