This week is National Poison Prevention Week (March 20th to March 26th, 2016). It is the time when us moms and dads need to take a moment to reevaluate our homes and make sure that we are doing the best job possible in keeping our kids safe from poisons.
There are many questions we can ask ourselves as parents when it comes to poison control. Are you sure your kids can’t reach the shelf where you store your liquid laundry packets? Does the cabinet lock on your cleaning supplies cabinet still get used every day? Are all your medicines put away in an area where curious hands can’t find them?
Even if you have answered those questions in the past, use National Poison Prevention Week as a prompt to think about them again. Your kids are taller and older now. Perhaps you have another child who is now mobile and wasn’t last year. Maybe you’ve moved or grandma or grandpa has moved in. There are lots of things that could change from year to year, so take some time to this week to make sure you are doing the best job you can to prevent your kids from reaching poisons.
The American Cleaning Institute has six useful tips to keep in mind when it comes to protecting your kids from items that could be poisonous, like the liquid laundry packets many of us like to use.
6 Tips for National Poison Prevention Week
- Always store products that could be poisonous up and out of sight and reach of your children. Don’t tempt your kids!
- Never let your children touch or play with the liquid laundry packets. Teach them that these packets are only to be used for laundry and only to be used by adults.
- Never puncture or pull packets apart. It will just make a mess and could create a potentially dangerous situation if a child got a hold of it.
- Always keep containers of poisonous products securely closed. Don’t make it easy for your kids to get to them.
- Always remember to read product labels. Just keep your lives simple and use these products as directed.
- Always keep the product in its original container. Storing things like laundry packets in a different container may confuse kids as they may mistake them for toys.
In support of National Poison Prevention Week, I urge you to take the American Cleaning Institute’s Pledge for laundry safety. You’ll be automatically be entered to win a $2500 Amex gift card to makeover your laundry room when you do!
Really want to keep your family safe? Check out ACI’s Poison Prevention page and my other posts on keeping your kids safe. Topics have included:
- Winter safety tips
- Holiday safety tips for families of small children.
- New research on maintaining laundry safety in homes with young kids.
- The 5 things NOT to do to keep your baby safe.
- Back to school safety tips.
- Staying safe in your home.
I hope this series, sponsored by the American Cleaning Institute, has been useful!
