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Home > Safety Basics > Pre-teens and Teens (10-14 years) > At Home
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Poison Prevention for Pre-teens and Teens At Home

Preteens may spend more time without adult supervision and have more access to jobs or chores that could put them at risk of chemical exposure. Talk to your child about the dangers of poisonous items like gasoline, spray paint and medicines.

Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors associated with this age group might lead to experimenting with inhalants or prescription medications.

Safety TipTop Tips

Around the house:

  • Ensure that space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are vented properly and inspected annually. Keep them at least 3 feet away from flammable items.
  • Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Carbon monoxide is an odorless and invisible gas that in small doses might not affect adults, but can kill children or make them seriously ill.
  • Throw away old medicines and other potential poisons.  Check your garage, basement and other storage areas for cleaning and work supplies you no longer need and can discard.

Practice safety behaviors:

  • Talk to your pre-teen about the dangers of poisonous items like inhalants and prescription medicines.
more safety resources

 

Safety Tools

There are many tools that parents can use to help to keep children safe from injuries. Many of them are affordable and can be found at many stores.

What you'll need:

Carbon monoxide detector Carbon monoxide detector

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