This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All opinions are 100% mine.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a mom is I cannot protect my kids from everything. There is no bubble I can put them in. Or monitor I can attach to them sounding out an alarm when something bad is about to happen. Wouldn’t that be great?
I remember when we took our first baby 101 class we were given a handful of pamphlets. They covered things from nursing to sleeping schedules to introducing your baby to solids to vaccinations to safety. At the time, I read them all and thought just reading them was enough. Then I became a mom and realized there wasn’t a pamphlet with all the answers. I also realized that mother’s intuition was a real thing. My goal as a parent is to protect my kids as much as I can and from there, teach them how to be safe and make good decisions. I’ve also learned that accidents can happen, no matter how hard you try to prevent or prepare.
When AG was two years old we had to make our first phone call to poison control. She had taken one of the wallflowers with the scented oil out of the wall and put it close to her mouth. While I was right there and pulled it immediately away from her, I was only 95% sure there was none in her mouth. It scared the living daylights out of me. Thankfully she was fine, but that was a reality check for me.
Before that happened, I thought we had taken all the necessary precautions to make sure the house was safe. We had locks on all of the cabinets, cleaning items out of reach, small objects put away, etc. I did what I thought I should do when it came to “child proofing” our house.
Unfortunately, unpredictable things happen everyday. It’s especially hard with toddlers who are into everything and are a tad too young to really understand right from wrong, safe or unsafe. Over the next few months, I’m going to introduce you to Make Safe Happen. It’s a program dedicated to reducing accidental injury, which is the leading cause of death of children. This year, in collaboration with nonprofit partners like Safe Kids Worldwide, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the American Red Cross, Make Safe Happen will focus on educating caregivers on four critical at-home safety risks.
This past week was poison prevention week. 9 out of 10 poisons happen in the home. Household items that you wouldn’t think to be overly dangerous can be, like hand sanitizer. Or even leaving a car key fob out with little batteries that aren’t secure can be swallowed in a matter of seconds. Here are some tips to keep your littles safe at home. I know this week I’ll be adding safety check to my spring cleaning checklist.
Here are five toxic products to put on your watch list.
Read them, there first one was one I know I need to pay closer attention to with AG.
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Nationwide Facebook / Nationwide Twitter page
Nationwide Make Safe Happen – Poison Safety / Make Safe Happen App
Thank you for the tips! Thanks to mom blogger’s my girls’ lives have been saved on numerous occasions- so many dangers I would never have thought about (http://www.akreativewhim.com/dear-mom-blogger). I would love for this to be linked up at 100 Happy Days! http://www.akreativewhim.com/weddings-yoga-dirty-diapers
I remember I was bringing up a new bottle of toilet cleaner and Noah found it on the stairs (waiting to go up). It was unopened but he went to go pretend to drink it and I freaked out! He’s the kid who doesn’t really get into much, but he didn’t know it could hurt him. It’s so easy for them to hurt themselves!!!
Definitely important things to know…thanks for sharing these tips, Leah!
Vanessa recently posted…Easter Blessings
Great tips! A friend and I were just talking about wishing we could put our sweet babies in a little bubble and protect them from everything!! 🙂
Great tips. These are the things that keep me up at night. We have those poison control stickers everywhere and I pray we never have a serious scare and have to use them. Ugh, this makes my heart race just thinking about it!
Sara McCarty recently posted…Spring Cleaning With Toddlers
We have an emergency list on our fridge for sitters and we have pulled anything toxic from under the sink, away from curious hands and mouths.
Stephanie recently posted…Declutter Your Home Printable Checklist
Great reminders and tips. Tyson is old enough now we try to talk about this kind of stuff and help him learn to be safe, as you said we can’t put them in a bubble.. Plus he can help keep an eye on his little sister who likes to explore.. 🙂
Laureen recently posted…Spring Cleaning and Organizing: [Best Playroom Storage]
This is one thing that scares me so much. No matter how much we think we have everything child proofed out littles can find something they shouldn’t have. Thank you for the tips!
Jessica recently posted…Hello Spring! We are “growing” a new art corner!
Great tips – I always get worried about what is and isn’t safe for Miss H, especially when she wants to help get the dish washer pods out! Too many horror stories I’ve seen on the news!
Jen recently posted…Play Dates and Toddler Treats with Gerber Lil’ Beanies
Great tips. Something we don’t want to think about but we should! Thanks for sharing!
This is a really great post and reminder. I never had to baby proof with Scarlett because she’s just so chill and easy but I can tell already that Beau will be BUSY! I’m so scared! LOL
Tawnya Faust recently posted…Oh Hey Friday Love List
Such an important topic and great tips!
Ahh, how scary! I have yet to have to call poison control, and I feel so lucky!
Thanks for putting this together! I agree that without proper precaution, the kitchen can be a dangerous place for kids. Securing chemicals and sharp instruments is one great way to ensure kids’ safety.