i hate to be rude but…. what is an 8 year old doing eating her toys? if this was done by a 2 year old i would understand. how can the parents sue? shouldn’t some kind of common sense be required?

i totally agree, my 3 year old doesn’t even put toys in his mouth. i do feel for the child, but there is no need to recall a toy that is marketed towards kids that are of appropriate age to play with it and should know better. its not like these are marketed toward toddlers.

8 years old?? Haven’t her parents taught her not to swallow anything that’s not food? She needs her fanny paddled!!!

8 years old? Are these parents serious?

Let’s just ban every toy that has swallowable parts.

There’s obviously something wrong with this child, don’t blame the toy manufacturer.

You wonder why I shake my head.

You’re not being rude Julie. Our society teaches us that for every action there is a financial reaction.

If I were her parents, I’d be embarrased to admit I had an 8 year old that still ate her toys like some toddler.

Her parents a partially to blame for this the girl is eight years old and should have known better than to eat such things If the kid was known to do things like this the parents should’ve been keeping a better eye on her

Let me get this straight, the parents want the toy removed from the shelves because they didn’t do a good job teaching their 8 year old not to eat her toys? That’s the problem today, everyone wants to blame someone and sue and not take personal responsibility for their own stupidity.

I agree with what Julie mentioned; this child is 8 years old and if she is swallowing her toys maybe you as parents should have been watching her to make sure she wasn’t swallowing her toys. This is where some responsibility comes in. Everything in America is becoming too high priced and companies raise their prices to compensate for the frivilous lawsuits we are filing. Why can’t people see its our own negligence why things go wrong most of the time. In this case the parents are responsible not the FDA or anyone else monitering the use of toys to school age children.

My son has a large set of Magnetix. He is ten now, but received the toy for Christmas when he was seven. Swallowing the pieces was never an issue. By the age of seven, he certainly knew better. It is a shame that Haley Lents required emergency surgery. My heart goes out to her. What in the world would possess a child to swallow steel balls & magnets? Instead of “ripping the toy from the shelves” MAYBE parents should educate their children on the possible danger associated with a toy. If a child is unable to understand that marbles and magnets shouldn’t be swallowed, then the toy should be forbidden for that child unless play is supervised by an adult.

I agree. Perhaps the company should sue the parents for not controlling their child.

Ever heard of parental supervision? This child was obviously left alone for some time to take in that many parts. When will we as Americans stand up to those who shun their personal responsibility? My children and I use this toy often, and safely. That’s because I use “toy time” to interact with my children and not get them off my back. Better toys? I think not….what we need are better parents!

I agree with Julie, I have an 8 year old who wouldn’t swallow magnets from his building sets. I could definitely see a small toddler doing that but, an 8 year old?

I don’t mean to be mean, but if this child likes to eat her toys at age 8 why wasn’t her parents watching her while she played with the toys? They need to be teaching their child that toys are for playing with NOT eating!

I’m with you Julie. For an 8 year old to be swallowing her toys is ridiculous. If she is doing this, there must be something we do not know. But to pull all the toys because of one child is again going over the top.

I was thinking the same thing, the girl is 8 yrs old, what is she doing eating part of her toys!! I can undertand a 2 yr old also but not from an 8 yr old. Sueing seems to be everyones answer instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.

I agree. So are we going to take old-fashion marble sets, refridgerator magnets, Polly Pocket and Barbie and similar toys off the market too? They have parts small enough to swallow. I understand being a magnet makes it worse but is taking them off the market really the solution? There will be a similar toy next year at Christmas, will it be pulled because of what this one child has done?

There is a difference in a product being dangerous to a child because of age and a child not being mature enough to play with a certain product. Maybe the age range is wrong but maybe there were other issues in this case that prompted this child to eat them.

It is impossible to predict every possible scenario with every single product. If anything should come out of this maybe a better warning on the product about the strength of the magnets and what age the product is for. I think it should also stress UNDER PARENTAL SUPERVISION ONLY.

Manufacturers can only do so much. It is up to parents to take responsibility for the choices they make and the consequences.

What provoked an EIGHT year old to swallow those items? My five year old knows better!

I’m sorry. She was 8 and swallowed how many? Way more than an accident or simple curiousity. My 6 year old daughter knows not to put toys in her mouth let alone swallow them repeatedly. I think there is a problem with their daughter or at the very least their supervision of her. And they want to blame the toy company? Shocking.

I’m sorry for their daughter, but to be fair, most 8 year olds aren’t that stupid and after the age of 5, you can trust that they won’t be shoving small toys in their mouths and swallow them. I’m so tired of every parent blaming someone else besides their kids or themselves.

Hmmm, I believe the company states not for children under 3 years of age. Any child that has not been trained by the age of 8 to not eat toys deserves the consequences it may bring on her and her parents. Why should those of us who are responsible suffer for negligance of one family?

I don’t mean to be mean, but if this girl likes to eat her toys at age 8 why was her parents not watching her while she played with her toys? They need to teach their child that her toys are for playing with NOT eating them.

I don’t feel like all the information is here causing me to not be very sympathetic. Is the girl handicapped? Which would indicate better monitoring of her toys needs implemented. Otherwise, I’m inclined to be in Julie’s corner.

I agree. This is exactly why we have so many ridiculous laws. This is just inefective supervision of your child. Eight years old and swallowing that many pieces. Crazy. And now they are going to sue! Ridiculous!

I tend to agree with Julie. If my two year old swallowed a toy, it would not surprise me. However, if she is still in the habit in six years, something is really wrong. (And if I have a special needs child that is eight and is known to swallow things, then something is wrong with me if I let him/her near small objects.)

I agree with Julie…I thought the same thing when reading the story. I have a 7 year old and he does not eat his magnetix…very strange! Common sense is what is lacking in our society today!

I think this is ridiculous. An 8 year old should know better than to swallow anything that’s not food. Her parents are trying to blame a toy when they should be blaming themselves. I’m glad she is okay. But her parents are idiots!!!

20 steel marbles and 10 magnets, swallowed by an 8 year old? Am I being punked? This toy is in my daughters preschool (ages 4-5), my 3yo son plays with this toy when he visits her preschool. Neither has even put the toy near their mouth. Three and younger, I wouldn’t dream of not surpervising while playing with this but 8? Something isn’t right here and the toy maker should not be held responsible.

This was not a toddler, but an 8 year old child. If she suffers from a developmental disorder then the toy was not appropriate for her to play with. If not, swallowing 20 steel balls and numerous magnets is aberrant behavior and not the fault of the toy. If she had swallowed an equal number of quarters and glass marbles, would her parents be calling for a ban on coins and marbles?

This child must be mentally disabled. If that is the case and she has the mentality of a younger child, then the parents are idiots for letting her have this toy!! If she has not been diagnosed as disabled, then she needs to be! A normal 8 year old doesn’t do this kind of behavior! They cannot win this case. There is an age listed on the side of the box and if the child’s mental age is less, the parents are the ones at fault. Even my 3 year old knows not to do that!

She was eight years old — old enough to know NOT to put things in her mouth, let alone swallow them!!

Julie, I thought the same thing. Why is an 8 year old swallowing that many marbles and magnets?

Nothing rude about Julie’s comment, when the heck does personal and parental responsibility ever come in? The set has labeling for 3+. So, if the kid ate thumbtacks, sue that manufacturer as well? Even if a settlement outside the courts is made to avoid publicity, I would be hugely disappointed. I have a 7 and a 9 year old. I have yet to contend with something as ludicrous as this. And if my child did do something so stupid, I would not blame the manufacturer. This is another example of a generation of parents and society that foster their children’s “privileged” attitude, sense of entitlement and complete lack of responsibility.

Eight years old and still eating her toys??? The parents need to be aware of their childs abilities and buy toys that are suitable.

