Toys, balloons and choking hazards for small children

In 2023, an estimated 154,700 children 12 and younger were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries, and 10 children died in toy-related incidents. Most of the deaths came from choking on small balls or crayons, drowning with flotation toys, being trapped inside a toy chest, or swallowing water beads.

Small parts and the age label

• Keep toys with small parts and small balls away from children under 3A toy that's a choking hazard for children under 3 carries an age label saying so.
• Read the age guidance and safety information on the packageMatch the toy to the child's age, interests and abilities.
• Keep toys with sharp edges, and electric toys with heating parts, away from children under 8
• Throw away the plastic wrapping and packaging as soon as gifts are open

Balloons

• Keep uninflated balloons away from children under 8 unless an adult is watchingAmong children's products, balloons are the leading cause of suffocation death. A child can draw a balloon into the mouth and throat while trying to blow it up.
• Pick up every piece of a broken balloon right awayChildren chew on or stretch the pieces, which are easily sucked into the throat. Balloon rubber molds to the throat and lungs and can block breathing completely.
• Put the pieces in the trash where young children can't reach them

Water beads

• Keep water beads out of any home where a child 3 or younger lives or visitsIt's the only way to remove the hazard. They look like candy and can grow to 100 times their size in water.
• Know that a dry bead can be as small as a pinheadSpilled ones scatter and roll and are nearly impossible to see on the floor.
• Get medical care right away if you think a child swallowed oneA swallowed bead can keep growing and block the intestines. A bead put in an ear or nose needs care too.

Riding toys

• Put a helmet and other safety gear on the child for every scooter or riding-toy rideNon-motorized scooters caused more toy injuries than anything else in 2023, about 53,000.

For coin and button batteries and small magnets, see Keeping button batteries and magnets away from kids.