Childhood Injury Prevention Handbook

Childhood Injury Prevention Handbook

MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY • Children should ride in rear-facing car seats until they reach the height or weight limit on the manufacturer’s label. For more details, see motor vehicle section on page 14. POISONING • Preschoolers love to touch and taste, so the risk of poison injury is higher in this age group. Keep all medications, cleaning products and known poisons out of sight/reach of children in your home and in the homes of grandparents and other caregivers. A medication lockbox is an ideal place to store medications. Call poison control immediately if you think your child has had an exposure to a poison/toxin. CHOKING • Hotdogs, peanuts, popcorn and hard candy often cause choking in this age group. Keep these types of foods out of reach of young children. BURN INJURIES • Scald injuries are common for this age, mostly from food or liquids. When drinking hot liquids or eating hot foods, be sure that they are placed in a location in which a child cannot pull or knock down the hot food/liquid onto themselves. • Children in this age rage should

not be using a microwave. If children are too young to follow written directions, they are too young to use a microwave oven without supervision.

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