I’m with the comment above. An 8 year old (for pete’s sake…my 4 year old!) is old enough to know not to swallow toys…or ANYTHING other than food. Did these parents ever think to TALK to their child about what they eat/put in their mouth? And if this was a mentally disabled child-she would have no business having toys small enough to swallow, anyway, without supervision. I can’t imagine my 13 or 10 year old sons even THINKING about doing this and you better bet I will continue to make sure my 4 year old daughter knows never to swallow anything that isn’t a food because it can hurt her! Gesh…let’s take responsibility for our own kids.

Why punish toy manufacturers for the stupidity of children who want to swallow stuff that is not food? Shouldn’t children and parents be held accountable for the actions of their children when they do dumb things? When will stop blaming others for the mistakes we make? One would think that an 8 year old would know better anyhow.

I agree Julie. This doesn’t seem to be a problem with the toy or the manufacturer but a problem with the child. An 8 year old knows (or should know) better then to put anything non-edible in their mouth. Not intending any disrespect to the child or family, but perhaps this child needs a psychiatric evaluation to determine an underlying cause for putting toys/magnets in their mouth.

I think the parents should teach their 8-year-old not to eat toys rather than waste their money on court fees and a lawyer because they shouldn’t win the case. Kids that old should know not to eat their toys, and if they don’t, the parents should know not to give them small toys that they can swallow

Oh, sure, go after the toy manufacturer – what about the parents? Shouldn’t they have been checking on her. Question is, WHY did she do this – is she a little bit off, or maybe there is something weird going on in that home. Needs to be checked out.

Swallowing steel balls and magnets at eight years old!?!? Obviously there are other issues with this child and she never should have been allowed such a toy unsupervised. On the other hand, my seven year old who would never consider such an act at her age, loves her Magnetix and plays with them regularly without incident or emergency room visit. Parents, take responsibility!!

Comments by Julie are not rude at all. An 8 year old knows better than to swallow her toys. This has nothing to do with toy safety but with teaching our kids to think before acting.

AMEN Julie – I was just telling my 15 year old daughter the same thing. Eight years old is plenty old enough to know better; I have an idea who & why but it wouldn’t be “PC” to say it I suppose.

Taking a product off the shelf want stop mishaps. You pick the toys you want your kids to play with. Be a smart shopper. Even as young as eight, you have to watch kids, especially when they become too quite in play. Toys are not to be eaten.

seriously, who do you blame when your EIGHT-YEAR-OLD swallows magnets? Maybe we should ban all magnets in everything all together? How can you blame a manufacturer who states on the box, small parts not suitable for children under….and if your kid is too immature, then don’t get them the toy.

I have to agree Julie . That just doesn’t sound right to me . An 8 yr old should know better than to swallow objects … especially steel balls and magnets ! That’s just craziness there .

What I would like to know is what were the parents doing while the daughter was swallowing 20 metal balls & 10 magnets? It took her some time to do this & I believe some of the responsibilty lies at the feet of the parent for not keeping an eye on their daughter.

Good Lord, people, an 8 year old should know better than to even put toys in their mount, is this a child with a learning disability perhaps, I see no other reason for the child to have been so stupid at that age…………the judge should toss it out if it gets that far…….and teach proper behavior in the children, please!!!

I have a 9 year old that has been recreationally shooting REAL firearms for the last 2 years… i know that if a 7 year old can understand the concepts of firearms safety, then surely he could understand the concept of NOT PUTTING TOYS IN HIS MOUTH!!!

BTW, the magnetix are great fun, and even my 2 year old knows not to put them in his mouth… but he does like throwing the little metal balls so you gotta watch him close…

I agree w/Julie. At 8 years old that shouldn’t be the expectation that these would be swallowed. Especially in this case – 20 STEEL BALLS AND 10 MAGNETS? Come on!

Yeah, no kidding. Eight years old and eating toys? If she’s mentally disabled, then this rests squarly on the shoulders of the parents. If she’s not disabled, she’s an idiot.

um yeah, choking hazard warnings are always clearly stated on the box. Typically it refers for children under three. If an 8 year old is swallowing toys than she may have some special needs. If that is the case her parents should be using their discretion. Sounds like a parnt error to me and the toy company is a nice escape goat.

HOW STUPID OF THE KID AND THE PARENTS…..YOU DO NOT PUT TOYS IN YOUR MOUTH…….EVEN 5 YEAR OLD KIDS KNOW THAT……EDUCATE THE 8 YEAR OLD, AS A PARENT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY DONE AT AN EARLIER AGE

First of all, 8 years old…she should have known better.Second , where were the parents. What is to keep this kid from eating rocks or some other object. No one to blame but themselves.

My thoughts exactly Julie. I could also maybe understand swallowing one or two but why and how in the world do you eat that many at that age?!? I have a lot of sympathy for the child and the family but am astonished she ate so many.

I think an 8 year old should be smart enough NOT to swallow things. I also feel the parents law suit against the toy manufacturing company is a ploy for money. It wasn’t the toy companies fault the child was stupid.

Magnetix makes a perfectly fine toy that is not dangerous. It is not the toy that needs examining.

Most toys with small pieces have age restrictions listed. I certainly believe in safety when it comes to children’s toys, but shouldn’t an 8 year old be past the point of swallowing small objects? I don’t know how that could be anticipated by a manufacturer.

I couldn’t agree more. If kids would get off the computers and get some common sense, maybe they would be a little smarter.

I am wondering the same thing as Julie. 20 steel balls and 10 magnets is a lot of mass to be swallowed. What were the parents doing? Also, my children at 8 years did not swallow toys.

Common sense? What’s that? This is the 21st century, common sense has been dead for 20 or 30 years. This story is proof of that.

I am sorry that the child is hurt, but the child should not be eating their toys at 8 years old. My kids (6 and 4) play with these toys without incident. My kids have known since the age of 3 that the only things that belong in their mouths are food, drink, and medicine.

People, I have a phrase for you – “personal responsibility”. Just because you make a bad choice does not give you the right to banish things that millions use without incident. What would happen if this kid had swallowed coins, pen caps, or any other common item? What happens when this kid turns 18 and gets hurt in a drunk driving accident? Will Mommy and Daddy seek to ban alcohol and motor vehicles?

8 years old and swallowed all that stuff?!!!!???? Not the manufacturers fault. Shouldn’t this kid have known better?!!? WAS SHE NOT FED SUPPER? CANNOT BELIEVE THE PARENTS WANT TO SUE. LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER “HOT COFFEE HELD BETWEEN THE LEGS IN A CAR WILL BURN YOU” CASE!! Maybe the ages on the box should say common sense required or do not eat. Completely senseless!!!!!!!!!

True that it was an eight year old, and it does get me to wonder why parents are not more diligent in choosing toys for the children. I would not buy these type of things for my daughter!
However the only thing I see coming from this lawsuit is that this has happened a few times before with previous lawsuits so these companies are continuing to create these type of hazardous toys. I have not seen one, but for the companies benefit, I hope it states something like “For `12 years and older”.
To bad children are continuing to be affected by today’s toys made in China, when are we going to learn?

I totally agree with Julie. This kid is eight and what on earth was she doing swallowing soooo many pieces?? If the kid was 2, sure, but a 2 year old shouldn’t be playing with this toy anyway. My oldest is 6 and if I saw him put a toy in his mouth at his age I would think he was regressing or something. People complain about the government getting involved in stuff telling us what we can and cant do with our kids etc. Well its thanks to parents like this who appear to have no common sense and are obviously not teaching their kid any either. And then something stupid like this happens and instead of taking some responsibility for it they blame blame blame sue sue sue. It cracks me up sometimes when I see warning on some things that are so nuts but you know some moron somewhere has done it or there wouldn’t be a warning.

Julie, I agree with you. As a parent, I think we should be more concerned with supervising our children than blaming toy manufacturers when toys aren’t used properly.

