Doctor warns against unsafe children’s gifts

“My middle son was three years old at the time,” says IU Health Arnett Emergency Medicine physician Mike Siap, “and my wife wakes me up…she says, ‘Mike, Mike, I think Jonathan stuck a googly eye up his nose.’ Sure enough, I look in and there is a googly eye in his left nostril.”

The googly eye came from an arts and crafts set that Siap’s older son had. The older son had not properly put the set away. Jonathan found the set and started playing with it. That was when the googly eye became lodged in his nostril.

“He ended up having to go to the Emergency department,” says Siap. “They went to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, and they were able to take it out.”

Giving safe gifts this holiday season

December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the potential hazards associated with toys, particularly for young children, who are at risk of injury from unsafe products. Each year, thousands of children are treated for toy-related injuries. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to inspect toys for sharp edges, small parts that could pose as choking hazards and toxic materials.

“Most of what we see in the Emergency department has to do with some sort of foreign body like a toy part that is ingested or has become stuck in an ear or a nose,” says Siap. “Another thing that we see quite frequently is falls, [which have resulted in] extremity injuries or head injuries. These are going to be from things like scooters, bikes, motorized scooters or hoverboards…We do see a fair number of kids after the holidays. They're trying out that hoverboard for the first time. It goes too quickly or moves in an unexpected way, they fall and try to catch themselves, and then they end up usually breaking their wrist or something like that.”

Button batteries also pose a severe danger to small children due to their size and potential for serious harm if ingested. When a button battery becomes lodged in a child's throat or stomach, it can cause severe burns and tissue damage due to a chemical reaction with saliva.

Siap offers some tips to parents for toy safety.

“The easiest thing is just to follow the age requirements that are on the product packaging labels. The majority of injuries are going to be on children under the age of four. One thing that parents also have to keep in mind is other children in the house…[and] making sure that toys are put away…If the toy can fit through a toilet paper roll, it's probably too small…There are warnings for a reason. They are to help prevent parents from having to bring their kid to come and visit me.”