When my son was really young he got a hold of this ant trap we had in our kitchen. It was a fairly contained trap where the poison is inside, but for some reason he found it on the side of the fridge and was fascinated by it. The next thing I know I am in the kitchen and he is sucking on the ant trap. it happened REALLY fast. New thing – insert in mouth. You know the drill.
It’s the first and last time I’ve had to call poison control. Thankfully there were no issues. Still so scary!
Today, I want to make you aware of something new that that is making its way across the country. It’s a new drug called ‘rainbow fentanyl. This is some information to help you have good conversations with your kids. It looks like candy! It would be so easy for a young child to find this at the park and be tempted to eat it.
I guarantee you our ant trap did not look like candy but my son still decided it would be fun to eat it, so imagine finding something like this on the ground.
I have a couple reactions when I learn about things like this.
- Anger. Pretty normal response I think, but I feel angry I need to even worry about this type of things.
- Fear. Should I keep my kids at home all the time? Of course not, but there are days!
Once I get through my anger and fear than I can usually think about some tangible things to do in my own home as a form of protection.
- Talk to your kids. You might think, “My kid will never..” but have the conversation anyway.
- Be alert. When you are out at a park, just remain alert.
We’ve had to have tough conversations with our children after losing a family member from alcohol addiction and it’s not easy talking about these things. However, it is so important to make sure our kids are prepared.
Here are a few ways I talked with my kids about the heavy topic of addiction if it is helpful.
Praying for all of us as we navigate these types of tricky conversations!