Why would an 8 year old put toys in her mouth? She should know better. I also think the parents suing the toy company is just as dumb as their kid putting steel marbles in her mouth and swallowing. I would hope after the first marble she would have thought before putting in the other 19. Obviously I am wrong. Obviously good parenting skills were available in this case.

Can you say stupid? Gee, what 8 year old in their right mind would do something so dumb. I have a 4 year old that knows better. Maybe the parents should be jailed for not teaching their kids normal behavior.

I agree with Julie, my kids stop trying to eat there toys by age 3.
It looks like another parent just trying to pass blame and not accepting it.
I’m glad Haley is aright.

What is an eight-year-old doing with this play set in the first place, esp. if this child may not understand the ramifications of swallowing magnetic marbles. While most children this age are well aware that swallowing these magnetic balls can be dangerous, some may not due to diminished mental capacity. Regardless of any case, these products should either be marketed to children over a certain age or not sold at all. If this eight-year-old had the capacity to understand the consequences and thought it would be fun, she certainly is lucky! So are her parents for that matter! Which begs to ask a common question, did her parents not speak to her of the dangers ahead of time? People can’t expect for children to be baby sat by their toys. Or worse, parents cannot assume their child knows not to ingest small parts at age eight. Whether a child responds in that crude “I already know this” tone, the recollection of the discussion stays with them even as they think about embarking on foolish behavior. If this child did not have the ability to follow basic logic/ reasoning, why give the Magnetix play set to her in the first place? Take this comment for what it is: Wake up and watch your children, people!

Why is she eating toys at 8 years old?? Maybe she lacks the mental processing of an 8 year old (severely autistic or something else). However, if that’s the case, and she had the mental capacity of a toddler or preschooler, her parents should have limited her access to this toy. It’s not the toy manufacturer’s fault. It’s the parents’ fault.

BY AGE 8 A CHILD SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAT SWALLOW STEEL BALLS AND MAGNETS,SHE IS NOT A 3 YEAR OLD AND I FEEL THE PARENTS SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE NOT THE TOY AND OF COURSE I WISH THE LITTLE GIRL A FULL RECOVERY.

How is it the company’s fault if an EIGHT year old swallows the pieces? I still maintain in all of the cases like these that it’s the parents job to make sure their child isn’t eating his or her toys. I understand people have busy lives but if you can’t trust that your eight year old can play with small pieces like marbles and magnets then you should never buy that toy for them. It’s common sense. The fault lays with the parents here not with the company. AND just because one child can’t play with Magnetix without eating them doesn’t mean every other child in the country has the same problem.

Well, no electric train, no erector set, no chemistry set, no Barbies with their small accessories.

Hey, mom and dad, you had the child — SUPERVISE HER PLAYTIME.

I agree with Julie. How ridiculous does it have to be for the court to throw this out. If this suit is successful, can we call DHS for these parents buying their child such a “hazardous’ toy? Maybe the girl should sue her parents for not supervising her properly or not teaching her that toys shouldn’t be eaten.

I agree. I have a 8 year old and he stopped putting things in his mouth when he was 2 or 3. If the child is special needs, then she should be supervised playing with small toys, other than that, I think the parents should stop looking to blame someone. Reminds me of the adult that sued for holding hot coffee in their crotch while driving.

I agree with Julie. I had to read the story twice to figure out how old the girl was. My 4-year-old knows better than to eat toys.
So sorry this happened and wish her the best, but parents need to take some responsibility.

Julie, I couldn’t agree more. My kids have this same toy (since they were 4 and 7, they’re now 6 and 9) and even at 4, my son would never stick these things in his mouth. I would never have bought them if I thought he would. And even if he did, the responsibility would be mine, not the manufacturers. Supervise your kids, buy them appropriate toys for their intellect and maturity, and quit blaming the toy-makers.

These people are insane. Obviously this family has larger issues than this toy. Next week the kid will staple herself to a moving car.

News flash for all eight-year-olds: Magnets are not meant to be eaten, boiling water is hot and falls can cause broken bones.

The only winners here are, once again, the ambulance-chasing attorneys.

Where were the girl’s parents?

Why doesn’t an eight-year-old know that she shouldn’t eat things other than her food?

Why should the toy company be blamed for the incompetence of the parents?

Personally, I love the toys! And I do believe that the age on the toys isn’t for toddlers, so most kids would know NOT to put them in their mouths. Unfortunately, this is just another case of parents not paying attention to what their kids are playing with.

An 8-year-old swallows 20 steel marbles and 10 magnets? It sounds like she needs to see a psychiatrist as well as a surgeon. At that age a child should know better than to be putting objects in their mouths like that, much less swallowing them! If the child has a mental problem, the parents should not have allowed her to have a toy such as this.

Teach the kids some common sense, and quit suing the toy companies!

I am truly sick and tired of our litigious, media-attention driven society. It appears that personal (or in this case parental) responsibility is thrown out the window and replaced with shoot-from-the-hip soundbites and a “BAN IT” mentality. Just because this 8 y.o. girl was not mature enough to handle her toys does not mean that my 6 year old (who loves Magnetix) should be denied his ability to play with them…
…and yes, I am an attorney!

I wil agree with Julie’s comment.
State District Attorney should probably look into a child endangerment (parents being at fault) maybe?
Litigation lawyers are in the need of new cases be my guess.

I have to agree with Julie. How does the stupidity of one child mandate removing a toy off the national market as a whole? To me it sounds like lousy parenting, didn’t they ever teach her that you don’t eat your toys?

I guess I can understand them wanting to recoup some of the medical expenses they have as a result of this but I cannot see a jury giving them a pain and suffering reward for it. I mean, no one fed her the pieces…. or did they?

Nope, not rude at all! Why, indeed, would she be doing something like this? There’s an interview with her and her father on CBS: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/girl-swallows-30-magnets/3890747692
When asked to explain her actions, she replied “Because they looked like candy.” She may be delayed; but, then why would her “parents” give her such a thing and leave her unattended? Perhaps; if there was not a clear warning on the packaging stating a health risk and all the media about magnetized toys being dangerous to swallow had not been all over the “world”, I might feel sorry for the “parents”.

I do feel sorry for the child; but, should the manufacturer be liable for the “parents” lack of supervision?

BTW: I have 6 kids ranging from 1-11 with duplos, legos, and magnetics. I know all about supervision and the “consequences” of not keeping on top of everything.

Okay this girl is 8. I think the bigger concern is why is she swallowing her toys. I could see if it was 1 or 2 but this many!? Hmmm, maybe it’s not the toys fault and just a little user error.

I agree the toy should be taken off the market, however an 8 year old eating toys? Is she a special needs child. It just doesn’t sound like something a normal 8 year old would do. There are other issues I’m sure.

It all rolls back to parental responsibility. This lack of parental supervision is typical in America, don’t pay attention to what your child is doing, something happens and then the parents want the toy removed because they suffer from a guilt complex for not supervising their children adequately. So to justify their sub-standard parenting skills and clear their conscience they beat the bass drum to get the toy removed. Basically the whole country has to be punished because these parents didn’t watch their kid and a all to eager ambulance chasing attorney who smells a quick out of court settlement.

Melvin Leppla
Jacksonville, NC

My first thought was “Where were the parents?” Then I decided to read the story again and realized that the child is 8 years old. I would think that the child would know better than to do something like this. I have a 5 year old, and she is not putting things in her mouth that shouldn’t be there. I did not read that the child has any sort of disability that would prevent her from understanding that this is something you should NOT do. When are the American people going to wake up? When did it become popular to sue everyone under the sun, and not have accountability for our own situations?

I agree with Julie. Instead of suing, I think the parents need to get this child some help from a Psychiatrist. As most 8 yr olds know better to eat their toys, and she most certainly knew the possible outcome of eating magnets, (my 4, 6 and 7 yr olds all know the danger) maybe this was a suicide attempt. Especially looking at the magnitude that she ingested. I hope she gets the help she needs.

