Question of the week: What do you do to keep children safe from household poisons?
Posted on March 2nd, 2009 - 10:30 AMEach week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.
Every 13 seconds, U.S. Poison Control Centers receive a call about someone being exposed to a poison. Forty percent of those cases involve a child under three years of age. March is National Poison Prevention Month.
What do you do to keep children safe from household poisons?
Tags: poison prevention
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Question of the Week
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
There are many different ways in which you can protect your children (and yourself) from dangerous household chemicals, as well as protect the environment, by making your own cleaning and pesticide products. Pesticides are especially harmful to people and children, and are in fact one of the leading causes of asthma in children. This website is a great resource for making your own cleaning products that can keep your children from being exposed to harmful chemicals. http://www.parentingbookmark.com/pages/Enviroment01.htm
There are also many recipes for making pesticides that are less toxic for your family at: http://www.paystolivegreen.com/2008/12/make-your-own-homeade-pesticides-and-repellants/
These products are not only better for your family and the environment but they can also help you save money. By creating your own cleaning products and pesticides you can do a great deal to minimize the risk of children being exposed to household hazardous materials.
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March 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Use safty latches on your cabinets containing harmful chemicals. Store chemicals in high up out of reach of children. Be aware of where your children play.
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March 3rd, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I try to keep my children safe by minimizing the amount of toxics in the house. One key way is that we do NOT use compact fluorescent bulbs, which contain enough mercury to worry me. Although my incandescents use more energy, they keep one of the most toxic chemicals known to man out of my house. I will happily buy LED lights when they become robust, but I think EPA should slow down in urging adoption of CFLs with their mercury content.
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March 4th, 2009 at 12:18 am
In addition to storing toxic products out of reach and behind drawers with safety latches, I am a big fan of Mr Yuk means NO stickers on products just in case they’re left out accidentally http://www.ohsu.edu/poison/documents/MrYukMeansNo.pdf
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