Kid-safe Knife Storage Setup

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AT5760

AT5760

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Trying to keep Darwinism at bay. I've got a 3 year old that gets into everything - which unfortunately includes the knife block. He hasn't hurt himself yet, but if he continues it is bound to happen.

So, who has recommendations on a kid-safe kitchen knife setup? If I have to, I can dedicate some cupboard space. I also could do some sort of locking drawer, but that would be less ideal with my kitchen setup.
 
Drawer with magnetic lock worked for me until the 3-yo learned how to use the mag lock.

Now they sit in a block on the countertop, and they are secured by threats and hope.
 
We have the knives on two magnetic holders - one is completely out of reach for a child (unless he/she climbs a chair and than a cupboard) and the other is reasonably out of the reach. What helped most with our order one (5) is to keep explaining to her why knives are dangerous and that she can only try to touch one with one of use being present. Now - our younger one is about 1.5 and wants to get everywhere and pull everything from the kitchen counter - yet the knives she can clearly see remain outside of her interest zone. I have already started to teach here the dangers. Obviously - at this age she does not quite grasp the content of cutting herself, but I am pretty sure (or should I say 'I hope') that by the age of 3 she will be well aware and not try to sneak up to grab a knife behind our back. For now there is simply enough other 'cool' stuff she can reach more easily than knives. Indeed - at the age of 3 the child can basically get to anything that is not under a lock. But every kid is different, some more self destructive than others.
 
Cabinet above the fridge. Ideal, no. Six feet above the ground, yes.
 
Magnetic bar screwed to wall works great
 
I was worried since most of our knives are on blocks on the countertops. But my son has made it almost 6 years now, and has yet to get into the knives. Because he has always been around when we are using them (the family room and kitchen are one continuous space), it has been drummed into him that they are not toys, and he should not play with them. Sometimes when we are cutting some stuff up he asks to help, but if it is with a real knife (as opposed to a butter knife) then I keep my hand on it at all times and guide his cutting motions (and keep his fingers away from the edge).
 
So, by child, I really mean a 40 lb wolverine, jacked up on Red Bull, with opposable thumbs. He loves to cook with me, and routinely helps out. He knows that knives are used to cut, he just refuses to accept that he can't cut what he wants when he wants. Our older son never created any of these issues, but the middle one... Anyway, positive reinforcement is part of the equation, but we need some sort of backstop when the other two demand our attention.
 
I am with Matus. What helped the most is education and explaining how dangerous the knives are and that this are not toys. However, I keep the mag block out of reach (high enough) and the knife block is station on the fridge (have been there even before kids).
 
Honestly: the only really safe spots are the ones you can lock or are REALLY high up. A kitchen counter is NOT an obstacle for an adventurous 3 year old....

I do believe in educating kids. But I believe even more in the nature of children being adventurers out to whatever they want and whatever you told them not to do....

Remember two things: it only takes ONE time

And

Your child can be an angel.... but if there are other kids around any angel can turn into a devil in mere seconds.

Signed: a father
 
A drawer with a good child proof lock is nice ... but they'll find a way as they get older.

Height is always good, unless they climb on the counter or the like.

There is no 100%. Best bet, hide till they can understand, then educate ...
 
Just to add - our 5 year old is actually interested in cutting and I already allow here to do some very trivial cutting tasks alone, though I am watching her from up close. I am am even working on a small nakiri for here. But it will still be a while before she will be allowed to use a knife alone.

But alterwisser makes a very valid point - kids are just kids and even the most reasonable one can make a very 'not-clever' thing because they do not think it through - especially at such a young age.
 
Unfortunately,
ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
:(

Unless, knives are in a safe box - kids will find the way to get to it. Explaining and showing how the knives work and not making a big deal out of them is the best way.
If this does not work or you missed the time - hide them as high and as far as possible.
I am not advocating on leaving the knives on the counter tops unattended, but keeping them is the not so easy to reach (for a kid) designated place.
 
ivnj said:
Click to expand...


If I had rug rats that needed protecting, I thought of something along those lines and could mount on the side of the cabinet next to the sink. There are also under cabinet knife drawers that can probably lock, but they don't look like they hold many.
 
My son was gifted a nice child’s knife by a generous forum member at a get together. It has a rounded tip and isn’t that sharp but is thin enough to cut softer foods pretty well. He thought it was soo cool to have his own knife and he understood that it could be taken away if misused. Of course he only used it with supervision. It worked great. Plus you get to buy another knife!

Now, the youngest is about to turn two and he has emergency room visit written all over him. Even with his generally reckless demeanor I will still try the kids knife approach. Korin carries the Misono child’s knife that is begging for a rehandle by Dave Martell.
 