I can’t imagine my 8 year old eating 30 individual toy items. I also cannot imagine IF he did eat 30 individual toy items that I wouldn’t pick up on this peculiar behavior.

Mrs. Lents should also note that if Little Miss Lents persists with her metal mastication, her dentist will undoubtedly pick up on it. Being lectured by the dentist on the importance of NOT EATING NON-FOOD ITEMS will far surpass the chagrin the average parent might feel when grilled about daily flossing!

I totally agree. An 8 year old should know better. I can understand accidentally ingesting one.

Maybe the parents need to leave to supervise and protecting their children a little better. Maybe we all need to take responsiblity for our actions as parents. They knew (like 99.9% of caring parents) this toy had a history of dangers. Would you buy or keep a toy like that around?

I’m happy to be rude! These “parents” have much more serious issues to deal with. For God’s sake! An 8 year old? Clearly just another set of parents wanting to blame others for their and their children’s moronic impulses! How about “I bet she never does THAT again” for parenting! Good Lord!

I agree – this was not a toddler who still wouldn’t know the difference. This was a building set, not a toy that looked like food, and it seems that it would take some time to swallow that many marbles and magnets. I know of children older than 8 who have problems swallowing the small children’s aspirins!

Yes, oh my goodness, I was going to say the same thing. What 8 year old is still putting things in her mouth that she shouldn’t? I could possibly understand if it was a toddler, but then I’d say why is a toddler playing with a toy meant for an 8 year old?
Sounds to me like the parents just don’t want to pay the medical bills for either their negligence or their daughter’s immaturity.

Common Sense? whats that!? it’s pretty much extinct. Heck this is why the tag on hairdryers says “keep away from water” … ummm duh! If this family succeeds in getting it taken off the shelves because they never taught her not to eat things like that I’m gonna be pissed. These toys are greatly loved by my 5 year old who knows better than to eat them.

The title of this story should be amended with “….want the toy completely removed from stores to protect children from bad parents and/or themselves”

Hello? why is an 8yr old child eating marbles and magnets? Where was her parents or teacher when this happened? People need to stop blaming others for their stupidity. Parents are always blaming others for their childrens mishaps. Watch your children and tell her to not eat marbles and magnets.

I completely agree with you, Julie. This is another example of embarrassed parents trying to shift the blame to an innocent toy company rather than on their bad parenting skills. Maybe instead of investigating mistakes the company has made, someone should look into what other mistakes the parents have made, since they clearly failed to raise their daughter properly. Shame on both of you, Mr. and Mrs. Lents, for your neglect. Your daughter is not to blame, and neither is the toy company. YOU are responsible for the life and safety of your child, a living, breathing human being. Maybe you should start taking that responsibility more seriously.

Not just one magnet, but 10! And 20 steel balls! What is wrong with this kid????? And the parents want to sue? Oh, give me a break! Maybe social services should step in and take this kid away from the parents since they haven’t taught her not to eat toys. Good grief!

I’m not sure my first response went through. I wanted to know where the parents were, and then read the story again to see that the child is 8 years old. My daughter is 5, and knows better than to do something like this. There is no mention of any disability that would show a lack of her judgement. It is time for the American people to get with it. Stop blaming everyone, and have some accountability for your own actions.

I agree with Julie – any 8 yr old that would swallow that many objects needs to be supervised. The parents should not be sueing the toy maker – they should be keeping an eye on their child that likes to swallow toys.

Typical 21st century parents… they don’t take responsibility for their own stupidity, but use it as an excuse to sue. I have a 4-year-old who knows better than to put toys in his mouth.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the parents encouraged the 8-year-old, just so they could sue.

Keep buying CRAP from China people… keep supporting Pinko-Mart and the 5000+ distributors it uses that focus exclusively on importing CRAP from China.

You have got to be kidding me. She’s 8 years old! 20 steel balls and half as many magnets? That is totally unreal. At 8 years old she shouldn’t have even had them in her mouth.

What exactly is a safe toy now? A carrot stick?

I agree Julie, I am sure the toy has warnings all over it (thanks to thousands of other lawsuits) that clearly states small parts, not for children under 4 or so. But an 8 year old eating the marbles and magnets, whats the other side of the story, is this a challenged child? If not, common sense rules apply here. Parents take responsibility for not watching your children!!

What ever happened to parents being responsible for the raising of their own children? I agree with Julie above about an 8 year old shouldn’t being swallowing their toys at that age, but even if the child was younger I believe it falls on the parents not to buy toys that could be dangerous for young kids. If you have a 4 year old in your home, you shouldn’t have a toy that says age 10 and older. How about as a country, we as parents take back our rights and responsibilties of raising our kids. If you are not able to do that then either let the gonvernment or let me adobt your child.

Are you kidding me?? Why are the parents not being investigated by Social Services? Why is our society so eager to place blame elsewhere???

Give me a freakin’ break!

When will a judge rule in favor of COMMON SENSE????

My ten-year-old daughter received her first set of Magnetix two years ago and still enjoys playing with them. I cannot imagine what would cause an eight-year-old to ingest 30 pieces of metal–and those steel balls are not small! This could not have been accidental.
There are many toys and objects in every home that are potentially unsafe, from q-tips to jump ropes to kitchen knives. We can’t ban everything that, when improperly used, is harmful. Should other parents and children be penalized because a few kids act impulsively or carelessly?
Second-hand cigarette smoke injures a lot more kids than magnetix, and yet….

At 8 years old, the child show know not to swallow foreign objects. If she does not, her parents are then the negligent party for not supervising her during the store visit.

This is not a developmentally normal child.

Hmm…yea, I’d want to know more details, but it sounds like a dumb mistake by a young kid. You can chew and swallow just about any toy if you really want to. I’m sure the set was marked for an older kid….8 years old should be old enough to know what is food and what isn’t…Parents…comeon.

You’ve got to be kidding me. She’s EIGHT years old!!! This is not some toddler, who accidentally swallowed a toy too small for them to play with. She’s EIGHT!!! Did I mention she’s EIGHT?! If the child is diminished or delayed, then she should play with toys appropriate for her mental age, not her chronological age. There’s no need to even GO to the place and point out she swallowed not one or two pieces, but made a MEAL of this stuff–she swallowed over 15 PIECES of the stuff. Good grief, people. The company should sue these parents for being nincompoops.

I agree. I don’t have any children, but I teach 3rd grade students (8-9 year olds) and they know better than to put things in their mouths and then swallow it!!! Why can’t people take responsibility for themselves and their children’s behavior? Stop blaming it on other people. This really makes me mad.

I agree I cannot understand that a developmentally normal eight year old child would eat her toys. If the child was developmentally disabled it would be up to the parent to make sure that the toy was appropriate for her developmental level.

An 8-year old child swallowing toys?? Not one piece but 30 pieces?! Sounds like another unsupervised child….possibly with some sort of mental problem. Where were the parents? This wasn’t a one shot deal. What other “odd” behavior is the child displaying that nobody is paying any attention to?

I guess the one big question is….how much will the parents be rewarded for their lack of parenting? How much will this settlement be worth. Absolutely ridiculous! Pretty soon all toys smaller than a loaf of bread will have to be banned because you never know when an unsupervied 16-year old will get curious and start eating his toys.

Oh, spare me the comments about being judgemental and parents being busy. Don’t have them if you can’t take care of them.

I may be naive, but wouldn’t you think an 8 yr old would know better than to put those things in her mouth? My daughter outgrew that at 18 months, I believe. However, I do agree that parents must be diligent in watching their children and reminding them to keep small objects out of their mouths.

These are a wonderful toy!!!
I showed all my kids (2 yrs to 10) the story of the first death, and reminded them that rules have good reasons. People who have immature or defiant kids need to parent them. These toys have warnings. That is enough.

