Franklin County Podcasts
 August
4, 2009
Candy or Poison?
(3:48 minutes)
Audio/Video Script:
Susan Holman
County Extension Agent - Family and Consumer Sciences
[Title Slide - Candy or Poison? Are Children at risk for poisoning in your
home? Susan Holman, County Extension Agent - Family and Consumer Sciences -
Franklin County, Picture of a family running and playing (father, mother and
child). U of
A Division of Agriculture.]
[Picture of candy and medicine poured out together] Imagine not being able to read, but seeing a wonderfully colored
liquid and pills that look like candy within reach. While you can easily explain
how children can be confused when they can’t read, you may actually be surprised
how many household products you may not be able to distinguish when they are not
in their original packaging.
[Picture of a child eating an ice cream cone.] Children are very oral creatures, exploring by putting things
in their mouth. So, young children will eat or drink almost anything. This poses
a risk of poisoning, maybe even death if the child gets a hold of substances
that are not edible, [picture of a child looking under a kitchen sink with
cleaners and a picture of a child in a medicine cabinet looking at medicine
bottles] such as those underneath a sink or medicine cabinet. With
today’s marketing, some household cleaners look like sports drinks or even candy.
Let’s look at some examples of how children can mistake edible products for
dangerous ones.
[Picture of a Sudafed® tablet and a box of Red Hots®] Here you see a bright red tablet of Sudafed®. Sudafed® is remarkably similar
to Red Hots®. To a child, Sudafed® will have less flavors than Red Hots®, yet be
more dangerous if swallowed.
[Picture of a bottle of Vitamin Gummy Bears® and Gummy Bears® candy] Children love Gummy Bears®…and now they have vitamins that are even marketed
as Vitamin Gummy Bears®. Vitamins, when given in improper doses, can poison a
child, especially if they are iron fortified as some vitamins are.
[Picture of a bottle of window cleaner and a bottle of blue sports drink] If a child cannot read, do you think he
or she will be able to discern this
attractive color of blue between a sports drink and a liquid cleaner? They both
look yummy because of the bright colors.
[Picture of a father carrying a child on his shoulders.] Now that we have seen some examples, what can you do in your home?
There are many things an adult can do to prevent poisoning. First, provide adequate
attention to children. Also remember children are watching you and imitating
you, so be mindful of what children see you do.
[Picture of a cabinet with child locks on the door.] Try to find some child locks to
put on cabinets or at least store hazardous materials out of reach of children. Keep
products in their original containers. Sometimes we like to transfer things into
cute colorful containers and often times forget to label them, so we are at risk
of poisoning ourselves in addition to poisoning our children who don’t know any better and
are attracted to these colors.
[Picture of medicine bottles] Helping your children learn safety at home is also important. Sometimes
adults call the medicines cute names or even candy, especially if the child is
resistant to taking the medicine. This can be confusing and sends the wrong
message to children. Call medicines and vitamins by their proper
names. And remember vitamins can be toxic to a children since their bodies are
smaller and do not require as much as an adult dose. By reading labels you
also know the proper dosages. Be mindful of adult and child dosages before you
give medications or vitamins..
You can also teach children to keep away from areas that contain chemicals.
[Picture of a dropper bottle labeled poison with a skull and cross bones on
label.] For example, consistently reinforce the rule that children should NEVER be
around, touch or try to things that might hurt them.
Discourage children from touching, tasting or smelling something that could be poisonous.
[Picture of a do not touch sign.] Another consistent message you can give a child is, if they don’t know what it is, they
should not go near it or touch it and definitely not put it in their mouths.
Tell them that only adults can give them medications and teach them the
difference between medicine and candy.
[Picture of three children playing together] Home should be a fun and safe place
for you and your children. Become aware of poisonous items in your home
and place them out of reach of children or in locked cabinets.
[Title Slide] For more
information contact your county Extension agent or visit our website at
www.uaex.edu.
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