There is nothing more hazardous in the home than poisons that must be kept around the house for some practical purpose.

No matter how careful you are or where you place household poisons, there is always a chance that your kids will get into them unless you take the following precautions to heart:

Understand the legalese of the packaging industry.

“Child resistant” packaging is far from safe. The reason that a packaging is not called “childproof” is because the manufacturers know that kids are quite able to get into it. Note this and keep child resistant packaging as far away from your curious children as you possibly can.

Do not leave any of your bottles, even innocuous vitamin bottles, on the shelf.

Kids love to imitate adults. If they see you taking these, they will want to take them as well. They may take too strong of a dosage or take the wrong bottle. Do them the favor of cleaning the countertops and taking your daily vitamins out of their sightline until they are old enough to understand what is actually happening.

Store all of your medications in a locked cabinet, even first aid

As stated before, depending on the packaging of a bottle is not smart.

Add an extra layer of protection by keeping all of your potentially dangerous bottles in a locked cabinet that is well out of the reach of your kids.

Even items such as mouthwash should be kept in locked cabinets – they can be quite lethal if they are taken in large enough amounts.

Keep all of your medicines in their original containers

If you place potentially dangerous medicines in other containers, parents may become confused as well as your babies. If you are confused, you will not be able to direct your kids in the right way. It is much better to simply keep everything in its original container and out of the reach of your kids.

Keep records of how many pills are in your medicine containers

Your kids may not tell the truth all of the time if they get into your medicine cabinet. The only way that you will be able to tell for sure is if you have a good, working inventory on your side.

Find another way to get rid of rodents

If you have small kids in the house, then you should never put down roach poison or rat poison on the ground. The tablets are large enough that kids can find them and put them in their mouths.

If you entertain adult company, be sure to clean up immediately after

Your guests may sometimes just forget where they leave their alcoholic containers. This can be trouble if your kids get to them before you do. Make sure to have rules about how guests should behave even if your kids are in bed. Be sure to double check the house after all guests have left for extra glasses or other alcoholic containers.