Erie County Deparment of Health Highlights

Kids Act Fast, So Do Poisons

In the new era of “going green”, we need to examine the concept of recycling as it relates to children and accidental poisoning. While recycling is good, let’s take a look at how you are reusing and recycling glass and plastic containers.

Take a look in your cupboard for old jars and reusable plastic containers that once held foods like peanut butter and now may hold poisons like jewelry cleaner. Would a child know what is safe and unsafe? To avoid unintentional poisoning, label everything and store out of a child’s sight and reach. Kids act fast, so do poisons.

Safe to eat: Mini Chocolate Bar

Poison Look Alike: Laxative

Kids are easily confused by similar shapes and colors of both poisons and candy. Kids are tactile learners, and put things in their mouths first, they love to examine the look, taste, touch, smell, and feel of new things. Parents may coax children into taking medicine by telling them “it tastes like candy". Some medications are offered to children as teddy bear shapes, scented, and fruit flavored.

The market is rife with fruit scented markers, crayons, glitter glue, etc. Household products are fruit scented, (so they smell good to a child) and come packaged in containers and shapes that look pleasant and fun. Dangerous poisons can be inhaled as well, such as lemon or vanilla scented bleach, ammonia or cleaning products.

Safe Kids Erie offers a poison look-alike training kit for parents and teachers. It demonstrates a pictorial view of poison through a child’s eyes. When labels are not on the product, would you know what they are, and what was safe and what was not?

Take the parent’s poison pledge this month, and poison proof your home. Take all poisonous products to one area of your home. It may mean that you have to take a few extra steps but isn’t your child’s safety worth the extra effort? Mark all poisonous products with Mr. Yuk Stickers, and teach them that Mr. Yuk means “Don’t touch or eat or drink what is in here!” To avoid confusion, keep everything in their original containers.

Children are poisoned in many ways; they are exposed to lead, inhalants, trees and plants, and by smell or touch. Act like a child today, get down on your hands and knees and crawl around. What can you find that would attract a child? What steps do you need to take to make your child safe? Do it today. Safe Kids are no accident!

Patty Puline is the Safe Kids Coordinator at the Erie County Dept of Health, and has been a child safety advocate for 26 years.