As you can imagine, my home is pretty tech saturated. Bings, bops and beeps, tap-tap-tap. Some days, we truly ARE the big green room in Goodnight iPad. So, it’s easy to overlook a little button battery in a story book, light-up wand, or desk clock.
After two kids, I’ve grown accustomed to tuning out a lot of sounds and blinking lights. I’ve had do this for the sake of my own sanity. I don’t even think twice about handing my children the garage door opener, camera, or flashlight to keep them amused, but after seeing this video I will.
The children featured in this video seem to skew towards infant/toddler age, but the truth is, battery-related injuries are a threat at any age. Regardless if a child is little or really should “know better”, the outcome of accidentally swallowing a battery can be deadly. When a lithium battery gets stuck in a child’s throat, the saliva triggers an electrical current. This causes a chemical reaction that can severely burn the esophagus in as little as TWO HOURS.
Once you think about it, these types of batteries can be in some of the most unexpected places. Anywhere, really!
Safe Kids Worldwide and Energizer recently announced a crucial partnership to share life-saving tips and advice with parents and caregivers about the potential dangers of swallowing batteries. The formation of “The Battery Controlled” by Safe Kids and Energizer shines a light on this growing issue and provides simple steps to prevent injuries and deaths to children.
Last year, it was reported that more than 3,400 children ingested button batteries. These were only reported cases. It has been suggested that the actually number is much, much greater–considering all of the incidents where caregivers just let the battery “pass” or didn’t even realize that one has been swallowed in the first place. In any case, the number of cases of children swallowing batteries has more than quadrupled in the past five years
So what can you do to help prevent this growing threat:
- Keep button batteries and devices that use them out of reach of tiny hands. Lock them away.
- Only give your child toys in which the batteries are tightly and securely fastened in a tamper-resistant way.
- If you child swallows a battery, go the the emergency room right away. Do not induce vomiting. Do not let them eat or drink anything until an X-Ray can confirm if the battery is there.
- Learn more and take the pledge on The Battery Controlled Facebook page.
- Spread the word. Share this life-saving information with caregivers, friends, family members and sitters
For more information on this important issue and for tips on how to protect your family, visit www.thebatterycontrolled.com.
Disclosure: The Battery Controlled is a campaign supported by Energizer, in partnership with Safe Kids USA, to alert parents and other caregivers to the hidden danger of swallowing coin lithium button batteries. I was compensated for this post, but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I never endorse anything I do not personally support or have used.
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