7 Tips to Protect Your Kids from Poisoning

By Julie Joyce

Every year poison control centers
get over a million calls because
of accidental poisonings. Most
poisonings involve children under
5 years old. And most poisonings
occur in the evening from 4 to 10 p.m.
Whenever, families tend to be the
busiest, they are also most vulnerable.
Any time that children are less
supervised there is a greater risk
that they will “explore” dangerous
territory.

Here are 7 Tips to Protect
Your Kids from Poisoning:

-1- No matter how busy or over
extended you get, nothing is more
important than the safety of your
children. Realize that whenever
you aren’t looking, they are.
And they just might be looking
in the cabinets for something to
taste. Do your best to watch
them with a vengeance.

-2- Crawl through the house
as a child would. Look for
anything that a child could grab
and eat that would be poisonous.
Then, relocate the items to
not be within a child’s reach.

-3- Make sure that all lower
level cabinets with soaps, chemicals
and other dangerous products are
locked and protected from little
investigators.

-4- If any adults, relatives, guests
etc. have or bring medication into
your home – make sure that the
pills are in child safe containers
and that none is “dropped” or “lost”
in your home.

-5- Make sure that any medication
given to children is accurately dosed.
Ask your pharmacist for a dosage
syringe or dosage spoon to enable
correct and consistent measurement.
Using a kitchen teaspoon or tablespoon
may not provide an accurate measurement.

-6- Realize that there are many things
in your home that could be poisonous
to a child. Cigarettes in an ashtray,
soap in the bathroom, plant leaves,
as well as many other household items
could be dangerous and deadly if
eaten by a child. Take a fresh look
at your child’s environment. Move
anything that your child could grab
and eat that could become a deadly
“treat.”

-7- Make sure that you have the number of
your local poison control center posted
on every phone. If you do not know your
local Poison Help number, call the
American Assn. of Poison Control Centers
at: 202-362-7217 to get your local
contact information or call 1-800-222-1222.

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About the Author:
Julie Joyce is a Family Safety Expert,
committed to teaching parents how to
protect their kids from a variety of dangers.
She is the Editor of FamilySafety101.com
and the “Safe Kids Report” newsletter.
Parents can access F-r-e-e Child ID Kits
and other f-r-e-e family safety resources, at:

http://www.FamilySafety101.com

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