Whether you’re a parent, a babysitter or hosting friends with children, it’s important to protect youngsters from poisonings. There are a surprising number of potential poisons found throughout the home.
Laundry Lessons
Laundry detergent packets are small and often brightly colored. Children and adults with cognitive impairment can mistake them for food or toys. Laundry detergent packets should be stored out of sight and out of reach, such as in a secured cupboard or on a high shelf, in the manufacturer’s child-resistant container.
Cleaning Supplies
The products you use to clean your house can contain toxic ingredients. They can create harmful gases if mixed together, and the bright colors of some can be mistaken for some kids’ favorite sugary drinks. Keep them locked in cupboards or drawers and out of reach and sight from young children and pets. Make sure closures on child-resistant containers are working.
Medicine
If you have children in the house, all medicines should be stored in a locked cabinet. That includes things that you might think of as relatively harmless such as over-the-counter pain killers. If a child finds a bottle of these in, say, a night table drawer and mistakes them for candies, they could become seriously ill. If you have expired medications or old prescription drugs you no longer need, drop them off at a pharmacy for safe disposal.
Store Your Loose Change, Small Magnets and Button Batteries Safely
If you tend to empty your pockets on a counter or desk when you walk in the door, you’ll need to rethink your habits. Countless young children have swallowed shiny silver coins, button batteries and small magnets over the years. The risks range from choking to severe internal injuries, even death. Find a safe place to store these items out of sight and reach of young children.
Store Your Cannabis Safely
If you’re a consumer of cannabis, particularly edible cannabis products make sure they’re safely stored where children can’t access them and experience a poisoning. Leave them in the plain, child-resistant packaging of the legal supplier you bought them from and store them in a locked drawer or container that is up high and out of reach of children.
Find more cannabis safety advice at canada.ca/cannabis.