Comments on: Not All Magnetic Toys Are Dangerous: SuperMag vs Magnetix

By: Wim Rumping

Wim Rumping — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:57:57 +0000

My daughter, when she was 2, swallowed one of the balls. I never noticed until it came out of her the next morning. The balls won’t harm a thing if swallowed. The magnetic bars do. With Supermag, the smaller bar especially could be seen as an interesting thing to put in her mouth.

When one of the kids is playing with Geomag we keep an eye on both of them. The 5 year old can play by herself with them, but the 1 year old (who doesn’t put things in his mouth generally) is not allowed near them.

It is simply not a baby toy. The problem with Magnetix was that it was a bad product. Magnets fell out and those tiny little things were easily missed during cleanup and easily swallowed. My wife and I keep counting the bars whenever the toy is put away to make sure there aren’t any left laying around.

As a construction toy, I think it’s a classic and I see no reason to deprive my kids from the wonders of magnetism. Just look on YouTube for Dynamic Geomag Gears for a great example.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:54:01 +0000

“perforations”. Pardon my French,

By: Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:51:03 +0000

Look. The damn things are dangerous (the balls and magnets). Kids put them in their mouth and can end up with a preforated or occluded intestine. And to claim that the balls are “not dangerous when swallowed” because they are made out of “nickel-plated steel” is preposterous to say the very least. Elemental Ni is far less toxic than its soluble forms, but that’s not the point. It’s the fact that ingestion can lead to life treatening performations and occlusions. It’s rare, but it happens. So get rid of the toy.

By: JoDee

JoDee — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:38:50 +0000

Hi, I see that your son just did this. Well, my brilliant 7 yr. old daughter did the same thing tonight!! I called the ER, but she thought it would pass, but I am worried. What did you find out by taking your son in? My 7 year old is skinny and I think that ball is “heavy” and big, wondering if she can pass it ok? Will you let me know what your doc said? I am calling the ped in the morning, it was too late to tonight.

Thanks

By: PB

PB — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:49:41 +0000

My 5 year old boys love their Magnetix. They have played for hours with their sets since they were 3 years old. Never had an incident until yesterday when one of my boys swallowed one of the balls. He is 5 and is curiousity took over his ability to think logically when he put the ball in his mouth to “taste” it because it looked kind of “yummy”. Never in my life did I think he would do such a thing, but it happens. I’m taking him to the hospital today for xrays and have permanently put away all Magnetix and even small LEGO toys. Taking no risks with “yummy” plastic either.

By: Curt

Curt — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:00:38 +0000

“Accidents happen – now the quetion is could the manufacturer done something to prevent it.”

And the answer is, No. Plastwood does everything beyond what is required: make a quality controlled product with proper warning labels on swallowing/choking hazards. Yes, accidents happen. 1 or 2 rods swallowed would have been an accident…to swallow 20 rods tells me the kid should not have been allowed to play with the toy in the first place.

Anyway, Dave came off sounding pompous, but his point should not be lost. The poster of the xray blamed Plastwood for being “unsafe” because her son swallowed 20 rods. That struck me and at least Dave as irresponsible finger-pointing.

My 6-year-old daughter loves playing with her sets and has enjoyed them since she was 4 years old…long after we were sure she would never put them in her mouth and could understand the real danger of doing so. We really drilled it into her head about never putting them near or in her mouth.

By: Joe (for Dave)

Joe (for Dave) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:51:54 +0000

Dave – do you have children? What a pompus AS@ you are. Parenting is a 24/7 responsibility, however it is impossible to be next to them every minute of the day. Accidents happen – now the quetion is could the manufacturer done something to prevent it.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:28:08 +0000

I see this as a fundamental failure in parenting. As the parent you need to supervise your childrens play, and if they are too immature to follow important instructions, then you should not have bought the toys or allowed them to play with them in the first place.

Don’t blame the toy or society for your failure in parenting.

By: Terry

Terry — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:55:25 +0000

Funny – Plastwood seems to think their product is safe but I assure that it is not. Take a look at an my son’s xray after he ate several rods. http://www.bigfunsports.com/xray.jpg

By: MeLissa Magnet

MeLissa Magnet — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:14:22 +0000

My 9 y.o. daughter “never” puts toys in her mouth. I have not been concerned with small parts for YEARS, but I recently caught her with a Magnetix ball in her mouth on two occassions. The toy is in the trash now.