What Every Dayhome Provider Should Know

Children explore the world with their hands, their mouths, and their curiosity. In a dayhome setting where multiple children of different ages share a space, that curiosity can sometimes lead to unexpected risks.

Poison prevention is an important part of creating a safe environment for the children in your care. While we often picture poison as something obvious and dangerous, many of the substances that lead to poison exposures are everyday items found in our homes and dayhomes.

Understanding the risks and building strong safety habits can help prevent accidents before they happen.

The Most Common Cause of Poisoning: Medications

Many people are surprised to learn that the leading cause of poisonings in Canada is medications.

This includes:

• Prescription medications

• Over-the-counter (OTC) medications

• Natural health products

• Vitamins and supplements

Poison centres across Canada receive about 100 calls every day related to pain medications alone, including:

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol®)

• Ibuprofen (Advil®)

In a dayhome setting, medications may be present for several reasons:

• A child requires medication during care hours

• Providers keep medications in their own home

• Families accidentally leave medications in bags or diaper bags

Because dayhomes operate within a home environment, medications may be stored in places children would normally never access in a centre-based program. This makes safe storage and clear procedures especially important.

Safe Medication Storage in a Dayhome

To reduce the risk of accidental poisoning, medications should always be stored safely and securely.

Best practices include:

• Store all medications out of reach and out of sight of children

• Use a locked cabinet or lock box whenever possible

• Keep medications in their original labelled containers

• Ensure child-resistant caps are securely closed

• Never leave medications on counters, tables, or in bags

• Ask families not to leave medications in diaper bags or backpacks

Even medications intended for adults can be dangerous if accidentally consumed by a child.

Medication Administration in a Dayhome

When medications must be given during care hours, it’s important to follow a clear and consistent process.

Dayhome providers should ensure:

• Written parent authorization is obtained

• Dosage instructions are clearly documented

• Medications are administered exactly as directed

• Administration is recorded each time medication is given

• Families are informed when medication has been administered

Clear documentation helps protect both the child and the provider while ensuring families stay informed.

To help support providers with this process, we have created a Medication Permission and Administration Form that can be used to document medications given during care.