Flavored Fruit Drink or Poisonous Cleaning Product? How to Prevent Accidental Poisonings

The summer months often mean more time spent at home for kids. While the break from the books can be enjoyable, one University of Alabama at Birmingham child safety expert says there is one important lesson both children and parents still need to learn: how to prevent poisoning.

Every day in the United States, poisonings send more than 300 children to the emergency room and two children die as a result, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the warmer months of the year, when school is out, higher volumes of poisonings have been reported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate dean for Research in the Sciences in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Psychology, recently published a study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychologythat not only suggests ways manufacturers can reduce the risk of accidental poisonings, but how parents can do so as well.