This topic has me giggling.
The biggest takeaway for me here has been that the second child seems to always be the more disaster prone. Such is my experience as well. She's starting to understand zippers at the ripe old age of 2. So I use the top of the fridge plus higher cabinets in the laundry room to stash all my knife bags.
The dull, non pointy old German knives still hang out of each on a magnetic rack on the wall above the counters. These are currently out of her reach.
But my problem is when I set the knife down on my cutting board between tasks and then turn around to see my youngest reaching for it.
Ugh
 
I guess much of it depends on the kid too, right? I have friends with a daughter who started using a kid’s knife at 4, and a little after that was using a santoku (supervised), and at 6 is safer and better with a knife than most adults!
 
Chuckles said:
My son was gifted a nice child’s knife by a generous forum member at a get together. It has a rounded tip and isn’t that sharp but is thin enough to cut softer foods pretty well. He thought it was soo cool to have his own knife and he understood that it could be taken away if misused. Of course he only used it with supervision. It worked great. Plus you get to buy another knife!

Now, the youngest is about to turn two and he has emergency room visit written all over him. Even with his generally reckless demeanor I will still try the kids knife approach. Korin carries the Misono child’s knife that is begging for a rehandle by Dave Martell.
Click to expand...

Having a child's knife is a good idea. My 5 yr old has a little knife that he can use, and that probably wouldn't cut him if he tried. He has a lot of respect for the real knives though. He's a bit afraid of them, actually. I think this is for the best for the moment.

All this talk of knives in safes and all assumes that you'll always be putting the knives away immediately, etc... I mean, fine, if you want to do that, but don't do that as a replacement for teaching the child to respect tools that can hurt them. Personally, I wouldn't allow my child to even touch a real knife until they're much older.
 
My three year old is now a four year old - all digits intact! We moved recently; now most of my j-knives are in a kitchen drawer along with stones. No one goes in that drawer but me, so I guess the problem solved itself. Another 5 or 6 years and I can get one of those fancy magnetic display racks.
 
Big up to this thread and whoever resurrected it. I take care of my little brother who's on the spectrum and this **** is always on my mind. I'd love to have a mag bar at home, but that'd be a disaster in waiting. I keep (most) my knives in sayas either in a drawer at home or a roll, which I was actually thinking of replacing with the Kimono from Hitohira I saw on insta a few days ago. Rather than rotating drawer knives (kind of annoying), I could keep them all in that roll, hang it out whenever I was cooking at home and have all my knives right there. Seems cool in theory. Easy out, easy away, easy to carry.

Bit of a posh buy, but thought it might be worth it. Anybody use one of those?

 
I've also seen china hutches with locks used to keep knives away from kids, or lockable glass cabinets like you'd see at cutlery stores. Mine isn't 6 months yet, so don't have to worry about this yet, but he is super into watching cooking and food, so I'll get there sooner rather than later.
 
I was about to post the same question as the OP since we're moving into a new, smaller place with very limited counter space soon, but I decided to search the forum first. There is a lot of great information here!

I have 3 kids, the oldest is 4. We've taught her how to use a paring knife (sharp), and she's actually pretty good, but I can't watch for fear of having a heart attack. Both the oldest and the middle like to "help" in the kitchen, so knife safety is a part of teaching them how to cook. It helps that the 4-year-old has a healthy respect for knives already, due to the time when she was 2 and tried to grab a piece of carrot out from under my knife - it was only a 1cm cut on her knuckle, but we still talk about it to remind her to be careful.

Both my girlfriend and I would love to have a magnetic knife rack to free up drawer space, but I'm not certain how safe it would be. That being said, the knives are currently in a block on the counter and the kids have never tried to get at them.
 
I also got a knife roll like @Orange Yolks, and keep it in a separate room, above the six year old’s potential reach. His knife is in it’s box on top of a kitchen cupboard.
 
I have a magnetic bar on the wall behind the stove, which is a good barrier. So even if kids climb on the countertop it is difficult to reach for them. Has worked during the dangerous years.
Large stove helps.
 

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How does a knife rack behind the stove affect the knives?

I just bought a really nice magnetic knife rack, only to discover that the only wall space we thought it could go won't work since the breaker box is on the other side of the wall. Oops. I'd love to still use this knife rack, but I'm really having a tough time figuring out where it could go.

Other ideas are to use the magnetic rack in a drawer, or else on the inside of a cupboard. All our drawers and cupboards have the no-slam hinges, so I doubt knives would get dropped or banged around.....
 
PotterMcMuck said:
How does a knife rack behind the stove affect the knives?

I just bought a really nice magnetic knife rack, only to discover that the only wall space we thought it could go won't work since the breaker box is on the other side of the wall. Oops. I'd love to still use this knife rack, but I'm really having a tough time figuring out where it could go.

Other ideas are to use the magnetic rack in a drawer, or else on the inside of a cupboard. All our drawers and cupboards have the no-slam hinges, so I doubt knives would get dropped or banged around.....
Click to expand...
Behind the stove it can be warmer and more humid than average, and I also had some concerns. But on my knives at least I have not noticed any detrimental effects on steel or handles, even wa handled carbons.
 
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