• Do not keep drug medicine in the medicine cabinet! Ironically, the medicine cabinet in a steamy, moist bathroom is not the best place to keep any drug medication - prescription or otherwise. The room's moisture can make drug medications less potent. It's best to keep medicines in a hall closet or on a high shelf in the kitchen.

• Remember to keep prescription and nonprescription drug medications out of the reach of children .

• Never repackage medications; keep them in their original child-proof containers so that you'll have the expiration date and instructions on hand.

• Toss medications when they have expired (usually 1 year for pills or sooner for liquids - check the prescription label for the expiration date) or the doctor has told you that your child should stop taking them.

• Though most liquid medications are now flavored, some medicines can be mixed with chocolate or maple syrup to encourage children to take the entire dosage. Check with your pharmacist to see which sweetener works best with which drug. However, pharmacists discourage putting liquid medication into a bottle for babies; if they don't finish the bottle, they won't get all the medication.

• What if your child takes the wrong dosage? Call the pharmacist or doctor right away, and follow his or her instructions.

• If medications need to be refrigerated, make sure you keep them cool while traveling. Freezer packs in coolers work fine. If you can, take the entire medicine bottle; that way, you won't have any reason to forget the prescription dosage and if something happens to the medication, you can get a refill. And never mix two different drugs in the same pillbox.