3 Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe Around Medications At Home

The safety of your children is likely the top priority for you as a parent. And while you’re aware of things around the house like poisonous substances or sharp objects, many parents unknowingly keep danger too close to their children by not recognizing medication, whether it be over-the-counter or prescription medications, as a potential health and safety hazard. Regardless of the age of your child, it’s important to know how to properly handle having medications at home to avoid possible poisonings or indulging in prescription drug abuse. So to help you do this, here are three tips for keeping your kids safe around medications at home.

Keep Track of the Medicines You Have

One of the biggest hurdles to climb when keeping your kids safe from medication at home is keeping track of the medicines you have. KidsHealth.org suggests keeping a record of how many pills you have left for medications, especially prescription medications that could be very harmful for your young children to get into or your older children to abuse. By maintaining a running tally of any medications within your home, it will take the guesswork out of keeping track of your medicines.

Safely Storing Medicines

Not only should you be concerned about keeping track of your medicines, but you should also be vigilant about how you store medicines in your home. SafeKids.org warns that simply using child-resistant pill bottles isn’t sufficient for protecting your kids from taking potentially harmful medications. So, in addition to simply storing them in such containers, you’d want to keep it out of reach and out of sight of your children. This means putting all medicines, both over-the-counter and prescription, up high and behind closed doors, perhaps in a Medical cabinet if you have one. Remove any pills you have on dressers, countertops or bedside tables to keep your kids safest.

Disposing of Leftover Medications

Once you no longer need to be taking prescription medication or any over-the-counter medicines are expired, it’s important to dispose of those medicines to eliminate potential dangers from your home. MedicineAbuseProject.org shares that the safest way to get rid of medications is through a safe drug disposal program. If you don’t have access to this type of disposal, you can also dispose of medication at home by placing them in the trash and mixing them with undesirable substances to deter anyone from taking the medications either on accident or on purpose. Taking care of getting medications out of the home is just as important as taking care of them within the home.

Keeping your kids safe and healthy includes keeping them safe from the harmful effects of unnecessary medication consumption. Use the tips mentioned above to ensure your home is a haven from medication abuse.