Kitchen safety and Toddlers/preschoolers

[BlackCatinaSantaHat]

Just wondered, do you let your young DC into the kitchen often?
I am asking because we have had a stairgate on our kitchen doorway since DD has been mobile. We have a cat litter tray in the kitchen so didn't want her playing with it also various other things in kitchen young DC shouldn't touch.
Am at the stage now where she is wanting to help out/go in the kitchen and being generally curious.
Trying to decide whether now is the time to remove said gate and help her to learn "Kitchen safety"

What do you do?

Yes. Open plan so couldn't do stairgate. Move bleach etc to high cupboard and just accept other stuff will get fiddled with.

Ds is 17 months and LOVES to touch the veg after its been chopped, have a poke of dinner with a wooden spoon etc.

I would be worried about cat litter though, not sure what you can do there.

yes. kitchen is small and off the dining room, and I can't see/hear the dc well in the other rooms.
I tend to park dd2 in the corner with her own pots and pans, spoons and some dry pasta, and she "cooks" along with me.

re: cat litter/cat food. these are the two things for which a loud "no touching" and removal are used. Anything else is stored on high, or fair game, however irritating that might be.

I have a gate on the kitchen doorway and it is generally open most of the time unless I am busy cooking and then I close it and they play in the living room. They are 1 and 2yrs.

They are allowed in the kitchen most of the time, we often cook together as a fun activity making cookies or cakes or sausage rolls or something where I have planned what we are doing and can be sure its as safe as possible but they aren't allowed in whilst I'm cooking dinner.

I am probably a bit over cautious but a family member had an accident with their toddler and a boiling pan of pasta and the toddler needed pretty serious treatment after it, skin grafts etc and as they get older may need more, so I keep them out if I'm cooking.

MissMolly I was burnt fairly badly as a toddler because I pulled a cup of black coffee onto myself. I think its important for ds to learn what is dangerous and how to behave around those things. So I move away or get him moved away when pouring things with boiling water and tell him "you have to move out of the way as mummy has very hot water blah blah..." Yes he's young to get it now but I hope by repetion it will become second nature to him.

Albrecht Yes, I try to enforce good practices whenever we are in the kitchen especially when we are doing cooking together. As they get older I'll let them in more whilst I cook but I can't fully concentrate on being safe and what my 1 and 2 yr old are both doing/doing to each other/eating/breaking all at the same time! I could manage it before DD2 got mobile but now with both running around its hopeless!

We have a stairgate also at our kitchen doorway so DS (10 months can't get in). I remember seeing this and may get one when DC is old enough and wants to help make a mess in the kitchen.

Yes MissMolly I'm sure its significantly harder with two!