Wellness Wednesday: Toy Safety Tips For The Holidays

With Christmas just a week away, pediatrician Dr. Teresa Horton is warning parents about the potential hazards of new toys.

"So many toys have come with so many little pieces, and there's a lot of fun for the older kids to play with and put together, but it's the little ones who do, like you said, put everything in their mouth where it can be a choking hazard," Dr. Horton said.

Choking Hazards

One of the biggest concerns is choking, especially with small toy parts that young children may put in their mouths. Dr. Horton recommends a simple test to determine if a toy is safe.

"I recommend giving older siblings, or even for parents, for themselves, to have a toilet paper or a paper towel roll, and anything small enough to fit in there is too small for a little one to have," she said.

Dr. Horton also advises parents to warn older children about keeping their small toys away from younger siblings.

"Tell the older kids, if your little brother or sister get your little toys, they will eat them and you will never get them back, because a four-year-old may not understand what choking really means," Dr. Horton said.

Swallowing Dangers

In addition to choking, Dr. Horton warns about the risks of children swallowing small objects, particularly batteries.

"Brightly colored things will always go in the mouth, but if it's shiny, like a battery, and those can be really scary, because the small button batteries or disc batteries are easily swallowed, and the chemicals inside can leak out and cause severe damage to the esophagus, stomach or intestines," she said.

If a child swallows a battery, Dr. Horton advises parents to seek immediate medical attention.

Monitoring Ingestion

For other small, non-sharp objects that a child may swallow, Dr. Horton says parents can often just monitor the situation.

"If it's not sharp, it's not magnetic, it's not a battery, you can probably just watch them. And most of the time these things are going to pass if, especially if it's like nickel size or smaller, anything quarter size or bigger can get stuck," she said.

Parents should watch for signs of ingestion, such as stomach pain, refusal to eat, or blood in the stool, and seek medical care if necessary.