Teach Medicine Safety: Up, Away, and Out of Sight

When they were babies, my children had the uncanny ability to judge even the most minor altitude shifts.  If I had been standing with them cradled in my arms, they'd protest when I sat down even if nothing else had changed about their position.

Even now, based on the amount of climbing, scaling, and jumping that they do, it's evident that my children enjoy heights.  Increased elevation beckons them, it would seem, and it's not uncommon for me to find a chair pushed over to the counter and a child (or two) straining to reach something just beyond their grasp.


(We're working on it.)

The other week, in fact, I discovered my four-year-old attempting to open a high cabinet.  Her rationale?  She had a tummy ache, and she wanted some medicine.

The cabinet where we keep our medicine is high -- plus, it has a child safety lock, an added security measure that might look like overkill, but in this instance, it prevented my daughter from succeeding in her aerial quest to self-medicate.

With this episode fresh in my mind, I wanted to share about Up and Away, a program that provides simple tips for parents and children about medicine safety.  From their website, I learned that 60,000 children end up in the ER each year from ingesting medicine while their parent or caregivers weren't looking -- a number that the initiative certainly hopes to reduce.

If you'd like to share medicine safety tips with your kids in a fun and easy way, download these free coloring pages for your children, and please also visit the website to refresh yourself on safe practices.

After all, we want our children to reach great heights in life, just not high medicine cabinets.

 
 
Up and Away is an educational program from the PROTECT initiative, in partnership with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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2 comments

  1. That is great information!  And timely.  My 2 year old cousin just wound up in the ER yesterday - he got into my uncle's pills.  Awaiting an update... I am praying he is ok.   Thanks for sharing this information!

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  2. Kat, I'm praying for your cousin, too!  How scary, and I hope that he is alright!  Please keep me posted.

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