Balloons are great fun, but they can be deadly. Balloons are great fun, but they can be deadly.
When most parents think of baby-proofing they usually think of plugs, pools and cupboards - but there are other harmful things that could not only injure, but kill your child.
Here are a few things you should look out for…
1. Batteries
Most toys come with batteries these days. Button batteries are small and easy to swallow.
When a button battery is swallowed it is likely to get stuck in the child's oesophagus, and if stuck for more than two hours it starts eroding through the soft tissue of the oesophagus and causes a hole.
The battery burns could cause severe bleeding that could lead to death; tissue injury that requires tube feeding; paralysed vocal cords; and many other problems that require surgery and long recovery periods.
Read: ‘Please help protect our children’
2. Balloons
They might seem harmless, but balloons can be deadly.
Kids enjoy blowing balloons until they burst or trying to turn the balloon inside out by sucking the balloon which could be accidentally swallowed. When swallowed the balloon gets sucked into the airway. According to Careful Parenting, it is nearly impossible to get the balloon back out because it is not heavy enough go down to the stomach and can’t be pulled out; resulting in suffocation.
3. Blind cords
Imagine your child playing hide and seek behind the window blinds and accidentally gets tangled with blind cords. While trying to untie themselves they may make it even worse.
The child could be strangled to death especially because they won’t be able to scream or cry depending on where the cords are and how tight they may be.
According to non-profit organisation Parent Window Blinds Safety, parents should make sure that blind cords are not in reach of children and/or use blinds with no cords. Most importantly monitor children’s play time.
4. Baby walkers
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said in a statement that 21 300 are hospitalised for injuries associated with baby walkers for children under 2-years-old in the United States CPSC also stated that it receives reports of an average of one to two deaths a year with baby walkers. Most of the injuries were caused by falling down stairs. In some instances the walker’s wheels pulls or get stuck in something causing the walker to tip over, roll over heaters and even water.
