Daily Child Safety Week tips to help you keep your children safe: Monday – Poisons

This week, running from 21 – 27 June, is Child Safety Week. The campaign comes from the Child Accident Prevention Trust who are aiming to raise awareness of the number of accidents that seriously injure or kill children and how parents can take measures to avoid them happening. 

Monday – poisons
Today 11 toddlers will swallow something so potentially harmful that they will be admitted into hospital. 

Detergent capsules are often concentrated and come in normal boxes with no child-resistant packaging, which means they’re easy for little fingers to get into.  The colourful liquids and packaging of cleaning products can be particularly appealing to young children. 

‘Child-resistant’ also doesn’t mean ‘childproof’ as some 3-4 year olds can open child resistant caps in seconds.  All of this means it’s really important to keep all cleaning products and medicines out of reach and sight – ideally in a high locked cupboard.  Don’t forgot the painkillers in your handbag either – remember to put your bag out of reach of little fingers.

When you’re buying cleaning products, look out for ones with bittering agents such as Bitrex in, as they taste so nasty they are a real deterrent to children swallowing them.

Join parents throughout the country and pledge your time with the Child Safety Week Time Pledge and find out how to protect your child from serious accidents.

http://www.childsafetyweek.org.uk/child-safety-week/