Eight-year-olds are old enough to know better than to swallow their toys. Parents should begin teaching their children from a very young age not to eat anything that is not food. I hope these foolish parents do not win their frivolous lawsuit. People are just too quick to file lawsuits these days! (And yes, I’m a parent of three children–the youngest is eight!)

every toy someway somehow could cause injury to a child or an adult. Why pull one thing because the parents didn’t teach their child that eating toys is not a healthy food. I’m sorry but an 8year old knows better unless she has a learning issue. and if she does then the parents need to monitor her better. so by suing or demands, does this mean when my kids fall of their bikes and break a leg, i can sue because its not in the directions that this could happen? common sense in parenting. some people forget how to use it.

I agree- age appropriate is the key. If the girl was mentally equivilant to age 8, she should know better. If not, she should not be playing with the toy.

The girl is 8 years old? and swallowed that many toy parts? If she was 8 months old maybe…but no 8 year old would ever do that. This girl has some issues.

Some people are just “over the top”. Understandably the parents are upset because their daughter has torn intestines, but I agree with Julie, isn’t 8 a little old to be putting your toys in your mouth and if there are reasons why she is 8 and still putting things in her mouth, she shouldn’t be allowed to play with toys with small parts. Come on parents, let’s take some of the responsibility and not make the company or other consumers pay the price. They put age limits on toys for a reason.

I have to agree with Julie that if the child was two it would be one thing. However at eight years old you should have taught your child not to put things in her mouth that do not belong there.
What is next the bottle of bleach someone left out?

I am going to have to agree with you Julie. It is one thing if she swallowed one. I could understand that to an extent, but 20? Maybe the parents should be a little bit of time with their kids. And maybe they might want to get their kid to see a psychologist or a nutritionist because that kid has got some issues to be doing something like that.

I agree, the kid is 8 she should know better by now. Also what is the recommended age to use these toys, if it’s over 8 the company should have some ability to deflect this. I know that no one actually pays attention to the recommended ages, at least my parents didn’t and none of my siblings had any toy-caused health problems growing up.

Agree with Julie….cept “Common Sense” is not common anymore. I am not that old, but I used to think these stories were made up. my 6 year old (I asked her if she would eat her toys…thankfully she looked at me and asked me if I was crazy…)

I totally agree with the first comment. Eight year olds don’t normally EAT their toys. And, this kid obviously didn’t know when to stop!

Julie-

Im with ya on that. Funny thing is, I grew up 20 minutes from huntingburg, so i was interested to see what this was about. I understand if she is mentally retarded or something, but why in the world would an eight year old swallow toys?

Yeah I have to agree with Julie, what on earth is an 8 year old swallowing her toys for. I dont really think the toy company is at fault here.

An eight year old should know better. What are the parents teaching (or not teaching) this child. Lawsuits like this are what is wrong with our legal system today. No one accepts personal responsibility for anything anymore.

I agree,

Okay, I’m not big on cheapo, lead-laced, made in China toys, but the girl is EIGHT. Why would she eat her toys?

An 8 year old? 8?? I would say that the problem does not lie with the toy, but with the child.

I want to second Julie’s comment, and add further that any child who is incapable of determining the edibility of objects should not have toys with tiny pieces. One might think that parents would be aware of this fact in today’s hyper-safety-minded, warning-labels-on-everything climate. Common sense (which, as Ben Franklin wisely pointed out, “is not so common”) is clearly not a part of this picture.

I agree Julie

Like um hello she’s eight shouldn’t she know better? Its a shame how one kid can ruin fun for millions of other smart kids.

Give me a break. If you are not a resposible enough parent to either watch your child or teach your child not to put metal in their mouth how is that the toy company’s fault? If you do not think that your child is prepared for such a toy then here’s a thought…..don’t buy it for them!

EIGHT? And the parents want to sue whom? They should be suing the child. Nothing in this story indicates the child is lacking normal intelligence, except that fact she’s EIGHT and eating toys.

An 8 year-old should know better than to put things like that in her mouth! And if she doesn’t then she shouldn’t have those types of toys! So now the parents are going to sue or demand the toy be recalled? Give me a break. Another case of people not taking responsibility. If my 8 year-old daughter ate one of her toys she’d not only have consequences of health problems but she’d be disciplined too.

Really? Are the parents too stupid to teach their kids not to eat toys or what food is?

I thought our 8 year-olds were smart enought NOT to swallow magnets and marbles. I guess I was wrong. If my child did something like this girl did, I would be too embarrased to report it to the media.

Why punish other children just because YOUR child, 8 yr old child, doesn’t know any better then to put toys in her mouth?? If she’s that young, then maybe she shouldn’t have been playing with the toys in the first place. Sorry just my opinion. I’m the mother of 4 grown children, and only one put something in their mouth that didn’t belong… he learned after that… the other 3 never did. I guess it’s all in how you raise your child. I think the parents should be sued for allowing this to happen, not the toy companies… Just my opinion

Julie, you aren’t rude. You are right. If I were the toy company, I’d countersue the parents for not supervising their obviously immature child.

WHY did she swallow the marbles and magnets??? I realize children put things in their mouths and or nose, but this was a bit extreme!
WHY are these games still in stores??
HOW MANY children getting hurt or killed will it take to get them off the market!
I am very glad to see Haley is going to be okay!!

An 8 year old child should have enough sense not to eat her toys, no matter what size they are. How ridiculous to say the toy maker is at fault. The parents are obviously deflecting responsibility. How prideful! If their child was that immature THEY should have been at the table monitoring how their child used the toy. Parents are supposed to keep their children safe, and that includes monitoring what they can and cannot play with or even watch. Taking this toy off the shelves is absolutely ridiculous and would only serve to make the parents of this child feel better for being irresponsible.

I agree with Julie – goodness, 8, apparently the child is very immature and should be watched. Most 8-year-olds are past eating their toys. The child and parents need to be responsible.

You have got to be kidding me.. i raised 5 kids on my own… i never once remember my kids eating their toys! that is 20 pieces she swallowed! think of how long that wowuld take! where weret the parents! maybe they were watching her swallow them and looking for a lawyer at the same time? these parents (as with most parents) need to take responsibility for their kids! Sue the manufacturer? for the parents being irresponsible? GIVE ME A BREAK! no wonder the cost of everything is going up! I feel sorry for the kid in this story, but i feel even worse for the company that is going to have to spend a ton of money for legal council! and the court system that is going to have more of a burden, which is going to use my tax dollars, to take care of this. i say arrest the parents for child endangerment! that should teach them!

I have to agree with Julie. Seems like this eight year old may need closer supervision. It is not possible to protect everyone from everything! Kids can hurt themselves with anything. It is up to the parents to protect them, not the toy companies or the lawyers!

I have to agree with a prior comment; why is an 8 year old child eating toys? And if the recall was made back in March for the same problem the parents are making a fuss about, why didn’t the get rid of/not by the toy since that date? Seems to me the parents are just looking for some form of compensation. If there had not been a prior recall of the toy, then I could understand their motivation in getting the toy removed from selves. I hate to see where people in our great country always want to blame someone else when something happens. Sometimes things just happen, but why go after a company just because parents weren’t supervising their child.

Julie, I agree! Why is it the retailers fault that the kid ate the toy? If it wasn’t marketed for 8 year olds, I am sure it would say so on the label. If it is marketed for 8 year olds, I think these parents should be more concerned with the kid’s understanding what food is, rather than the toy manufacturer!

I totally agree with Julie!! I’m so sick of reading these kinds of stories. How about you be a parent and take some responsibility for raising your kids instead of blaming everyone/everything else. No common sense being used by young kids at all, or by parents for that matter!

Unbelievable! These parents raise a kid that, at the age of 8, will still put stuff in their mouth. If the child is that stupid, they should always moniter them, as you do a toddler, when that sort of behavior is normal. Rather then take the toys of the shelves, take the child from the incompetant parents. Kids cut themselves with knives at all ages, we don’t ban knives. Children move their parents cars, we don’t ban cars. In all these instances, we look at the parents.

