A good reminder: Poison prevention tips

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts) Mar 29th 2008 12:00PM

Categories: Toddlers, Preschoolers, Health & Safety

We're nearing the end of a complete kitchen overhaul, and I've been putting all of my kitchen stuff back in my new cupboards. I looked for a loooong time at my cleaning supplies, normally stashed on top of my refrigerator. Our new cabinets won't have childproof safety locks on them, but yet I really didn't want to my dishwasher detergent back on top of the fridge in my pretty new kitchen. Surely my three-year-old wouldn't get into them, would she?

In the end, safety won out and I stashed them out of reach for another year. I'd rather not take the chance, especially since she's the kind of kid who's known to eat things that aren't necessarily food. If you have a young child in your house, you might be interesting in a refresher course on poison prevention:

Put child safety locks on any cupboard containing cleaning products, chemicals, cosmetics, etc, even those cabinets you think are out of reach.
Store products in the packaging they came in so that in the event someone does ingest it, safety information is right on the back.
Consider child-resistant packaging.
Read the directions for use carefully, paying particular attention to warnings.
When cleaning, take out only the products you are currently using and keep the rest secured.
Never mix household cleaning products.
Never leave buckets unattended.
Clean your house when your children are out of the home or napping.
Keep Poison Control's phone number posted in a safe place: 1-800-222-1222.

The vast majority of my cleaning supplies aren't even toxic (think vinegar and baking soda), which is another way to ensure your kids don't come into contact with dangerous chemicals.

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Comments (1)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Nancy Toby 3-30-2008 @ 7:29PM

So I'm sitting in my utility room monitoring my empty bucket... now what do I do?

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