Poison Control

March 17^th – 23^rd is Poison Prevention Week. In the U.S. the poison emergency number is 1-800-222-1222. I have refrigerator magnets with this number on them. I always try to keep it handy, but in all honesty if something happened when I couldn’t get to the number I would have no idea who to call other than 911. So I am spending some time to research poison control and I’ll share it with all of you because everybody should know this. Especially if you have children.

http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-resources-by-risk-area/poison/  - Has a TON of information on it. It is divided up into categories – parents, educators, media, and safety professionals. I would suggest in reading all of them. They have divided the parents tab into sections of the child’s age. For the toddlers (1-4 years) it is divided up into subcategories of at home, at play, and on the way. (Honestly I never thought about having to have poison prevention in the car.) This is not only a poison control site it also has lots of information about all safety for you and your family.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/safety_poisoning.html  - Has a lot of quick tips to read through. It will help you self check, and know where you are going wrong or have been doing things right.  http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/  Everyone needs to know first aid and Safety.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_poisoning_11266.bc  - This has some information one what to do if you find yourself in any of these “what if” situations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZO-drzD1_M  This is a cute little YouTube video your kids can watch about poison control. Thomas will be watching this for sure.

http://www.dangerrangers.com/kids_safety_topic.php?id=41  - Besides just things to read this site also has music, videos, and games/activities to help teach children about poison control. You can’t always be there to prevent it, and you will want the children to know that these items are not safe. They won’t know unless we teach them.

http://www.poison.org/prevent/generaltips.asp  - There is a TON of information on this site. I book market it.

After reading all of this I know that I knew more than I originally was giving myself credit for, but I also know where I need to check and make sure that everything is safe. I will be putting up a cabinet with locking doors in my bathroom for cleaning supplies and other things (Thomas LOVES spray bottles, and it seems like everything comes in a spray bottle). I will also be making at least one first aid kit. We have also put all of our medications in a plastic tote with a lid that snaps on really tight. And I keep this tote way up out of his reach. He is always figuring out how to get into trouble. Check these sites out and take the time to read them. You can never be too safe when it comes to you and your family.