Julie’s comment is not rude, rather right on the mark. An 8 year old – about second grader – that eats toys that have a warning against just such an activity right on the container, is clearly in need of constant supervision. So this toy that helped my kids develop manual dexterity skills and early interest in engineering should be pulled off the shelves because one child in a million or so does something that even she should have known was improper? Just to be clear, I am very glad to read that she is okay and I pray for her rapid recovery and that those responsible for her will supervise her more closely so she does not have to learn a lesson in such a painful and dangerous manner in the future.

I agree, no one ever takes responsibility for themselves anymore. I don’t know what this world is coming to! Its like jumping off a building and then suing the owner because you broke your leg cause the building was too tall.

I agree 100%, Julie. My 9-year old son has a similar toy and loves playing with it. I do keep the balls away from my baby, just because kids younger than 2 like putting small objects in their orifices. Even a three or four year old, I could see a one time incident such as they had it in their mouth as part of a game or pretending it was candy, then accidentally swallowed.

But 20 times? By a 8-year old? I think psychological help for that particular child to see why she is eating her toys is warranted. Calling for an innocent toy’s removal is going too far. You might as well remove puzzles, toy money, board game pieces, and dominoes. They are equally as dangerous.

Normal 8 year olds dont swallow magnets like this. If this child had issues like this the parents shouldnt have bought her this set. We have too many lawyers and too many people ready to place the blame on others.
How in heaven’s name is this story reported like this without mentioning this oddity? Way to drop the ball Foxnews. Its a joke.

This is one of the craziest things I have read!!! A 8 year old should not be eating toys, marbles, magnets or anything other than food unless the child has a disability. TIf the child has a disability the parents need to be responsible enough to only provide toys in which the child can no hurt themself and provide the proper supervision. The parents have no right to sue since the toy is made for kids who should know better!!

The toy company is NOT responsible. An 8 yr old that eats her toys is apparently mentally challenged, in which case the parents should buy toys appropriate for her mental level. If the parents are unable -or uncapble- of making appropriate choices for this child, Social Services need to step in and place the child in a home where adult supervision is capable of attending her needs but in no way should the toy be removed from the shelf.

Oh sure, everyone else should’nt get to play with this awsome toy because your kid
swallowed 20 pieces!. I hope she is alright, but we should’nt lose our toys because
you did’nt watch your kid. Take responsibility!

I agree with Julie and probably every rational thinking human being out there. My kids have this toy and love to play with them. They have never swallowed one of them let alone 20 of the steel balls and 10 of the magnets. I know the parents were scared and want someone to be responsible but this is another example of the mentality in this day and age that everyone is a victim and someone else is responsible for the situation they get themselves in. Instead of suing to have these removed how about NOT BUY THEM for little Haley.

What is wrong with these parents? Maybe THEY should be checked out. I agree with “Julie”-what in the world is an EIGHT YEAR OLD doing eating not 1, but over 20 of these things?!??!?! Yikes! So, are we to stop selling regular marbles or anything with pieces small enough to swallow for anyone AT ANY AGE? I think the parents are just trying to “hit a home run”. Our country is so litigious because people use filing suit as some sort of lotto jackpot. If I were them, I would be embarrassed that 1)my child who is older than a toddler is eating several metal marbles and 2) I WASN’T WATCHING MY CHILD. We have no common sense anymore in this country. No wonder the warning tag on my curling iron says “Do not use while sleeping”. I thought it was funny, but someone probably sued. “Gee, no one told me it would get hot!” This takes the cake.

Well, yet another example of failure in parenting leading to a company suffering from an unnecessary and frivolous lawsuit. It’s truly unbelievable that the people in this country have gotten to such a low standard as this.

Parents need to take responsibility for their own children and what they are doing. Not blame the toy companies. The kid could of just as well ate a pile of rocks. Watch your kids!

without proper adult supervision, and teaching, these situations will continue to happen. I feel very sorry for this family, but somtimes you have to look in the mirror to see the problem. just don’t blame toy companies for the toys they sell you. blame yourself for not teaching your child not to put yoys in their mouths. please she is 8 years old, give me a break.

Since when do we take away the responsbility of the parent? Our country is becoming so outrageous in their frivelous law suits and blaming a company because you can’t possibly have done anything wrong in order for something to hurt you.

Since on the box it says harmful if swallowed…it should be the parents fault for letting their kid be alone with it. The “toy” shouldn’t be removed from the shelves, instead maybe parents should just spend a little more time with their children, after all, that’s what’s really wrong.

I agree with Julie. What is an 8-year old still doing putting non-food items in her mouth. The parents obviously shouldn’t allow her to play with toys with small parts if she hasn’t learned this yet. My daughter had a magnet toy when she was 4 that she played with unsupervised.

I have to agree with Julie on this one. The problem isn’t with the toy and chances are that if she is still eating toys at eight that the parents should have had a clue when they bought something like this. Sorry it happened but it is just another sad and ever growing example of blaming an object instead of the user.

Hopefully it does go to court and a judge sees that the PARENTS be ordered to reimburse the company the millions it is losing to pull products and fight this case, not to mention the children that are no longer able to use this creative toy to expand their imagination. Then maybe people would start to use their right (and responsibility) of common sense.

I fully agree with Julie. Why should other children be penalized because one 8 year old did an irresponsible thing. That was ALOT of magnets that child swallowed. I don’t believe the company is at fault.

I agree with Julie. Why was an 8 year old eating her toys? I have a 10 year old boy who plays with the same toy and as far as I know he has never tried to eat them. All the marbles and magets that came with the toys are still in the box.

It sounds as though the problem lays with the parenting not the toy company. Children at the age of eight should have been taught not to put toys into their mouth. And even if she by mistake swallowed one metal ball you need to ask the question why in the world would she eat 20, and not eat but swallow. This is not a manufacturing defect but an unforseeable event.

I think the parents of this poor little girl should be sued for not teaching there child not to swollow her toys. The way things are though the parents will win thier multi million dollar law suit and a toy that a lot of kids love to play with will be banned.

I agree with Julie. At 8 years of age the girl should know better than to stick small objects in her mouth, let alone 20 or more. Very excelent parenting. I bet the parents let her swallow them for a quick rich deal.

Who was watching the Child? I agree with Julie. What is an 8 year old doing eating her toys. I think the parents should be held accountable for not watching their child.

It sounds to me like someone is more interested in making money in a lawsuit than truly caring about children. Before I get flamed, I’m NOT saying they do not care about the well-being of their own child; however, I do question where they were when an 8 YEAR OLD was eating her toys! Julie, I agree with you completely – an 8 yr old should know better than to eat toys – especially TWENTY steel balls the size of marbles and TEN magnets! It is very reminiscent of McDonald’s getting sued over someone spilling their own hot coffee that they just purchased from the drive-thru on themselves. “Common sense”? What is that? I don’t think there is such a thing anymore!

I cannot comprehend an 8-year-old child ingesting such a large number of items unless she is operating under diminished capacity, in which case she should be more closely supervised. If she merely did it on a dare, I’d say this should be a lesson learned by her and her parents, not the toy’s manufacturer.

I have to agree. An 8 year old seems pretty old to be swallowing thier toys, especially so much of it.

Why in the world would an eight year old be eating her toys? Are they going to get marbles, legos, and other small toys off the shelves too? People need to be responsible for themselves and their children. If she still has problems with putting toys in her mouth – don’t buy her small toys. End of story!!!

I feel bad that this family has gone throught this with their daughter. I can also appreciate the parents concern for other children not swallowing parts of toys.

But as a parent, it is my job to teach my children what is appropriate to put in their mouths & what is not! I think if parents would worry about parenting their own children instead of using all of their energy to get toys off of shelves, our society would be a lot better off. I think magnetics are completely fine for the appropriate age child since at that age they shouldn’t be putting toys in their mouths. We can’t ask that all toys with small parts be taken off of the toy shelves!

