POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Jessica Weglinski and her husband Brian now have talk to their children about drug paraphernalia after her daughter Giuliana was pricked with a needle she found in her front yard.

"As the parent of a 3-year-old, 2-year-old and 4-month-old, I've never even thought about speaking to my kids about needles,” Weglinski said. "You know, we talk about strangers and poison ivy, but this is unfortunately the new norm, and I wish I had the opportunity to talk to them before this happened."

Weglinski said her son Trevor and Giuliana were playing like they usually do in the yard when they found the needle. Police said the syringe was possibly tossed out of a passing vehicle in the neighborhood.

"Nobody really thinks to notify or to talk to their kids and maybe show them what a hypodermic instrument looks like, and what to do if they find one," said New York State Police Trooper Melissa McMorris.

The Weglinskis immediately rushed Giuliana to Vassar Brothers Medical Center and had her tested for all communicable diseases that could be passed through syringes. Doctors said there is a slim chance that Giuliana will contract a disease, but they told the family there is a heroin epidemic in the area.

"It just goes to show you that it can happen anywhere, that no one’s immune to it, no community's immune to it, no street's immune to it," Weglinski said.

State Police urge all parents to be vigilant when their children play outside.

"Make sure there is nothing in the yard that could be dangerous," McMorris said. "If you’re at a beach, make sure you scout your area and that there is nothing that could be harmful to the child in that area, public transportation, even the grocery store, playgrounds, hedges and bushes. If you're out somewhere, kids tend to wander and be curious."

Police said if you find a needle, you should immediately put it in a sharps container and take it to your local hospital.

"Make sure you tell your children that, if they do see something that looks like a hypodermic instrumen,t if you show them pictures from the internet, that they immediately tell an adult and do not touch it," said McMorris.