Mega Blox - Magnetix toy- scary

[mtemm]

my heart goes out to this family. If you have these please be careful.

http://komonews.com/stories/40874.htm

 

[LindsayDunn228]

"It does say there is a choking hazard on here," Penny Sweet said. "Unfortunately, they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind warning they need to have on here."

Uh hello?! Your kid was 2 years old!!! A choking warning wasn't enough for you to keep them away from him?? I'm sorry, but a 2 year old has no business playing with these things.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Poor thing.. I bought these for my 6yo but she kept leaving them all over. In the garbage they went since my 15mo seemed to keep finding them.

 

[kdibattista]

"It does say there is a choking hazard on here," Penny Sweet said. "Unfortunately, they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind warning they need to have on here."

Uh hello?! Your kid was 2 years old!!! A choking warning wasn't enough for you to keep them away from him?? I'm sorry, but a 2 year old has no business playing with these things.

It sounds like one of the pieces broke and he ingested the little magnets, not the bigger pieces. Thoughts and prayers to the family

 

[pixiemomma]

"It does say there is a choking hazard on here," Penny Sweet said. "Unfortunately, they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind warning they need to have on here."

Uh hello?! Your kid was 2 years old!!! A choking warning wasn't enough for you to keep them away from him?? I'm sorry, but a 2 year old has no business playing with these things.

A 10 year old was playing with them. The 2 year old found pieces that had fallen apart. I feel for the family but I do not think it is the manufacturers fault in the least. If not this toy the baby would have found something else on the floor to put in his mouth.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

It sounds like one of the pieces broke and he ingested the little magnets, not the bigger pieces.

Still....

People can die from choking. There was a warning about choking and she wanted a possible death warning on there? A little common sense can go a long way. I'm sorry, but this death could easily have been prevented and this woman is wanting to place blame.

 

[kdibattista]

Still....

People can die from choking. There was a warning about choking and she wanted a possible death warning on there? A little common sense can go a long way. I'm sorry, but this death could easily have been prevented and this woman is wanting to place blame.

With all due respect, this woman lost her child less than a month ago. I'm sure she is not thinking clearly... I know I wouldn't.

 

[rnd4life]

OMG! How awful. I couldn't even imagine dealing with something like that. My prayers to all of them.

 

[froglady]

I read the whole story, and it truly is a freak accident. Tragic, nonetheless, but still unlikely to happen again. What are the chances that another child could swallow enough magnets to cause them to align in such a way, rather than passing through?

I have children 10 years apart, so I had to be EXTREMELY vigilant about DDs toys. She was not allowed to bring her Barbie things out of her room, as the small purses, shoes, etc could be a problem. I put all of the Leggos away until he was over 3, and checked everything that came in the house. Also, due to DD's allergies, I have no carpeting to speak of in the house, which means that she or I could hear anything like a magnet falling.

 

[tarmand]

It is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family. But, I agree that the mother is looking for someone other than herself to blame.

 

[diznygirl]

My DS got these for his birthday last year. My DD took some of the metal balls and put them in her mouth! I freaked out! I very calmly asked her to spit them out in my hand - she had like 5 or 6 in there... I got them all out and I think I passed out from the fear.

We still have these around - DD is older and wiser - but they don't get played with unless an adult is there watching. If something happens I certainly wouldn't blame anyone but myself.

 

[DawnCt1]

Poor thing.. I bought these for my 6yo but she kept leaving them all over. In the garbage they went since my 15mo seemed to keep finding them.

One of the hardest things for any parent with multiple children is to keep the age appropriate toys that we buy for older children from the younger ones. When I had a 9, 6 and 3 year old, we also had a newborn. Good for you for throwing them away. When my oldest DS was 18 months old, I worked in a psych unit. We had one child on a token system. I came home with a forgotton poker chip in my pocket. DS found it, put it in his mouth and it flipped over his trachea. DH grabbed him and did a quick Heimlich. I emptied my pockets thoroughly before leaving work after that. Another time he was playing with the large Duplo Legos and he was well within the age range to have them. He put one in his mouth and it was so big he couldn't get it out. I had to pull down on his jaw to retrieve it. You never know what a child of any age is going to do.

 

[froglady]

I was unfamiliar with this product, so did a quick Google. According to what I read, the magnetic balls are separate from the rods! Therefore, they apparently didn't break or malfunction in any way. I read a few reviews by parents; one parent specifically mentioned that they should NOT be near any child under three. (As is stated on the package) He also mentioned that he's expecting another child and plans on putting them away until that child is over three.

Yes, the packaging only mentions choking hazard, not the possibilty of death if a toddler manages to survive swallowing 2 or more WITHOUT choking, but the bottom line is that they are clearly marked as being for children three and over, and are marked as a choking hazard, so common sense would tell you that they MUST be kept away from a 2 year old. I see no reason why they should be pulled from store shelves, as they appear to be a great toy for older children.

It's tragic when a child dies, but the toy didn't cause this death any more than a swimming pool or pond "causes" a drowning. It's an adult's responsibility to keep toddler's away from as many hazards as possible. Unfortunately, many hazards are not known until a tragedy occurs, or identified hazards are not taken seriously enough.(whether through ignorance, lack of supervision, or physical impossibility...can any of us really run around all day protecting a toddler from any and all dangers? I know I did the best I could, and prayed that I hadn't missed anything.)

 

[Bob Slydell]

I was unfamiliar with this product, so did a quick Google. According to what I read, the magnetic balls are separate from the rods! Therefore, they apparently didn't break or malfunction in any way. I read a few reviews by parents; one parent specifically mentioned that they should NOT be near any child under three. (As is stated on the package) He also mentioned that he's expecting another child and plans on putting them away until that child is over three.

But the way the article read, it sounded like it wasn't one of the balls that the child swallowed, but rather, the magnetic piece off the end of one of the rods that broke off. The balls wouldn't have had enough magnetism to do what the story mentioned -- the magnets on the ends of the rods, however, do.

 

[wilderness01]

My daughter swallowed a barbie shoe once. She was old enough to have the shoe and actually the ER Dr. said that swallowing toys was more common in children 4 to 6 years old than in younger kids. He said it was hard to believe but that they saw this often. So sad for the family to lose a child.

 

[TurboKitty]

I didn't really see anything about blame being passed, just a mother's total shock that magnets did what they did...I had no idea magnets could do that kind of damage.

Seemed more to me as though the family wanted to get the word out the dangers of toys like these, and hope others will be more vigilant.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

But the way the article read, it sounded like it wasn't one of the balls that the child swallowed, but rather, the magnetic piece off the end of one of the rods that broke off. The balls wouldn't have had enough magnetism to do what the story mentioned -- the magnets on the ends of the rods, however, do.

Yea, my 8yo has this toy. The balls aren't even magnetic. The magnets are in the ends of the plastic rods, and are very tiny. If one fell out in the carpet, it wouldn't be noticed by anyone not crawling around on the floor.

Seems like those who say the mother is just trying to find someone to blame, are doing the same thing by blaming the mother. I would have never realized a magnet could cause death in such a manner if swallowed. It was a tragic accident, and I really feel for the family.

 

[Stitchfans]

So very sad. yes my heart goes out to that family also. poor baby!!