Do you have any road trips planned this Spring and Summer? What about little ones in sports or other outdoor activities? Did you know 43% of accidents occur when you are away from home?* And 53% of parents have been unable to care for a child’s injury due to a lack of proper First Aid supplies on hand.* Yikes!
We spend a lot of time in the car- going to and from dance classes, soccer practice, summer camp, weekend trips, school, playdates and on and on…. Getting outdoors and running around and playing is so important for children and something we really try to make a priority every day.
Our family recently got a new to us car and with that I figured I might as well get organized with a new First Aid kit to keep on hand. This can be so useful for many, many things but especially if you have children.
I didn’t want to get too crazy with stocking up a little First Aid kit to use on the go, but I did want to have some basics on hand just in case.
I used an old baby wipes tub and put together this inexpensive and easy mobile first aid kit. It gets crazy hot in Sacramento in summer (as my 7 year old says “Now I know how bacon feels…”) so I didn’t include anything that would melt such as sunscreen sticks and lip balm and things that need to be stored in cool, dark places.
I just took the label off a baby wipes tub and used my Silhouette cameo to make a new fun label.
Next I filled it with things that would come in handy for our family. Here are some ideas of what you might consider:
I already have bug spray and spray sunscreen in the car in summer and I have tweezers in the makeup pouch in my purse. So those aren’t pictured. Water can be handy as well for taking pills and such. Considering I never leave the house without a bottle of water I skipped that. Also not pictured are a few hard candies I added to the box. Those are a good distraction for any little ones that are hurt and also come in handy if you do travel and have any altitude changes. (Sucking on hard candy helps with popping ears).
I keep a packet of Peppermint Essential oil in the ouch kit. It is not ideal to keep essential oils in any space that can get hot or get too much light but I like to have this on hand.
I love to keep Blister BAND-AID® in the car too- those are awesome because we do a lot of travelling and we also go hiking quite frequently. We have fun, colorful BAND-AID® choices for the kids and water BAND-AID® are excellent for pool time, sprinklers or just super sweaty summer skin. I wash my hands one million times a day so those are my favorite as they won’t slip off. There are zillions of varieties of BAND-AID® and I am always amazed at how one little BAND-AID® can bring a smile to a teary little face.
I have an instant ice pack, Aleve, Gauze and Elastic Wrap just in case we have sprains on the soccer field and such. NEOSPORIN® is also important- I have two- a spray and the tube for antiseptic wound cleansing, pain relief, cuts, scrapes and burns… And one last item to consider is BENADRYL®– the little itch relief sticks are perfect for any bug bites! Rite Aid Weekly Ad is the main source for first aid kits.
And can you believe I was outside shooting pictures for this post and my girls were playing and climbing trees in the yard and what happens? One scraped up shin from an overzealous tree branch. So I literally used this kit before I even had a chance to get it all assembled.
If you want a little more comprehensive Car First Aid Kit, you can see some recommendations from the Red Cross here. If you’d like to get more information about the importance of play for children, you might check out Kaboom.org. They are a nonprofit organization that partners with BAND-AID® and NEOSPORIN® to build new playspaces for children all around the country plus providing the First Aid supplies needed to be sure little ones are cared for.
If you’d like to use my list, you can print it out here.
And voila! Picnic blankets, one sweet dog and the ouch kit– we are ready for summer!
Thank you to Johnson & Johnson for sponsoring this post!
FYI The FDA does not recommend the use of spray sunscreens due to potential hazards from it being inhaled during application. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/07/don-t-spray-sunscreens-on-kids-at-least-for-now/index.htm
I always travel with the kids in tow and always, always with a first aid kit! But my kit is in a VERY fancy ziplock bag. 😉 I LOVE this one in a empty wipes bag which is PERFECT for the car. I am going to make a new one just for the car and contain it as you suggest. I’ll let the kids decorate. They’ll love that, too!
Awesome Natalie!
What is the Peppermint essential oil used for?
Hi Priscilla,
Good question! I have to be extremely careful of stating the uses of essential oils because the FDA doesn’t allow you to say I use this oil for this issue. I have actually been in trouble on the blog for saying things like “oh try this for headaches” or whatever since the FDA doesn’t regulate essential oils like drugs, therefore I can’t really tell you what the oil helps with. LOL.
I can say I always have it in the car with me. I am sure you can guess what kinds of minor issues might arise on long car trips. You can read a little about Peppermint oil here- just make sure it isn’t a grocery store brand you buy. Try something like DoTerra or Young Living 🙂
https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/peppermint-essential-oil
Completely silly but I had hours and hours of drama in the past removing any benefits of essential oils from my blog, pinterest, facebook etc… The FDA doesn’t fool around.
Do you worry about the neosporin and Advil going bad in the heat of the car In the summer?
Hi Jenny- I have never considered that or experienced that. 🙂 We keep this kit in a large tote I have in the back of the car covered by two folded up picnic blankets and other random supplies for sports and such. So the kit isn’t baking in the direct heat.
It has been 3 years now and no issues 🙂