Ya girl Dani is a blogging ambassador for the CHPA Educational Foundation’s KnowYourOTCs program but all opinions are mine.

Typing furiously on my laptop in bed, I hear a litle voice. “Ummm… Mommy???” Looking up, I see Kaya (3) entering the room with one hand on her hip as she walks and the other raised in the air like she’s making the sign for D or showing me the number one. As she approached I realized something small and white was on the tip of that pointer finger aimed to the sky.

It was a pill.

And it was wet.

I jump up and start pelting her with questions as I squeeze her cheeks and use MY pointer finger to sweep her mouth out. “Where’d you get that? How many did you eat? Did you chew them up? Where’s the bottle? How do you feel?” etc. etc.

I couldn’t breathe and I heard my blood pumping in my ears.

Turns out, Kaya had found my pill bottle in my bag, opened it on her own and popped just the one pill in her mouth…and spit it right back out.

“What kind of grown up candy is this mommy? It tastes yucky so I spit it out.”

I finally breathe.

“Why is your candy not sweet, mommy?”

Another exhale.

Thank goodness.

I explained to her what they were and why she shouldn’t touch it and certainly not taste it. Then I had (another) talk that day with Ro and Kai about being safe around the medicines in our house and I now keep my pills out of my bag and up high.

I’m glad my pills taste bitter and acrid or that story could have had a much more dramatic ending.

In fact, according to SafeKids, “almost every minute of every day there is a call to a poison control center because a young child got into a medicine.”

National Poison Prevention Week is March 18-24, 2018.

Approximately 60,000 kids go to the ER every year because they got into medicines that were left within reach (this equals 4 school bus loads of kids every day).
According to SafeKids, “7 in 10 parents report storing medicine within a child’s sight. Nearly 5 in 10 parents leave medicine out in a visible location between doses when their kids are sick.”

Ugh!!

So parents, let’s all teach our children what medicine is and that only a parent or caregiver should give it to them.

Parents should never tell kids that medicine, including vitamins, are candy, even if they don’t like to take it. (I already told you how the kids call their vitamins gummy bears, so we are totally working on that…::sigh::)

I am running a declutter challenge in my facebook group, and included in it is setting aside time to double check that their medicines are stored safely up, away and out of sight of kids. Also that they are all closed properly, and not expired. You can check out Up & Away for more information and tips.

If you need it (and I legit hope you NEVER do) the Poison Control Centers’ phone number should be easily accessible in your homes and saved into your cell: (800-222-1222)