Five common household poisons and how to keep your children safe from them

Children are prone to accidents, whether we like it or not, and it is not easy to wean them off from touching harmful substances. The more you warn them the more they feel the urge to touch or experiment.

It is your duty as a parent to hide away harmful substances around the house from eye level and arms reach.

Here are some common household poisons and how to keep your children safe from them:

1. Medicine

Every household that has children knows how important it is to have a medicine collection. Children are susceptible to colds and infections and it is important to always be ready.

However, when children can access medicine easily, they may be tempted to take the pills or cough syrups on their own and overdose. Or worse, they take the wrong prescription.

Safety tip: Ensure you put all drugs in a medicine cabinet under lock and key. Also, remember to label all medicine available in the house all and never swap medicine from their original containers.

2. Detergents and other cleaning chemicals

It might be easily ignored that children know what cleaning detergents are and that they wouldn’t touch or ingest these products.

However, children are built to experiment with stuff so never assume they cannot be tempted to taste products like air sprays or even bleach.

Safety tip: Always store all cleaning products in their original containers, avoid using soda bottles or food containers to store cleaning products. Ensure all cleaning products are kept in areas children rarely access or cannot reach. If possible, lock the cabinets or put safety latches on the doors to make them inaccessible.

3. Alcoholic products

As a parent, always keep in mind that you are the first role model your child will have and they will want to emulate everything you do.

When they are not allowed to take alcohol while you do, it will obviously spike their curiosity and they will do everything in their power to have a taste of what you are prohibiting them from.  

Another alcoholic product that is good to look out for is a hand sanitizer, children can easily access and ingest this product when carelessly put within their reach.

Safety tip: Keep all alcoholic products in locked cabinets where children cannot easily reach. If your children are teenagers avoid putting the drinks within their view all the time. After a drink or gathering within friends, ensure all alcohol bottles and glasses are properly cleaned and stored away so that children don’t find leftovers.

4. Cosmetic products

As mentioned before, children are great copycats and they will want to try out everything you use. These range from your makeup products, lotions and ornaments.

Children especially girls will want to experiment with their mothers stuff and it is important to keep an extra an eye on them.

Safety tip: Avoid leaving your cosmetic products lying around the bed or on top of the makeup table where children can easily access. Put all your cosmetic products in lockable cabinets away from the reach of children. Always be aware of where your child is when using beauty products, they could be in the room ingesting your makeup products while you are too busy applying your face unaware of your surroundings.

5. Food stuffs and cutlery

Not all kitchen products are edible or ready to eat. Some foods like rice or pasta cannot be eaten in their raw state, although they are not dangerous it is good to keep them away from children. This is because they can make a big mess with some of these products. For spices and other cooking reagents, when ingested in large amounts they could cause health issues to children, it is advisable to keep them far from their reach.

Kitchen cutleries like knives and forks can also hurt children when they don’t use them properly or decide to use them as toys.

Safety tip: Always ensure that kitchen tops and islands are free from cutlery and spices, this way children cannot easily access them. Lock away spices and raw food products on high cabinets where children cannot climb table tops and easily access. Always remember to lock your fridge when children are in the house.