WTH Mighty Beanz?!? Choking to Death Beanz, more like it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

The link that PP linked above describes a 5 year old who choked and died on a grape. A friend of a friend in Loudoun County has a permanently disabled child who is blind, can’t speak, and can’t hold his dead up because he choked on a carrot at age 4. He was recusitated but will spend the rest of his life unable to care for himself or communicate. And you say LOL?! WTF.

You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew. By 5, even delayed kids can bite and chew.

Do what you want with your own kid, but don’t be an insensitive idiot. Kids don’t choke to death because they weren’t taught how to chew. Sometimes things happen and food goes down the wrong way. Maybe they are startled, or bumped, or something makes them laugh while they are eating. If you can’t recognize this, you truly are a moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

The link that PP linked above describes a 5 year old who choked and died on a grape. A friend of a friend in Loudoun County has a permanently disabled child who is blind, can’t speak, and can’t hold his dead up because he choked on a carrot at age 4. He was recusitated but will spend the rest of his life unable to care for himself or communicate. And you say LOL?! WTF.

You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew. By 5, even delayed kids can bite and chew.

Do what you want with your own kid, but don’t be an insensitive idiot. Kids don’t choke to death because they weren’t taught how to chew. Sometimes things happen and food goes down the wrong way. Maybe they are startled, or bumped, or something makes them laugh while they are eating. If you can’t recognize this, you truly are a moron.

NP. Yes. exactly. But this can happen to anyone, adult or child. So unless you decide to get a g-tube or puree everything in the blender for the next 85 years, this is one of the risks of life. You cannot make yourself crazy banning foods and cutting things up into tiny bits--at some point you have to accept that some things are out of our control. There are a billion ways for you or your kids to hurt yourselves and die or become disabled. Constantly obsessing over them and trying to prevent them is not rational or helpful.

I would be way more upset with my 5-year-old for being so thick as to put toys in his mouth than at the company for designing them. It is reasonable for them to think that a kid that age would know better, and if they don't know better (special needs or something), that their parent wouldn't buy it for them. Just like it's not the fault of Tide that some people are so stupid as to attempt to eat detergent pods.

[Anonymous]

So... no LEGO, Barbie (shoes), LOL Dolls, Shopkins, Littlest Pet Shop, board games with game pieces or dice... I could go on forever.

Why aren’t we questioning why your 5yo SCHOOL AGED CHILD needs supervision still so he doesn’t put random things in his mouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

The link that PP linked above describes a 5 year old who choked and died on a grape. A friend of a friend in Loudoun County has a permanently disabled child who is blind, can’t speak, and can’t hold his dead up because he choked on a carrot at age 4. He was recusitated but will spend the rest of his life unable to care for himself or communicate. And you say LOL?! WTF.

You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew. By 5, even delayed kids can bite and chew.

Do what you want with your own kid, but don’t be an insensitive idiot. Kids don’t choke to death because they weren’t taught how to chew. Sometimes things happen and food goes down the wrong way. Maybe they are startled, or bumped, or something makes them laugh while they are eating. If you can’t recognize this, you truly are a moron.

NP. Yes. exactly. But this can happen to anyone, adult or child. So unless you decide to get a g-tube or puree everything in the blender for the next 85 years, this is one of the risks of life. You cannot make yourself crazy banning foods and cutting things up into tiny bits--at some point you have to accept that some things are out of our control. There are a billion ways for you or your kids to hurt yourselves and die or become disabled. Constantly obsessing over them and trying to prevent them is not rational or helpful.

I would be way more upset with my 5-year-old for being so thick as to put toys in his mouth than at the company for designing them. It is reasonable for them to think that a kid that age would know better, and if they don't know better (special needs or something), that their parent wouldn't buy it for them. Just like it's not the fault of Tide that some people are so stupid as to attempt to eat detergent pods.

My post was not arguing for or against cutting up grapes for young children, but was addressed to the ridiculously callous and idiotic nature of the PP's post. She was responding to stories about children's choking deaths and disabilities with "You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew."

Children are more likely to choke than adults. Besides having less maturity and caution, they simply have smaller airways than adults. The older they are the lower the risk, but it's not like age 3 is some magic number, after which they are just like adults. You can look this information up about choking stats if you are really interested. I was a choking victim as an adult when someone startled me and it was the most terrifying experience ever. No, I do not cut up all my family's food into tiny bits, but it's not that hard to practice basic precautions. It is so ridiculously easy to limit or cut up high risk foods such as hot dogs, grapes, and baby carrots for younger kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to have to disagree with OP re: this toy not being appropriate for 5-year-olds.