Yep. 8 years old and still eating toys?

Common sense? Of course it makes sense. We live in a world filled with ambulance chasers who will sue at the drop of a hat.

THANKYOU JULIE. THE PARENTS SHOULD SUE THEMSELVES FOR RAISING A 8 YEAR OLD THAT EATS METAL.

Yeah, really. I have a nephew who will be 5 years old in a week, and even he knows that you don’t EAT METAL!! The defense team should have this 8-year-old checked for some sort of mental disorder. After all, it’s obvious the parents didn’t feel she needed adult supervision while she played with this item, yet she goes and eats it?

I’m with Julie. And now you know the government will get involved. “Saving us from ourselves” Give me a break. People, play WITH your kids, that’s part of the fun of having children! I sure hope the little girl is okay.

I have to agree with Julie. My first reaction was that an 8-year old should have better sense and/or training than to swallow foreign objects. I sell toys for a living and most toys that have small parts are rated as 3 years and up. Never is it expected that child this old would swallow the things!

I have to feel that there should be some kind of criminal charge of child neglect or child endangerment, if the kid was unsupervised or if the kid was made by the parent to eat these things. I haven’t read of any other 8 year old eating or swallowing their toys, unless its due to some kind of mental issue; which would mean the child should not have been left alone.

Whether or not the parents sue, or whether or not the child made a mistake, or was half starved, or developmentally ill isn’t the point.

The point is that our government infrastructure is gutted. The Food and Drug Administration, FTC, USDA and others have all been gutted. They’re either forced to run on a shoe string budget, or never had their budgets properly increased, or flat out corrupted by Administration appointments. None are doing their jobs to protect the people, or worse, the children.

Stuff like this the population expects to be protected from, but if you watch CSPAN, or can read, you’ll know that many government watchdog agencies are NOT doing their job. Every single one has been brought before congress comittees for evaluation and all have scientific testimony that they are purposefully kept from doing a proper job of watching out for us.

Both political parties are corrupt and take advantage of the population not being informed. Yet people still want to blog to discuss whether or not the parents where good people. We deserve what we vote for. It’s time America wake up and vote Independent and vote corruption out. Otherwise our children will continue to suffer and so will our society.

Julie, I totally agree…..because that’s the exact thing that I said after i googled Mega Brands Magnetix MagnaCase set to find out what the heck it was!!!

There isn’t a single safe thing on the planet if taken out of context by an idiot. Cotton balls can hurt your eyes, so could a water from a water gun. If you want to limit things out of how they might be used by idiots, we should close all stores in the world and live in padded cells.
I love magnetic toys, I love many things that could be dangerous. I have a 6 month old daughter and will definatally have to change my lifestyle of leaving things out where she can get them when she can crawl. Same with this girl, if she has a learning disability or love of eating things she shoudn’t, her parents need to be responsible for maintaining an enviroment of safety, not the producers of useful tools.Lets see, we could take cars off the road in case people are drunk, computers away for those idiots who die from never eating or sleeping while using them, mirrors have to go just in case someone uses one to blind someone driving down the road. We are left with dirt & rocks which definatally is no solution since someone is bound to be bored and upset that all their favorite things are gone and is going to hit you in the head with a rock.

How about instead of trying to get the toy pulled from the shelves, try to get some help for your 8 year old who should have the common sense not to eat marbles.

I believe most eight year olds know not to swallow small objects. My son is eight and has the same set. He has never attempted to put them in his mouth or swallow them, nor has any of his friends. To have them remove these toys from the shelves, just because one girl has not been taught by her parents, not to swallow small objects, is ridiculous. The need to blame themselves for no supervision, or teaching their child what not to eat…

People need to teach their children, and not blame other people. I could see if the set was marketed for a two or three year old, then there might be a problem…Otherwise leave the toys on the shelves, and let parents make the decision to buy it or not…

Sounds like either the little girl has problems (or she’s looking for attention) or the parents are looking for attention (or money). I have four children and NONE of them would do anything close to this. My 6 year old has these toys and their great! They allow children to be creative over and over again. She ate 20 metal balls!!!!! Give me a break! Wouldn’t you realize after the first one that they didn’t melt in your mouth?

I am sorry for this family, but no one can have this toy becase this child somehow did not know not to eat marbles and magnets? This is another of the increasingly used “lowest common denominator” theory. If one person cannot use something or do something, etc. – No one can. I am not being condesending to this little girl. Everyone has done something that somehow made sense at the time, but when we look back, we have no idea why we diid it. In other words, we have all done something stupid. But we need to recognize this, and stop making decisions affecting everyone based on someone’s (even our own) momentary lapse of judgment.

We’ve become the victim society. How can we possibly make everyone safe from everything? If this particular toy is unsafe for an 8 year old, then so is just about everything else. People ought to spend a week in Third World country, where you are in danger of falling in an open hole in the street, and then come back here and tell me what’s unsafe.

I agree with Julie. An 8 year old should know better.

I agree. This is why our courts are overrun! The parents should realize that this may simply be a case of parental neglect.. or childhood stupidity. The company should not be held responsible if the packaging was properly labeled — the parents should.

An 8 year old…are you kidding me? Does this child have the mental capacity of an 8 year old? If not, then her parents should be responsible for supervising the child. Otherwise this sounds like anther case of someone trying to profit from an unfortunate situation. My 5 year old doesn’t seem to have any problem playing with that particular toy.

I have to agree with Julie’s comment, what is an 8 year old doing swallowing toys? Sounds more like a followup on a dare.

Again another case of blaming someone else for the foolish actions of a child. An 8 year old simply knows better, if they don’t there are other problems. Common sense doesn’t matter any more, only finding fault with a big paycheck at the end.

An 8 year old swallowing toys??? I don’t know any 8 year olds who don’t know better. Maybe a 2 year old. If this girl is mentally disabled and doesn’t know any better, why aren’t her parents monitoring the things she plays with as you would a small toddler?

I agree. These parents seem to want a settlement. An average eight year-old child should know better than to pull a stunt like this!

An eight year old did this? Wow.

So what about the actual game of marbles? Should we ban that game now? Children from the age five and up have been playing it since I can remember and had the common sense to not swallow a meal of them! I would think a marble would be tastier looking and tempting to eat than a steel ball of marble size too.

I agree! What part of personal responsibility don’t these parents understand? Why is it always someone else’s fault? And an 8-year old?!? Come on! I had to read this twice to see that it really was talking about a child that is 8 years old – not 8 months. My 4-year old knows better than to swallow 1 magnet, much less 10!

Where were the child’s parents while she was dining on toys? There are parents who consider the toy section of stores a playground while they do their shopping. The child had to open the box, take off the plastic wrap and inhale all of the pieces. Who is at fault? It certainly would be different if they were offering magnets and steel balls as appetizers. What is next a store has to stop selling soap, kleenex, air freshner, silk plants and etc. because someone might eat them?

Another example of parents not wanting to take responsibility for being parents. If anything the child should sue her parents for not stopping her or not watching and stopping her in the first place. What more proof do we need that there are some people that should not be parents.

I agree Julie. I can’t imagine an 8 year old eating 20 marbles and 10 magnets, if the child really was that incapable of rational thought thought, her parents shouldn’t have let her play the toys unsupervised.

1 child eats toy, millions denied same toy. Sorry but these toys have been around for years. Pehaps the child has a psychological disorder, 8 years old swallowing steel balls and magnets? What next, hair balls, toilet paper, light bulbs maybe?

If she is mentally challenged, I could understand. Then it’s the parents’ responsibility to see that she is supervised properly (that’s their responsibility anyway, and yes, I’m a parent).

This child, 8 years old, certainly not a toddler, is not even in the range of very young children that would swallow any toy object. The toy manufacturers do a very good job at labeling ages for any product. At 8 years old, that child knows what he/she can put in their mouth and what they cannot. This appears to be just another case of parents taking advantage of manufacturers and SUE, SUE, SUE for whatever they can get. The article does not say if it happened in a school room or at home, but in any case, there is no neglience from the manufacturer – its the parents or the school who is to blame for allowing this unwatched child swallow 20 steel marbles which would have taken a substantial amount of time to do!

