Intermountain Health Doctors Warn About Dangers of Certain Toys for Young Children This Holiday

The holiday season is here, and parents are trying to figure out what toys will wow their kids. Trauma surgeons at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital want parents to think twice because some toys can have hidden dangers for young children.

Parents usually think about small items that can be a choking hazard for their kids, but as technologies have improved, small batteries and magnets have also become a growing problem. While they may not always cause choking, there can still be severe consequences when ingested.

“Small magnets can be a big problem. We see a lot of cases where these magnets are ingested and move at different rates and then come together in different pieces of the intestines,” said Laurie Baumann, trauma surgeon at U of U Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.  “This can be very dangerous, as they will pinch the intestine which requires an emergency surgery. Small button batteries, which are now found in a lot of toys, can burn the esophagus or throat of a child, causing injuries that can be life threatening.”

The sign something is wrong may not be obvious to parents, especially if their child is too young to verbalize what happened. Then there may be a delay in care which can make the issue worse.

Doctors suggest doing research or even forgoing certain toys if there if you have children under three years old. For older children, it is important to teach them not to put certain objects in their mouth.

“Even after we’ve done an emergency procedure to fix the problem there can still be damage and a long way to go before a child is fully healed, including needing major surgery in the future.” said Dr. Baumann. “These toys aren’t bad, but may not be right to have in the home until your kids are a little bit older.”

Doctors remind parents to be mindful of choking hazards holiday gifts can cause even if they don’t include magnets or batteries. A good rule of thumb is to make sure a toy is larger than three centimeters in diameter and six centimeters in length to ensure it can’t fit in a small child’s windpipe.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.