Lock Up Medicine

Most parents are well aware that they need to keep their cleaning supplies up high or away from kids - many of the chemicals inside of those items are dangerous for kids. Kids often don’t understand what they can and can’t eat, and if they can get to it then they’re likely to eat it. Fortunately, most of those chemicals taste really bad, so your child isn’t likely to keep chugging on them.

Medicine on the other hand is often set up to taste good, especially children’s medicine. When you want your child to take medicine, it needs to taste good so that they will actually take it. This is helpful when your child is sick and you’re administering the medicine, however, it also has a downside as your child may want medicine when they’re not sick. Don’t be surprised if they ask for it.

As such, you really need to keep your medicine high up and out of reach of children. Ideally, you’re locking the medicine up as it’s not uncommon for an older child to also want to simply drink or eat the medicine. They’ll gladly climb up a ladder or step stool to get the medicine. Keeping it up high works well for your younger child, but you need to make it harder to get for older children.

You should make sure that you have poison control’s phone number in your phone and written down somewhere close by to your medicine. The number is 1-800-222-1222 - write it down and put it in your phone. If you need it, you’ll be glad you have it close. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. You can look the phone number up if you need to, but having it in your contacts makes it even easier to call.

You may wonder what the fuss is about. One of the most dangerous medicines that your child can take too much of is Tylenol (officially known as acetaminophen). If your child takes too much of this medicine, they can die. Plenty of kids pass away every year from medicine overdoses. You absolutely do not want to find yourself in this situation - it’s not hard to keep your medicine locked away when the result can be death.

They make Tylenol taste really good too for kids. It’s almost always got a fruit flavor to it, and it comes in a drinkable form or else a chewable tablet. The pretty colors and delicious taste make it something that most kids will want more of, even when they don’t need it. As mentioned above, older kids may also want to get into it as well because it often has a sweet flavor that they want more of.

Make sure that when administering medicine to your kids that you’re reading the instructions closely and that you’re following your doctor’s instructions with how much your child should receive. You’re always better to start on the low end of the recommended dosage and increase the dosage if it’s not effective later. While your child may be in pain a little longer, it’s worth being safe in this scenario.

Keep your medicine up high and locked away. Make sure you’re helping to administer it to your child.