Another toy to take off the list.

[janette]

I've seen these talked about but I'm not sure I'd trust my 11yo DD with them and certainly don't want to have to worry about the little nieces & nephews that visit.

Toddler dies after ingesting magnetic toy
04:10 PM CST on Wednesday, December 21, 2005
By MIMI JUNG / KING-TV

REDMOND, Wash. - A family is warning parents about a toy that could be sitting under your Christmas tree.

Two-year-old Kenny Sweet died last month after swallowing two magnets that fell off his older brother's "Magnetix" building set.

At first, his parents thought he had the stomach flu - but his condition got worse.

"We just know in the middle of the night he was crying a little, and then in the morning he began throwing up at 10:00," said mother Penny Sweet.

As his symptoms got worse, Kenny's mom rushed him to the hospital, where he died after only a few minutes.
Two tiny magnets in the toy are believed to have caused Kenny's death.

"They said there were two cylindrical magnets in his intestine," Sweet said. "One was at the bottom of the GI tract, and one was at the top of the GI tract. When they got close enough, they magnetized and they pinched his intestine between the magnets ... and they closed his intestine down, basically."

One quick test shows you how powerful they are.

"They can go right through the bone, through flesh," said Sweet.

The toy belonged to Kenny's older brother, but somehow the magnets that were encased in plastic pieces came loose and Kenny swallowed them.

The Pacific Northwest chain where the family bought Magnetix has now taken the toy off the shelves, even though the government has not issued a recall.

Rose Art, the manufacturer of Magnetix and more than 1,000 other products, has had problems before. This summer, the company was fined $300,000 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for failing to report hazards with the Glamour Gear Soap Making Kits. A defect in the toy ended up burning children who were playing with it.

In May 2002, about 188,000 of the company's cotton candy machines were recalled after hundreds of reports of overheating and even several fires.

But Penny Sweet wonders why Magnetix never came with a warning about pieces falling off - much less the small, dangerous magnets.

"There's a choking hazard," she said. "It doesn't say that it can cause severe injury or death.”

Sweet contacted the manufacturer of "Magnetix" and they told her this the first time a child has died from one of their toys. She also said the Consumer Product Safety Commission has started an investigation as a result of Kenny's death.

 

[Cindy B]

Shame actually.

I sell a lot of magnetic construction sets on Ebay (different brand though) and they are great sellers.

I do put in my listings, could be choking hazard for ages 5 and up use with supervision,e tc.

I would never think that the magnet would polarize even in the intestine.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

There's already been a thread on this today.

 

[pattyT]

oh good heavens -
I better get that one and unwrap it for a return
thanks for passing the 411 along....

 

[momof2inPA]

What a freak accident. That wouldn't happen again for a million years. I hope the co. that makes Magnetix doesn't get sued because of this accident. Everyone knows that you can't leave small items within reach of toddlers, but sometimes they do swallow things. This time, it was fatal, unfortunately. It's a tragic, freak accident, but not the toy's fault.

 

[lewdyan1]

oh good heavens -
I better get that one and unwrap it for a return
thanks for passing the 411 along....

If your kids are old enough, it really is a great toy. My DS got it when he was 8 and DD was 7 and still use them (now 10 & 9)!

 

[janette]

There's already been a thread on this today.

Obviously I missed it

 

[dismom9761]

My boys have these but I have had to take them away.I found the little balls in my DD1's mouth two times so they lost them.They are great for older children though.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

Thanks for letting us know. My son got some last year. I just went in his room and put his 'away' for awhile. We keep my DD1 out of his room, but I would hate to have a freak accident if she snuck in there sometime and he had a loose piece out on the floor. Better safe than sorry!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

But Penny Sweet wonders why Magnetix never came with a warning about pieces falling off - much less the small, dangerous magnets.

"There's a choking hazard," she said. "It doesn't say that it can cause severe injury or death.”

