🛡️ Child safety · 0–6 years

🔥 Preventing burns in the kitchen and daily life

Hot water, drinks, cooking oil and appliances can burn a child quickly. Make prevention a shared habit for every adult caring for your child.

Useful safety basics

Bath thermometer, secure appliance storage and a cooking area children cannot reach.
Teach what 'hot' means, but rely on barriers and supervision rather than a young child's memory.

1. Keep cooking out of reach
Use rear burners where possible and turn handles inward. Keep children away from rice cookers, kettle steam and hot oil. Never carry your child while handling hot liquids.
2. Make tables safer
Keep hot drinks and dishes away from edges. Avoid pullable tablecloths and secure kettle cords.
3. Prepare bottles safely
Powder formula is not sterile. Use safe water at least 70°C when mixing, following WHO guidance and the exact product water-to-powder ratio. Cool before feeding and check the temperature. Never microwave or prop a bottle; discard leftovers after feeding.
4. Check bath water
Mix the water thoroughly and check with a thermometer: around 37°C is a useful guide. Check it yourself too, and keep your baby within arm's reach throughout.
5. Know what to do after a burn
Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes, keeping the rest of the child warm. Do not apply ice, toothpaste or oil, or pull off stuck clothing. Seek prompt medical advice for a child's burn; call 999 or 112 in Kenya for serious burns or breathing difficulty. Emergency response is not guaranteed, so have a backup plan for safe transport to an emergency facility without delaying care.

A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team

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