As your child ages, they might be interested in cooking and make it a hobby. The best way to teach your kids about cooking is by starting with simple things that are easy to make and don’t require much effort. Smoothies and milkshakes are popular among kids. Teaching them the steps to make their favorite drinks is a good start for kids to improve their culinary skills and make cooking a hobby.
However, smoothies are easy to prepare, but a few safety tips must be followed while preparing these drinks. These drinks require blenders and other appliances that have sharp blades and run on electricity. This can be dangerous for small kids if they don’t know how to use them properly. In this article, you will get insights into a few safety tips and guidelines that must be followed while using a blender or other electrical equipment.
Safety Tips and Guidelines for Using Blender or Other Electrical Equipment
Teaching your kids to prepare their favorite smoothies and milkshakes not only saves your time but also refines their culinary skills and improves their knowledge of preparing new recipes and dishes. If you are looking forward to buying tableware for your kids, then head on to this website to check out a wide range of high-quality tableware available at affordable rates. Find here the best kids’ smoothie cup, shop now to get an additional discount on your purchase.
However, a demonstration of making smoothies is not enough, providing them with a few safety tips and guidelines to operate a blender and other electrical equipment can ensure their safety and will prevent any chances of accidents. Here are a few safety tips and guidelines discussed below:
1. Demonstrate How to Use a Blender
Demonstrating your kids to use a blender is crucial to ensure their safety when working with a blender. Different parts of a blender with different functions are essential to ensure safety. Explain to your kids the functions of each part and how to use them properly when making smoothies or milkshakes. Furthermore, it has sharp blades and operates on electricity which must be emphasized to prevent any kind of accidents. Make sure to tell them to keep their hands off the blade and the wire when the plug is connected to the electrical outlet.
2. Chop Fruits into Small Pieces
Fruits are one of the main ingredients in making smoothies or milkshakes. Chopping fruits into small pieces have a significant role to play when making such drinks. Chopping your fruits and other ingredients into small pieces exhibits less pressure on the blender and helps in preparing your smoothie much faster. Additionally, it increases the longevity of your blender. Lastly, dumping large pieces into the blender can make the lid open if left unattended. Hence, it’s better to chop all your ingredients into smaller pieces.
3. Start Blending at a Slow Speed First
Whenever using a blender, make sure to start blending at a low speed and then gradually increase its speed to the maximum level. This is highly recommended in case of adding fruits or any solid ingredients to your smoothies. A low speed will ensure a proper mixture of the ingredients and will help to chop the larger pieces so it becomes much easier to blend the entire mixture. In addition, don’t fill the cup to the top, or else the lid will come off and can lead to accidents. Make sure to keep one-fourth of the cup empty and start blending at a low speed.
4. Don’t Add Anything while Keeping the Blender On
If you want to add any other ingredient in between the process then make sure to turn off the blender before opening the top lid. Opening the lid while keeping the blender on can lead to accidents even when running at a low speed. Additionally, ensure that your kids are aware of operating a blender and know the functions of each button. It can be confusing in the beginning, but once they get used to it, the process will seem much simpler.
5. Cleaning a Blender
It is also essential to teach your kids to clean a blender after using it. However, there are a few things that must be considered before cleaning a blender or any other appliance. Make sure to tell your kids to remove the cup from the blender as well as pull out the plug from the electric socket before cleaning it. Moreover, ensure that they are wearing gloves while cleaning the blades as the blades are sharp enough and it can cut your finger if you are cleaning without gloves. Additionally, make sure to keep the base dry and avoid cleaning the wires and nearby areas to prevent electrical shocks.
6. Use a spoon or stick to stir the mixture
Make sure to use a spoon or stick to stir the mixture in between the process. Even after turning off the blender, it takes a few seconds until the blades stop rotating. Putting your finger inside can lead without wearing any gloves or before the blades stop completely can lead to accidents. A spoon is safe if your kids want to add any other ingredients or stir the mixture before blending it again.
The Bottom-line
Making your kids self-reliant is essential to develop good habits and making them responsible to do their own work. Making smoothies and milkshakes is extremely simple and kids can easily learn it once you demonstrate it a couple of times. But they need to know how to operate a blender and the safety measures to follow while using it.
These rules and guidelines are easy to follow and nowadays, kids are smart enough to learn them on their own. However, it is the responsibility of the parents to guide them through the entire process so that they don’t make any mistakes and to prevent any kind of accidents. Furthermore, you can supervise them while they are working with the blender. This will increase their confidence and you can ensure their safety.