This has to be one of the stupidest things I've heard in a while. What the heck does she think a choking hazard means? Of COURSE choking on small objects can cause severe injury or death! No toy is designed to be swallowed, but that's not going to stop toy companies from making toys with small pieces. Did she not notice that her son's set had small pieces that came off? Unfortunately this is a freak accident, and could have been prevented had the two-year old not been playing with his brothers building set. It's very sad, and I feel horrible for that family, but I don't think the toy company is to blame here.

 

[Beth76]

Oh wow that's horrible. As I was reading I was thinking that he died because of magnets just being in his stomach. But, for them to get stuck together and clamp off part of his intestine? That's just unbelievable. What a horrible freak accident.

That said, I don't see how the company is responsible. I'm sure the box is labelled as being a choking hazard. Even if not, the mom should know. But, that's not really the issue as he didn't choke on it. I'm in no way blaming her, but the same thing could have happened with two magnets from her refridgerator. Either way, how awful!

 

[janette]

I don't think the toy company is to blame. I'd have never thought swallowing a magnet could be worse than something else. I'm pretty paranoid, my kids rarely had balloons and they still make me nervous and my girls are 14 & 11yo. I've caught my youngest putting uninflated balloons in her mouth and it scared me something awful.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Well, my sister had planned to give these to her boys who are 7, 9, and 11 and is now planning to send them to her ex-husband's house. She has a DS who is 1.

The problem is that you just can't be sure your older kids are keeping them away from the younger ones.

 

[Lyn5]

Thank you for posting....I saw these at the store and almost bought them for DS (5). I think I will wait a few more years to get them since DD is 3...I would rather be safe than sorry...

 

[AnaheimGirl]

The boy didn't swallow the balls, though, he swallowed the magnets that fell out of the rods. These magnets teeny-tiny, embedded in the rods and are not supposed to fall out. The parents could have been diligently keeping the rods and balls away from the toddler, not realizing that the tiny magnets had fallen out. They'd be too small to notice on the carpet, unless you're a small child crawling around on the carpet.

That's the freaky thing about this tragic accident. Something happened that's not supposed to, and I for one am very glad to read about this, as my older dd has this toy, and I would have never thought that (1) the magnets could fall out, or that (2) if my younger dd swallowed one, it could kill her.

 

[minkydog]

Thanks for the heads-up! I work in pediatrics and I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this. Don't think "it could never happen again in a million years". It can and it will, as long as magnets seek their polar opposites. It's very hard to keep little toys away from young children. I caught my 10yo with a seashell stuck in his mouth 2 days ago No magnets for us.

 

[momof2inPA]

Thanks for the heads-up! I work in pediatrics and I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this. Don't think "it could never happen again in a million years". It can and it will, as long as magnets seek their polar opposites. It's very hard to keep little toys away from young children. I caught my 10yo with a seashell stuck in his mouth 2 days ago No magnets for us.

..yes, as long as magnets seek their polar opposites and a large intestine gets right in the middle of them..

 

[pattyT]

If your kids are old enough, it really is a great toy. My DS got it when he was 8 and DD was 7 and still use them (now 10 & 9)!

My 11 year old had some for a few years -
NO idea where they arenow -

these were for the 5 year old - SLOB -

but with a one and a half year old around I woudl rather not take the chance!

 

[EthansMom]

My DS got a small set of these last year when he was 3 from his Grampa and Grandma. We told Grampa and Grandma, "thanks" and then I donated them to the Goodwill. I didn't want the choking hazard in the same house with a 3 year old and infant.

Likewise, I won't let the kids' other Grandma leave her marble toy (one with the pathways for the marbles) here -- she can bring it over so the kids can play with it closely supervised while they're here, but can't leave it.

 

[minkydog]

I checked with my co-workers a little while ago and one of the other nurses just triaged a 2yo who got two of these magnets stuck on either side of his lower lip and the parents could not pull them apart. They're off to the ED now, screaming all the way...