How to choose kid-friendly home appliances

June 30th, 2015

Buying Guide Clothes Dryers Cooktops Laundry Ovens Ovens & Cooking Washers & Dryers

Having kids around can be a major factor in planning and choosing everyday home appliances, so next time you’re in the market for something from Appliances Online, take into account these quick tips to make sure your purchase is as child-friendly as possible:

Induction Cooktops

Induction cooktops are the best way to avoid burnt fingers, especially sneaky little ones. Because induction cooktops work by transferring heat to magnetic surfaces, you could have the cooktop turned to the highest heat setting and place your hand over the surface without worrying about burning yourself.

Remember though that the residual heat from your hot pots and pans can still warm up the ceramic glass surface of an induction cooktop. To enjoy complete peace of mind around curious kids and clumsy adults, keep a close eye on the cooktop’s light-up residual heat indicators.

Hot Doors

In keeping with burnt fingers, another important consideration is the oven in your house. Often they are placed at the perfect height for inquisitive youngsters to get up close and personal with dinner, but it’s important to consider an option with multi-layered oven doors, which will help lower the heat on the outermost glass of the oven, and prevent any burns or tears if a stray toddler gets too close.

Westinghouse Electric Wall Oven WVE615S

This consideration also goes for laundry appliances too, as many dryers and washing machines can reach high temperatures mid-cycle and a high-quality layered door can be help prevent these high temperatures from harming any young children.

Knobs and Buttons

Many home appliances come equipped with several knobs, buttons and dials, all of which can be extremely appealing toys for young children. While you may see cooktop knobs, a kid with a healthy imagination may see spaceship’s launch controls, so it’s important to consider their layout on appliances such as cooktops.

Freestanding Euromaid Electric Oven Stove R54EW

Appliances that keep their controls up and out of reach of younger children are perfect for avoiding these unauthorised rocket ship launches.

Child Locks

Another consideration besides the location of buttons, dials and knobs is the feature that many appliances are equipped with: the CHILD LOCK.

Items such as front load washing machines and dryers have buttons right on display that can appear very tempting to kids, so the ability to lock the buttons and settings after you set your cycle can be ensure your delicates cycle stays a delicates cycle.

7kg Bosch Front Load Washing Machine WAK24160AU

It’s always important to choose appliances with cycles and options to suit the particular needs of your household, but the child lock is an important factor for anyone within curious kids in the house.