Recently, I have been focusing on child safety outside your home, but today, I want to take a look inside your cupboards.

Photo Credit: Chef Randen, Flickr

Ever notice that many major brand cleaning products look similar to your kids’ drinks in the fridge?  This Today Show clip highlights that and features a story about a toddler who got into his mother’s carpet cleaning and survived.

Children are explorers by nature and they will explore every square foot of your house, inside and out.  What you think might be the perfect hiding spot, could be the next discovery for your child.  There are a few things parents can do, besides providing verbal warnings, to prevent  children from injuring themselves with household chemicals.

If you can, store chemicals up high to keep them out of reach.  If you can’t put them out of reach, put child locks on any cupboard your kid could access.

The National Ag Safety Database recommends to not store cleaners near food and use child resistant packaging.  One outstanding recommendation they make is to store cleaning products in their original containers.  If you decide to transfer chemicals to containers your children associate with food and drink, they might think the contents are alright for human consumption.

The best way to teach children is by example.  Next time you are cleaning around the house with some sort of product, have your kid watch you.  Not only do you get to have some fun together but your child will also see that you’re not wiping the counter with lemonade.

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Ken Levinson is a Chicago-based child injury attorney and child safety advocate. He believes any injured child is one too many. If your child has been injured or worse please contact Ken by e-mail at ken@thesafestline.com.

Related posts:

1. Child Safety Tips: 10 Things You Can Do In 10 Minutes Or Less To Make Your Home Safer
2. Top Ten Child Injuries & How to Prevent Them
3. Recall: Chuck E. Cheese Rings And Star Glasses
4. Recall: Night Lights
5. Recall: Siemens Circuit Breakers

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