Microwave safety tips are very important skills for our children to know, when we leave them at home alone. We want them to be armed with the most skills they can possibly have to stay as safe as possible. Using a stove is not something that we recommend a child use while they are at home alone. However, with proper education and practice, a microwave can be a good option to cook or heat food while at home alone.
8 Microwave Safety Tips
Does your child use a microwave oven while they are at home alone? Have you taught them what the risks are while using it?
Here is a list of 8 microwave safety tips for you to share with your child.
1. Use only microwave-safe cookware and containers.
2. Remind your child to follow the microwave instructions on the package.
3. Show your child how to use a food thermometer to check the temperature in several different spots of the food. For reheated foods, make sure the temperature is 165 degrees to avoid foodborne illness.
4. Teach your child to use potholders when removing anything from the microwave.
5. Instruct older children to stir food well or let it stand for two minutes before tasting it so the heat can distribute evenly.
6. Demonstrate how to safely open a container or popcorn bag so the steam escapes away from their hands and face.
7. If defrosting food in a microwave oven, using the defrost setting or putting the microwave on 30 percent power.
If your child is too young to read or follow written food preparation directions or to read the microwave oven keypad, they are too young to use a microwave oven without supervision. 8. Do not put metal in the microwave, such as a spoon, knife or fork, as well as aluminum foil or any other metal substance. Every home is different and every family cooks different types of foods which can be in different types of packaging. Please be mindful of this packaging and what is in it, when you are heating them up around your food.
Can you think of any other microwave safety tips that you would like to add to this list to teach your child?
The Government of Canada has some great microwave safety tips that you can look at here.
Why can’t you put metal in the microwave?
When you put metal in the microwave a mini lightening show happens, do you know why?
Microwaves work by electromagnetic radiation. A transmitter in the microwave, sets up electromagnetic fields which send out microwave radiation. These ‘microwaves’ hit the water molecules inside of the food that you are cooking and make them wiggle around. This wiggling motion creates heat and as a result your food gets hot.
So, metals are a lot more solid than food. As food gets hot, water converts into steam and the energy gets released. As the molecules in a piece of aluminum foil or metal heat up, they do not have anywhere to go. Therefore, the metals heat up rapidly and can become extremely hot, where they can burn you if you touch them and they can catch fire.
In summary, please be careful and do not put metals in the microwave. You could cause a fire, burn your hand or mouth and you can scare yourself as you watch the microwave put off fireworks.
We hope that these microwave safety tips have been helpful to you. If you are interested in learning more safety tips for your child to learn about staying at home alone or while they are babysitting, you can visit our website where we teach youth the skills to start learning many amazing skills to stay as safe as possible.
Stay safe and be well.