WTH Mighty Beanz?!? Choking to Death Beanz, more like it
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Anonymous
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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.) |
Anonymous
| I'm sorry your DC choked. At 5, you can stop cutting grapes. Your child is old enough now. |
Anonymous
| thanks for the warning OP! |
Anonymous
New poster, I'll never forget this X-ray image (of a 5 YEAR OLD) that circulated last year: https://www.fatherly.com/news/x-ray-grape-kids-throat-went-viral/ Absolutely terrifying, don't tell people not to cut grapes. |
Anonymous
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Scary story, glad it ended well. I'm so not a helicopter mom, but after clicking on those grape stories I'm a little disturbed about grapes being the most common snack served at my kids elementary school, including kindergartners. They get grapes several times a week. Would anyone say anything about that?
I serve them at house parties, too. I didn't during the toddler years, but got lax after the teeth came in and sort of forgot about the fact that smaller siblings come over at pick up from parties and head right got the food table. Will keep in mind for the future. |
Anonymous
| you cut up grapes for your five year old?!? lol |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
You're supposed to teach your kids to bite and chew. By 5, even delayed kids can bite and chew. |
Anonymous
DP. I agree that pp was a bit flippant, but by the time a kid is 5, I think focusing on cutting up grapes is a bit pointless. Yes, some kids choke on grapes. But other kids choke on other things, like carrots. Or a bit of sandwich. If you’re going to continue cutting up grapes, I hope you’re cutting up everything they eat into bites too small for them to choke on, And if your kid isn’t mature enough yet to not put toys into their mouth, don’t give them gifts that are labeled as a choking hazard, even if they’re in the labeled “appropriate” age. |
Anonymous
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OP, as someone with two kids who are 5yrs apart, you can't condemn a toy marked for older kids simply because their younger sibling might get their hands on it. The reality is that parents of more than 1 kid have to be more vigilant and find ways to keep the younger kid away from older kid toys.
The other reality as you see is that older kids can still endanger themselves. Watch your kid, as you did in this case; it's not foolproof but it's the best any of us can do. |
Anonymous
| I'm going to have to disagree with OP re: this toy not being appropriate for 5-year-olds. |
Anonymous
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They aren't banned in Canada now.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106539545330882200 |
Anonymous
| I still cut up grapes for my 9 year old! |
Anonymous
| So glad your child is ok! |