DIY Car First Aid Kit {Be Prepared this Summer!}

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!

 *Research statistics provided by Johnson & Johnson consumer brands.