Danger!

Kayley loves to explore. And I love to watch her explore and learn, and explore with her too. Recently, with all this exploration, we have been trying to teach her the word “danger.” Usually it’s in reference to the wall heater and outlets, but recently something else had been added to the danger list. Kayley has discovered how to stand on the rail-handle of the oven drawer that holds the cookie sheets, while she grabs onto the oven’s rail-handle. And she has discovered she’s able to reach up and feel and grab at things on the stove-top! Scary!!

DANGER!!!!!

We have an electric stove top (I so wish it was a normal gas one…), so the burners stay pretty warm for a while after they’re turned off. Plus, when it’s near snack time I tend to grab a cutting board and place it on top of the unheated stovetop and slice up pears, cantaloupe and more. You can see the danger she can get into. Not to mention she could slip right off the rail-handle and fall, or accidentally pull the oven door open.

We have thus moved our baby gates and have made the kitchen area a baby-free zone, except when it’s time for her to eat in her highchair. I’m hoping once she starts understanding language more, and what danger means, that we can open the kitchen back up as a play area. I enjoy having her around me while I prepare our meals. Plus, it’s one of the only non-carpeted areas where she can play with her wheeled toys.

Smushy face

Looking through the gate into the kitchen