Plus 1

Most 5 year olds would not do this. I am glad he is ok, OP. Scary!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So... no LEGO, Barbie (shoes), LOL Dolls, Shopkins, Littlest Pet Shop, board games with game pieces or dice... I could go on forever.

Why aren’t we questioning why your 5yo SCHOOL AGED CHILD needs supervision still so he doesn’t put random things in his mouth.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

My thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Op, do you expect your sil to spend the same $ on your child as she does for her kids Christmas gifts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5 year old was given Mighty Beanz for a Christmas toy. I immediately was pretty annoyed with them since they're cheap and a crappy marketing collectible. (OK, confession, I was also annoyed because the gift-giver is my annoying SIL who has plenty of money, gets extravagant gifts for her daughter from my in-laws, and who has only ever bought a cheap character toy each Christmas for my kid since he was born.) I smiled and thanked her with enthusiasm and silently plotted to make them disappear a few days after Christmas, hoping my child would forget about them quickly in the Christmas rush. In the frenzy of hosting lots of in-laws and my own family members, I didn't take much notice of my son playing with them along with other toys he got on Christmas day, until he walked into the kitchen with a mouthful of them, trying to say something funny about beans in his mouth. WTH -- I know, judgy friends, that you might be rolling your eyes at the stupidity of a 5 year old with little plastic toys in his mouth. I probably would be rolling my eyes, too... I figured he was about 3.5 years past putting toys in his mouth! In fact, aside from teething, I can't remember him every putting toys in his mouth, and yet here he was, with a mouthful of what I instantly realized were perfectly choking-sized.

I definitely overreacted -- I raised my voice saying, "Get those out of your mouth!" and that surprised him and BOOM, he inhaled in surprise and one got caught in the back of his throat while he spit the other two out. His eyes bulged in panic and he tried to breathe but couldn't. I ran to him, bent him over, and banged his back and luckily it fell out, and then he cried and kind of semi-spit up/vomited, I think mostly from shock. He had never choked on anything before.

I'm not usually a crazy person about choking, but I've always cut up grapes...I've heard too many stories, even a number here in the DC area since he was born, of kids choking on grapes. And these Beanz things are PERFECTLY grape-sized. I can't BELIEVE they are marketed to little kids!!!! Amazon.com says they are a choking hazard and should not be for kids under 3, recommended for kids 5-15. But seriously, they are grape-sized! I can't believe they are marketed at all to little kids...even if a 5 year old is playing with them, how many 5 year olds have little brothers or sisters? Or do something silly like mine did and then choke? Google tells me they are banned in France and Canada. Definitely shouldn't be on the market here. The WARNING: Choking Hazard info is on the outside of the package they came in, as I can see on the pic on Amazon, but that's plastic shrink wrap that you have to remove to open the container they came in, so it's not much help if your kid has already opened the toy.

(I already reported to the CPSC. Honestly, I've never done anything like this before. I'm not normally a scaredy-cat about toy safety, but this scared the bejezus out of me. If you have these toys in your house, I just wanted to warn folks with small kids to beware.)

Your anxiety disorder created this situation. Not your SIL or this toy. YOU are too unhinged for small parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, do you expect your sil to spend the same $ on your child as she does for her kids Christmas gifts?

This is the crux of the issue. OP is burning up with jealousy. She married the wrong brother.

[Anonymous]

There is a school of thought that early exposure to whole (not cut up) foods completely reduces choking dangers in those children who always ate the whole grapes and chunks of meat. I followed it but years later can't remember the name. I wouldn't recommend it to all though because some kids are born with trouble swallowing. O p I'm glad your child is alive and well.
I do think it's rotten to size up your sil s gift by price tag. Some people don't like to spend a lot on gifts.

[Anonymous]

The grape analogy/comparison does not hold up. Grapes are meant to be put in your mouth and eaten. Toys are not. Would you also like to ban small Legos, beads, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

The link that PP linked above describes a 5 year old who choked and died on a grape. A friend of a friend in Loudoun County has a permanently disabled child who is blind, can’t speak, and can’t hold his dead up because he choked on a carrot at age 4. He was recusitated but will spend the rest of his life unable to care for himself or communicate. And you say LOL?! WTF.

You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew. By 5, even delayed kids can bite and chew.

You're an asshole.

[Anonymous]

OP - you didn't need to add all the drama. I'm going to rewrite your post for you in a way that maybe would've received less jerk-y responses:

"My son received these things as a gift and put them in his mouth. I yelled and it surprised him, and he inhaled it, and almost choked, and I am freaking out. Do other people think these are a hazard, too? Or am I overreacting?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol

I cut them for 10 year olds. Dangerous food.