A Square Box with a Window:
How Your Child Sees the Microwave Oven
One of the best ways to keep your children safe from burns or other harm is to view their world the same way they do. A child looks at the microwave as a box with a window -- nothing to be scared about, right? However, four children every month receive third-degree burns from these very safe-looking appliances. What’s wrong with this picture?
We teach our children about the dangers of our stoves early on. They know from a young age not to grab anything off the top of these appliances, because we have told them repeatedly, "Don’t touch, it is HOT!" If they do touch the front of the oven while it is on, they can feel the heat. This reinforces in them that the stove is HOT, and that they must stay away from it.
On the other hand, we can touch the microwave when it is cooking, and it doesn’t feel hot. When we take something out of the oven we always use a potholder. But how many of us use a potholder when removing food from a microwave? A child would naturally assume that the microwave is not hot. In fact, even if the container holding the food feels only warm, the contents can be scalding. Food cooked in a microwave often heats unevenly and can end up frozen in one place but burning hot in another.
Most of our microwave ovens are conveniently put on a kitchen counter within a child’s reach. The majority of the burns caused by microwaves happen when a child is getting something out of these ovens and tips the hot contents down his body. After all, the door wasn’t hot when he opened it, so how could he get hurt?
The microwave is a tremendous timesaver for all of us; I don’t know how we did without it. While enjoying all of the wonderful technology we now enjoy, however, we need to update our safety precautions. Just the way we as children were taught, over and over, that the stove is hot, we as adults must also treat the microwave as a danger to our children. In other words, keep the microwave off-limits to them, the same as we do our stoves. We wouldn’t think of letting a child get something out of the regular oven. We forbid them to use the cooktop. You probably would not let a young child use the coffee pot or the crock-pot. So why are we letting them use the microwave?
Would you allow your child to boil water on his own? When a child cooks a cup of noodles in the microwave, he is basically boiling water.
So when you teach your children about safety in your home, remember to include the safe use of the microwave oven. Better yet, make the microwave totally "off limits" to any child under the age of 7, and properly teach and supervise children over age 7. Finally, remember never to hold a child in your arms while removing items from the microwave - because even grownups can sometimes forget that it’s not just a "box with a window."
Read Delores's other
articles: [Safety
at the Gaspumps] [A Square Box] [A
Valentine] [Hurting Angels] [Tragedy
at a Night Club] [College
Fires & Staying Safe] [How
Safe Is Our Clothing?] [Preventing
Heating Related Fires]
You can download and personalise, with your child's name,
Delores E-Book, "The Hurting Angels"
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