A 22-month-old girl choked on colorful little balls that she mistook for candy. Two hours and a half of surgery later, the girl recovered and her mother requested a withdrawal from the sale of these toys.
A good number of toys designed especially for children are in fact extremely dangerous for them. Indeed, there are quite a few incidents, with toddlers choking or injuring themselves, almost fatally. It's Sam McCarthy, mom to a little 22-month-old Becca, who warns of one type of toy.
In question: small colored and magnetic balls, which form a kind of caterpillar when assembled, and which strongly resemble candies. His daughter swallowed several, and was close to death.
A suspicion of contamination with Covid-19
One day, little Becca fell very ill. Thinking that her daughter had contracted the virus, she immediately took her to the hospital for safety. The doctors then gave the baby painkillers, and the painkillers worked.
Only ten hours later, the little girl was in pain again, without explanation.
A long intervention
It was then that pediatricians discovered 14 small colored balls in Becca's stomach. The little girl must have confused them with candy. The mother, Sam, waited for 2.5 hours for her baby to come out of the operating room. We reassure you, little Becca is now doing very well!
Sam had bought his little magnetic balls for Christmas, not suspecting for a single moment how dangerous they were. “If you have it in your home, get rid of it. It could have been fatal for my daughter ”, explained the mom.
She has also removed the slightest trace of these toys from her house. She also contacted eBay, the platform from which she ordered them, and the company to have these nasty products removed from sale. In any case, we wish little Becca a good recovery!
Safety rules for toys
A baby toy, no matter how tempting, must first follow certain rules. It must of course be appropriate for the age of the child, and be large enough not to be ingested. A toy must of course bear the "CE" logo (European conformity) to ensure that it is not dangerous.
Remember that a child's trachea is 1.8cm in diameter. It is especially important not to give toddlers objects that are longer than 2cm, to prevent them from being swallowed and becoming blocked.
In addition, we also recommend ordering toys on specialized and regulated platforms, and not leaving objects within the reach of children. Monitoring is also essential!