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National Poison Prevention Week is March 20-26, 2022
Established by Congress in 1961, Poison Prevention Week (held the third week of March every year) aims to raise awareness to poison control centers, the Poison Help Hotline (1-800-222-1222), and lower the incidences of unintentional poisonings. These poisons include and are not limited to animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, household, and chemical products, food poisonings, and medicine.
According to the CDC, about 50,000 young children end up in emergency rooms each year because they consume medicine left within reach (Source: Centers for Disease Control). These incidents are avoidable by instilling and adhering to medicine safety practices and rules for the entire family to adapt.
Kindergarten and First-grade students who participate in Protecting You, Protecting Me (a MADD program) are provided information about medicine labels and medicine safety rules. This information is captured in the gallery slides below.
Please visit the resources below to learn more about keeping children safe around medicine:
PROTECT Initiative: Advancing Children’s Medication Safety | Medication Safety Program | CDC
Initiative to improve medication safety and reduce accidental medication overdoses.
Up & Away | Put your Medicines Up and Away and Out of Sight of Children
50,000 young children visit the ER each year because they got into medication left within reach. Keep your child safe with these tips for safe medicine storage.
Elementary - Generation Rx
Age-appropriate, engaging resources that educate children about safe medication practices and principles. Intended for children in grades K-5.
Protecting You Protecting Me (a MADD Program)
An alcohol use prevention curriculum for children in grades K-5. This program was originally developed by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and is currently being offered by Mercer Council free of charge to Mercer County elementary schools.
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