Children are curious – many parents have already had this experience. Everything that isn't nailed down is examined closely. Once the little ones want to discover the world for themselves, there is often no stopping them, so it is important that parents think about safety precautions in the household early on.
Every year, over 120,000 children in German-speaking countries suffer from poisoning – but it doesn't have to come to that for you. Here are a few tips on how you can protect your little ones from harm:
Protecting children from poisoning in the household
Keep cleaning agents out of reach of children
Place all cleaning agents, detergents, washing agents, and similar products where the child cannot reach them. Special shelves or higher cupboard compartments are suitable for this. Children find colorful packaging attractive and cannot foresee the danger, so you should definitely take this precaution.
Buy products with bittering agents
Buy special products containing the bittering agent "Bitrex". The bitter taste in the cleaning agents usually causes children to spit the substance back out.
Call the poison control center in an emergency
If you notice that your child has ingested something or even if you just suspect it, call the poison control center immediately.
If your child has ingested foaming products, call the poison control center first.
Do not give them anything to drink!
However, do not give your child anything to drink – even if you think you are doing something good for your child, this can be a fatal mistake. Foaming surfactants swell up with liquids – the result: your child can no longer breathe. Therefore, it is advisable to always have some defoamer in the household. This defoamer can be obtained over the counter at the pharmacy.
My experiences
I keep all cleaning agents and detergents on the top shelf of my kitchen cupboards, where I need a chair myself. I have removed all cleaning agents and detergents from under the sink or in the bathroom. Furthermore, whenever I used them, I explained to the children that these are cleaning agents and are only for cleaning.
Read also: Autumn Cleaning – It's That Easy!
Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
