…was today, and I hope it’s the last. I have 4 kids, the oldest of whom is 10 years old. So I’ve been doing this kid thing for more than a decade, pretty much a third of my life if I shave off a couple of years, which I’ll gladly do. My older kids are girls, so why am I not surprised that the boy is the one who prompted the call to Poison Control. The good news is, everything is fine.
This morning, Beeber (an affectionate nickname for my son Christopher because this is what his older sister called him when she was 2) was out of my sight for just a few minutes – I think I was cleaning up some sort of mess he made as usual. In the back hall we have a pet cabinet (which will now be moved) where we keep leashes, dishes, rawhides, etc. Back by the pet cabinet, I found an open, empty package from a dog’s heartworm pill. It was opened neatly, and it didn’t look like it had been opened by a 21-month-old expecting to find candy. I checked his breath and his teeth (the heartworm medicine looks like a chunk of dog food – I would think if my son had eaten it, then some would be stuck on his teeth), and there were no signs that he had eaten it. Perhaps the last adult to give the dogs the medicine had put an empty package back in the cabinet. Or, knowing my son, he might have just fed it to the dogs. But I had to call Poison Control to be sure; the chemicals listed on the box sounded frightening. Poison Control said they didn’t expect a problem, which I thought was a strange response but a better one than I had hoped. I thought they would at least tell me warning signs of trouble or something, but I’m just glad they gave the all clear and that we didn’t have to make a trip to the ER or worse.
Ah, Poison Control, the number every mom should know: 1-800-222-1222. They are very calming, friendly, and they can actually speak English unlike a lot of places that we call these days, so don’t hesitate to call them if you think your kid might have gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Better safe than sorry!
This post deserves this youtube link. As I was on Team Mr. Yuk last summer, I put it on the DVD I gave my cabin 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLsONa3gKIQ
Oh, sorry- I am glad c is well. Really, I am- I just forgot to add the sentiment to the comment! 😮
So sorry to hear that. I’m glad everything is well. I don’t believe we ever had to call poison control. For that I am grateful.
BEEBS, Beebs. Glad you are all right my little buddy. Stop freaking your mom out 😉
@derek – thanks for the link; I enjoyed the video. I’m glad to see they did a good job of not making Mr. Yuk cartoony or friendly in anyway. The tone of the song was very “yucky”. As I wrote in the caption on my picture of Mr. Yuk that didn’t show up for some reason, some kids are too little to understand what he means. And then there is the whole “forbidden fruit” thing. Tell a kid he can’t touch something with a little green face on it, and he might just be more curious about the poison bottles that are forbidden. But as soon as Beebs gets a little older, I will show him the video. The other girls can watch it now. THANKS!
You’re welcome. If you look up Mr. Yuk on Wikipedia you can read some interesting information too, and find out how to get some free stickers if you wish.
The kids bring home Mr. Yuk stickers from school. I’ve put them on some things, but am waiting on doing everything until Beebs is a bit older – at this age, I can really see him being ATTRACTED to the green cartoon face, despite the tongue.
Never forget the day my now 16 year old got into her daddy’s acetone…….a chemical he used in his hunting and fishing crafts I had to call poison control, but like you said they were calm and re assuring.
Hope all is good with you and your family and I’m planning on going to the roller derby next Saturday!!
@mysmichelle – I’m glad your now 16-year-old was ok after the acetone incident. You will have to let me know how you like the Roller Derby!!