Preventing Accidental Poisonings With Kids

This Post Has Been Sponsored, Thank You For Sponsoring CityGirlGoneMom.

Lets face it, sometimes children get into things they shouldn’t. There is a constant stream of kid motion in my house and it’s up to us as parents to protect these little crusaders from any accidental injury. Unlike kids, adults can lean on common sense for protection against harmful intake. Did you know that more than 90% of poisonings occur inside the home and are 100% preventable? This week is National Poison Prevention Week, and we should all set aside time to ensure household safety for our little explorers.

A few years ago, I unfortunately experienced an accidental poisoning of my pet. We lost her because of it, and it was heart wrenching to say the least, because it could have been prevented. If you haven’t read that story, you can find it here. My in-laws also experienced an accidental poisoning when my sister-in-law was a toddler. She unfortunately ingested bleach that wasn’t properly stored away. Luckily, they were able to get her treatment right away. But, again, this could have been prevented. After such incidents, this is clearly a topic I hold close to my heart. That is why I am partnering with the CHPA’s educational foundation’s Up & Away program to raise awareness around the most common poison sources, and I would love if you could join me by taking a few minutes to make sure your medicines are stored safely up, away, and out of sight.

THE HARD FACTS

1. Approximately 60,000 kids go to the ER every year due to accidental medicine ingestion (this equals 4 school bus loads of kids every day)
2. According to SafeKids, “half of the 2 million calls to poison control centers in 2011 were for exposures and ingestions among kids 5 and under.”

CALL TO ACTION

Parents must teach their children what medicine is, and instill that only you (the parent) or a caregiver should give it to them. Sometimes, this is easily forgotten. No matter how creative you’ll need to get in order to get your kids to take medicine, never refer to it as candy- including vitamins.  A friend of mine recently experienced her daughters ingesting an entire bottle of gummy vitamins. Even though she properly stored them up and away, they found a way to the bottle and ingested the entire thing. Clearly, children’s vitamins and medicines can easily be misconstrued as candy. Please check out Up & Away for more information and tips on this serious and sometimes all-too-often happenstance.

Beyond over the counter medicines, parents and caregivers should make sure their household products are kept in their original bottles and stored safely. Consider cleaning products that might be easily accessible under the sink, or where your laundry detergent is located. If you are using those pretty, bright and colorful detergent pods, please make sure they are properly stored away from kids and pets to avoid any unwanted ingestion. Another tip is to make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home and test it regularly. Keep the Poison Help Line readily available, stored in your cell phones, and make sure a babysitter knows where to find the number: 1-800-222-1222.

In honor of National Poison Prevention Week, the National Poisoning Prevention Council conducts an annual, nationwide poster contest for kids in Kindergarten through 8th grade to engage the community in helping to promote unintentional poisoning prevention. You can download guidelines for the 2018 poster contest here, and poster contest entry form here.

As a parent, I constantly strive to do my best to avoid an incident that can be prevented. Our home is filled with children and pets and most days it’s a multi-directional home. I never know exactly which direction they are going. However, taking those first steps by properly keeping medicines and household products up and away and being aware when we travel and when we have guests is a start. Keeping those conversations open with my children and other adults can be a great way to avoid an unwanted accident. Know Your OTC’s has more information on how you too can be better prepared and understand that household safety means more than just reading labels.

In the midst of raising four children, there’s one thing I know for sure. At every stage of childhood, communication, education and precaution are non-negotiables. From my youngest at 18 months to my oldest, who is now ten years, there’s no room to ignore the importance of safety in our home. Preventative = proactive in our family, and should in yours too!  

This Post Has Been Sponsored, Thank You For Sponsoring CityGirlGoneMom. I have been compensated by the CHPA’s Educational Foundation, KnowYourOTCs,
but all opinions are my own.