Kristin's simple visual cue keeps her kids safe in the kitchen while letting them stay involved:

I have a three year old, two year old, and 12 week old. They all like to play in the kitchen when I am cooking, and with all the baking I am doing this time of year, we talk a lot about staying back when I have the oven open or hot pots/pans on the stove.

I put a blue "box" on the floor with painter's tape and they know that if the light is on, they need to stay behind the line. It allows them to still watch what's going on -- they are very interested in cooking -- and works better for us than just repeating "stay back" a thousand times! I also know that when I have the oven door open, the line is far enough back that they can't reach over and get burned.