Harmful products in the home
Harmful products at home: warning symbols, safe storage and what to do if something goes wrong. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.
Know it already? Jump straight to the quiz
Read the label
- Read the label before you use a product, so you know how to use it safely.
- A child-resistant cap is hard for small children to open. Medicine stays in its own container with the label.
- Medicine safety: only take medicine that a parent, nurse or doctor gives you, and take exactly the dose on the label. Check the expiry date, because old medicine can be harmful. Never take someone else’s medicine.
- Aerosol cans can explode near heat; batteries explode and leak in a fire.
If something goes wrong
| What happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| A cleaner splashes into your eye | Rinse with running water and tell an adult |
| Someone may have swallowed poison | Phone the Poisons Information Helpline (0861 555 777, 24 hours) or an ambulance (10177) |
| You find unknown pills on the floor | Don’t taste them; give them to an adult |
| Old medicine and poisons | Take them to a pharmacy or waste depot |
- Wear rubber gloves with strong cleaners; wash hands after use and close the lid tightly.
- Don’t spray insect poison in a closed room while people are inside. Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda can replace strong chemicals.
- Never tell a small child that medicine is sweets.
Fire safety
- Fires at home often start from candles, paraffin stoves or lamps that fall over, matches, pots left on the stove and too many plugs in one socket.
- Prevent fires: never leave a candle or stove alone, keep matches away from small children, and put a paraffin stove on a flat floor away from curtains.
- If there is a fire: shout to warn others, crawl low under the smoke, get out and stay out, and call the fire brigade (your local number, or 112 from a cellphone).
- Your clothes catch fire: stop, drop, cover your face and roll.
Remember this and test yourself
- Harmful: bleach, paraffin, pool acid, rat poison, insect spray.
- Store it high, out of children’s reach and preferably locked, never next to food.
- Never put paraffin in a cold-drink bottle: a child may think it is a drink.
- Never mix bleach with other cleaners: it can form a poisonous gas.
- Child drank paraffin? Don’t make him vomit; get medical help at once.
Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.
Poison belongs high, locked and apart: high on the shelf, locked, away from food.
Important words
First say what the word means, then turn the card over.
Match column A to column B
Tap a word in column A, then its meaning in column B. You can also start in column B.
True or false?
Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.
Now the real quiz!
The quiz has many more questions on this topic. Every question shows straight away whether you are right and explains why.
Take the quiz: Harmful products in the home- Read one part together and ask your child to tell it back in their own words.
- The ticks (“I know this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.
Follows CAPS for Grade 5 Life Skills. Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.