The short answer
Store everything up, away and out of sight, in its original container, and put 1-800-222-1222 in your phone right now. If your child swallows something, call immediately even with no symptoms, and do not try to make them vomit.
Up and away is the whole strategy
A two-year-old's job is tasting things. The Poison Help message, up and away and out of sight every single time including the bottle you are using right now, exists because most exposures happen in a moment of ordinary use: vitamins left on the counter, a handbag on the floor, the cleaner still under the sink after mopping.
Keep products in their original containers, both because the label carries the ingredient information a poison specialist will ask for and because a cleaner decanted into a water bottle looks exactly like a drink. Pay particular attention to the things that do not read as poison: laundry packets, mouthwash, hand sanitizer, button batteries, nicotine pouches, and a visiting grandparent's pill organizer, which has no child-resistant cap at all.
Cannabis edibles are the fastest-growing hazard
Reported exposures in children under five have risen more than tenfold since 2017, with two- and three-year-olds the most affected, because the product is engineered to look like a gummy or a chocolate bar. Two things make it dangerous beyond the dose: effects can be delayed by two to three hours, so a child who seems fine is not yet cleared, and a small child can become deeply sedated or unresponsive.
Treat edibles exactly like any other medicine, locked and out of sight in original packaging, and ask about them before a playdate the way you would ask about a pool fence or a firearm. It is an awkward question and a short conversation.
What to do in the moment, and what to teach
Program 1-800-222-1222 into every phone in the house and write it on the fridge. If you suspect an exposure, call straight away even with no symptoms. If your child is unresponsive, seizing or not breathing, call 911. Do not induce vomiting and do not use syrup of ipecac, advice that was withdrawn years ago and that can make things worse.
For your child the teachable rules are few: ask before you taste anything, medicine is never candy no matter how pretty or sweet it looks, you only take medicine from your own grown-up, and nothing off the floor. The most important one is the last: if you did eat something, tell me right away and you will not be in trouble. Children hide exposures out of fear, and the hiding is what costs time.
Say it while you put the groceries away
- "Is this a food or a not-food? How can you tell?"
- "What do we do before we taste something new?" Ask first.
- "If you ate something by mistake, what happens?" You tell me, and you are never in trouble.
The advice to drop
"Make them throw it up."
Inducing vomiting, including with syrup of ipecac, is no longer recommended and can cause additional harm. Call 1-800-222-1222 immediately instead. Often the answer is that nothing needs doing at all.
Where this guidance comes from
- Poison Help (HRSA) — Poison Help line, 1-800-222-1222
- FDA — FDA Warns Consumers About the Accidental Ingestion by Children of Food Products Containing THC
- Minnesota Poison Control System — Cannabis, Marijuana, THC
- MUSC — Number of kids getting sick from cannabis edibles hits new high
Last reviewed October 2026 by the Enchantably team against the sources above. This is general guidance for parents, not medical, legal, or emergency advice. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
