Look-A-Likes

Reusing and recycling containers may be cost effective and helping with the recycling process, but only if used for the right things.

Handy food containers are reused for everything from oil to pesticides along with foods stuff like vinegar and red hot candy.

While it makes perfect sense to an adult to reuse containers, children under the age of five, are constantly exploring their surroundings and are prone to put many of the things they find into their mouths-containers that might be familiar to them-especially if the content is scented with a food flavor.

Kids connect color, shapes, texture, and flavors with foods. Whether it is medicine or scented crayons or markers, it can be difficult for them to separate safe from unsafe when it smells like food. Take a look in your cleaning supplies for "food scented" items. No, they are not to eat-but are pleasant to smell.

There are numerous poison look-a-likes in our homes. If the label from the product were removed and put into containers, could you pick out what was safe and what was not? Just think about some of these poison look-a-likes:

• Cinnamon red hots and cold medicine
• Water and alcohol
• Candy and antacid
• Cake frosting in a tube and first aid cream
• Vitamins and cake decorations
• Dishwashing soap granules and Nerds® candy
• Tuna and cat food
• Jelly and sunscreen
• Lettuce or spinach and some green house plants
• Corn oil and dish soap

All of these are fairly common list of items all families keep the kitchens, bathrooms and cleaning closets. Move to a garage, farm machine shed, or storage area and you'll likely discover other poison look-a-likes.

To poison proof, move containers to high shelves or closets, away from foods where they might be mistaken for a "safe" food. Medicines can be put into larger containers on a high shelf. Also, keep items, good or bad, in their original containers. It's confusing to all of us if they are not.

When we think of kids we think of them swallowing poisons. They also can be poisoned by smelling or touching. Lead poisoning is a good example. Contact with lawn sprayers also can be a concern and as parents we need to read labels on products we use on our lawns and gardens as well as in our homes.

To keep "quick" kids safe, become a kid again. Get down on your hands and knees. What can you find or get into? Are there things that need to be moved? If so, do it now and keep the kids safe.