In less than 24 hours kids everywhere will begin tearing into toys from their wish list. But before that happens, one D.C.-area doctor suggested some ways to play it safe and avoid a Christmas trip to the emergency room.
Dr. Sarah Ash Combs, an emergency medicine physician and director of outreach for Children’s National Hospital, said there is an easy way for parents to make sure toys are safe. It begins with carefully checking the toy’s packaging and wrapping — especially if you have children younger than three years old.
“Is it wrapped in shrink-wrap packaging?” she said. “Is it something that a young child can get their hands on and ingest and use to cover their mouths? Bear in mind what the toy is coming in.”
Combs also suggested keeping toys with tiny magnets, loose buttons or coin batteries away from children. If those parts are swallowed, they could be deadly for kids.
“Look at a toy critically,” Combs said. “Ask yourself, ‘If this went into my child’s mouth, could be sucked down into the back of their throat?’ If you are saying yes, I would just put those toys to one side.”
Another toy that strikes fear in the hearts of emergency room physicians, especially with New Year’s Eve on the horizon, is balloons.
If ingested, Combs said, balloons can cut off a child’s airway and cause suffocation.
“We really like to veer away from too many balloons lying around, especially in a young child’s house,” she said.
For larger kids, Combs advised parents to avoid gifting trampolines and rocket launchers this holiday.
The risk with trampolines is that children can land wrong on their heads or necks, or fall and break a bone. And toys that propel objects can cause severe close-range injuries, Combs told WTOP.
She said strict parental supervision is key.
“Bear in mind, we’re talking about a minority of toys to stay away from, with the idea that this will give you a joyful holiday,” she said. “So that you’re not coming to visit me in the emergency department.”
