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Your kitchen is where you make your mom's treasured lasagna, chat over coffee with your neighbor, and share dish-duty with your husband without a thought to the drawer full of sharp knives, the still-hot stove top, or the toxic cleaners under the sink. Then you become a parent, and suddenly your haven is a virtual minefield. Luckily, ordering takeout for the rest of your life isn't the only answer.

Taking steps to make your kitchen safe does pay off. Ninety percent of the injuries that happen to children -- and a good chunk of these occur in the home -- are preventable, says the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.

With the dizzying array of latches, locks, and other safety...

Your kitchen is where you make your mom's treasured lasagna, chat over coffee with your neighbor, and share dish-duty with your husband without a thought to the drawer full of sharp knives, the still-hot stove top, or the toxic cleaners under the sink. Then you become a parent, and suddenly your haven is a virtual minefield. Luckily, ordering takeout for the rest of your life isn't the only answer.

Taking steps to make your kitchen safe does pay off. Ninety percent of the injuries that happen to children -- and a good chunk of these occur in the home -- are preventable, says the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.

With the dizzying array of latches, locks, and other safety products available, you could lock down your kitchen as tight as a prison ward. Or you might opt to simply keep your baby out of the kitchen (yet in your sight) with gates or by using a high chair or playpen. Many parents find a happy medium with a mixture of both strategies. It's up to you to determine the amount of babyproofing you're comfortable with.

"Just keep in mind that babyproofing doesn't take away the need for constant supervision," says Alison Rhodes, founder of Peek-A-Boo Babyproofing in Wilton, Conn.

Here's how to get started:

Fridge

• Remove magnets, which can be choking hazards and can easily fall.

Stove and Oven

• Keep your baby at least 3 feet from the stove and oven while you cook. Opt for using back burners. If you must use front burners, turn pot handles toward the back.
• Don't leave utensils in pots while you cook.
• Don't hang dish towels on the oven door, where they can be pulled down, accidentally opening the oven, too.
• Make sure burners and ovens are turned off when you're done.
• Shut the oven door as soon as you take out or put in food.
• Keep a fire extinguisher nearby and learn how to use it.

Dishwasher

• Keep your baby at a safe distance when you load, unload, and fill it with detergent before a wash cycle.
• If your baby is particularly attracted to the dishwasher, get a locking device.

Microwave

• Don't heat bottles in the microwave; uneven heating can cause a burn.
• Check microwave-heated foods to make sure they're cool enough to eat before you give them to your child.
• Use microwave-safe containers.

Other Appliances

• Keep electrical appliances such as the toaster and coffeemaker (and their cords) out of reach. Unplug them when you're done using them.

Sink

• Keep your thermostat on your water heater at less than 120 degrees F to prevent scalding.

Low Cabinets and Drawers

• Set aside one that's away from the stove for your child to access. Fill it with plastic food storage containers, bowls, wooden spoons, and shiny foil pie pans to keep your baby busy while you cook.
• Remove all cleaning products or household chemical products and store them out of reach in a locked cabinet. Always keep them in their original containers to avoid mix ups. While you're at it, think about replacing dangerous chemical products with safer ones such as vinegar and nonchlorine bleach.
• Use child locks on cabinets you don't want your baby to access, but be vigilant -- some children learn to operate them.
• Store plastic shopping bags -- a suffocation hazard -- out of reach or in locked cabinets.
• Store foods that are choking hazards (such as grapes, nuts, raisins, and peanut butter) and items with small caps (like soda and maple syrup) out of reach. Same goes for coins, pen caps, button-type batteries, and other small items you might keep in the kitchen.

The Table and Countertop

• Don't put your baby on the table or countertop in her infant or car seat, where she?s at risk for falling or could reach a dangerous object.
• Skip tablecloths, which can be tugged by little hands, pulling the contents down, too. Placemats can produce the same result.
• Don't leave utensils, glassware, or hot drinks and foods within your baby's reach.

Sharp Tools

• Knives and all sharp tools -- graters, scissors, food processor blades, peelers -- should be in latched drawers or stored out of reach in high cabinets. (Ditto for glassware and china.)

Trash

• Keep garbage -- a source of choking hazards and sharp items -- covered and out of reach.
• Keep recyclable bins and their cans and bottles out of reach to prevent cuts and poisoning from leftover substances.

Phone

• Keep long cords out of your baby's reach.
• Post emergency numbers nearby for poison control (800 222-1222), your pediatrician, parent's work and cell numbers, a neighbor.

High Chair

• If your baby's in, make sure the straps are fastened.
• If your baby's out, lock the wheels so the chair can't be rolled and used as a step stool.

Plus:

• Store pet food out of your baby's reach. Don't leave uneaten food in your pet's dish on the floor.
• Don't carry hot liquids, such as coffee or a pot of steaming pasta, and your baby at the same time. Don't carry them near your child.
• Cover electrical sockets with protectors.
• Keep a first-aid kit handy.

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