I am not sure why “parents” assume that it is everyone’s responsibility to take care & watch their children. If this child, who is 8 years old and still has the tendency to put items in her mouth, then maybe the parents should have
A)not buy the set for the child
B) use only with supervision
C) Talk to their child about what goes in your mouth and what doesn’t

I am sure this is not an isolated incident and I am sure in previous situations they were most likely aware that the child still put inedible items in her mouth. I feel sorry for the child for so many reasons.

This is our problem: folks can sue for no reason! why is an 8 year old eating this stuff? is she mentally disabled? If so, why did her parents allow her to play with these toys? If not disabled, then perhaps the parents need to teach this child about what is edible and not. It goes back to the parents…or its just a fluke accident. Blaming the manufacturer is rediculous. I imagine these parents will sue the child’s elementary school when she doesn’t get in to Harvard too. Realistically, if the child gets in to community college after swallowing steel balls and magnets at 8 years old she’ll be lucky. TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILY PEOPLE, STOP LOOKING TO POINT BLAME!!!

Even my 5 year old knows not to eat his toys. Where were mom or dad during this buffet?

Just because an eight year old ate her toys doesn’t mean mine will, so don’t ruin the fun by taking such an awesome toy off the shelves!

We have a huge set of Magnetix toys, and my four year old and six year old love building and creating with them. (I do, too.) We only get the toys out when I can play along with the kids, which they love, so I’m there if something happens (but I admit I am far from being the perfect parent). Also, as a family, we’ve discussed the dangers of placing toys in the mouth/eating them, so the kids are aware.

Magnetix rule!

The parents want to discuss how to keep other kids safe? They appear to be failing with their own child. Don’t they feed the poor kid? Any report on whether the girl suffers from iron deficiency anemia?

I couldn’t agree more Julie! If the 8 year old child is learning disabled or is mentally deficient, then the parents certainly should have shown more responsibility to not give their child these toys or been more proficient in observing which toys she played with. If she’s not, then by 8 years old, the child should have learned long before, not only to NOT put toys of this size in her mouth, but TO NOT EAT THEM! Of course in our litigation happy society, nothing shocks me any more when it comes to a lack of personal responsibility.

I couldn’t agree more-what 8 year old would purposely continue to eat not 1 but 20 steel balls and magnets?? At some point these parents need to accept the responsibility for their child’s actions-this child is old enough to know better but I guess it’s easier to always blame someone else-

I agree totally with Julie. When are people going to start taking responsibility for their actions or their childrens actions? For goodness sake the girl is 8 years old!

The parents should take responsibility for their daughter’s decision to swallow marbles.
It is not the company’s fault. An eight year old knows not to swallow marbles or any toy.
We have the same set of magnets. My 6, 5, and 4 year old know not to put toys in their mouths because we’ve told them not to. We gave them a reason why- you could swallow them, that could harm you. Parents need to do a better job parenting and stop blaming someone else for their child’s behavior.

I agree with the above comment. What is a 8 year old kid doing eating steel marbles and magnets. Come on folks, I think this kid has some other issues. I realize 8 is still young, but she is old enough to know better than eating steel marbles and magnets….

Perhaps the parents need to spend their time re-evaluating their teaching skills with their respective kid and keep a better eye on her. Geez!

instead of teching kids not to eat metal… we need to ban all products in that could be harmful in the world. Lazy parenting…… poor kids but, wealthy trial lawyers.

I agree…why did an eight year old eat her toys? Isn’t that a second grader? I think the parents here need to take responsibility for their OWN child. But, hey, this the US and you can sue anybody for anything because you deserve a break today.

i agree – i have a 7 year old and there is no way that she would eat a toy like this, much less 20 marbles. i think that the article does not reveal that this was not your average 8 year old… something was wrong. We have the same toy and i can tell you it has plenty of warnings on it.

Hey! Just another moneymaker for an ambulance chasing lawyer. Common sense doesn’t rule when there is money involved. Not sure of the full situation BUT..lets get real…8 year old sucking on toy parts….who would have thought….I dealt with that when my kids were 2 and younger. Feel bad for the child, not the parents!!!

Be a parent teach your kid not to put things in their mouths that don’t belong there. Quit blaming others for your mistakes. Own up and take responsibility for your actions and your children’s actions.

Newsflash, don’t let your children swallow small objects. How long did it take the child to swallow 30 objects? Who placed the child in a room with a potentially hazardous toy, and left the child alone? I think an “on-point” parent wouldn’t have just left a child alone with a box of swallow-able objects.

Let’s outlaw sharp pencils too.

It’s not the toy but the child! Don’t ruin the fun for everyone! I love Magnetix!

People drive cars, which can injure or kill. What, outlaw cars, too?

Where was the supervision when the child was shoving ball bearings in her mouth? An eight year old should know better – and the parents need to be looking at a behavioral problem instead of trying to blame the manufacturer.

I think the 8-year-old is the problem, not the toy. Perhaps, she should be seeing a child psychiatrist to find out why she would pull such a stunt! This is NOT a baby!

I agree with Julie!

Another example of how some families misfortune is going to ruin it for the rest of the population. My kids have these toys and love playing with them – and they know not to put them in their mouth and swallow them. Let’s get real here – appropriate toys for the appropriate aged children. If your appropriate aged child likes to swallow things, then don’t buy them these kinds of toys.

This is nature’s way of culling humans who lack the brainpower to differentiate between hunks of metal and grapes.

100% agree with Julie! If this child were STILL prone to putting toys in her mouth, her parents should not have allowed the toy in the house…. or she should have been supervised while playing with it.. next thing you know, the parents will sue the government for making dimes (small enough to swallow and often given to kids as allowance) or any other toy with small parts that says for children 8 and up on the box (my guess is that if you swallow 20 small parts of any toy it’s probably pretty dangerous).

File this under the “Give me a Break” category.. some people are too lawsuit-happy in this world!

Should not an eight-y/o know better than to swallow these types of objects? I would expect that from a three or even, perhaps a four year old… but not an eight year old child. I too think the parents should take some responsibility to train their children not to place objects in their mouth or up their nose.

It’s about time something was done about these evil toy companies promoting the ingestion of their products. Parents shouldn’t have the burden of instructing their 8-year-olds not to eat their toys. I mean what kind of world do we live in where parents have to instruct and supervise their children to an adequate extent to prevent them from eating 30 pieces of metal?

I have an 8 year old boy and if he swallowed 20 marbles I’d have an issue with HIM not the toy maker. They try to make toys “idiot proof” but some idiots are just too much. Try SUPERVSING the child.

My nine year old son loves Magnetix. We taught him at an early age not to eat his toys so we don’t have this issue. Imagine for a moment, though, if they pull these toys, they might as well pull all legos, k’nex and, yes, imagine what the little scotty dog from Monopoly might do? Board games will have to go as well.

At some point we have to admit, parenting might be the issue and not the products themselves.

I am sorry this girl is going through this and I hope she has a speedy recovery without lifelong complications. However; the parents should have never allowed this toy in their house if she was still prone to putting toys in her mouth. When does parental responsibility take over and not blame toy makers? The toy set has been in the news for a while and made into the storyline of television shows depicting the dangers. The box clearly states several warnings. I don’t see merit in a lawsuit.

I was thinking the exact same thing, June. It sounds like more of an issue with parenting than anything else.

No kidding, why is an 8 year old eating steel balls. This story is not complete. If this child is developmentally disabled in some way, it is the parents fault for providing a toy that is unsafe for the situation.

An 8 year old girl should know better than to swallow magnets and metal, unless she was developmentally challenged in some way (in which case she should have never even been given the toy.) I am sick of people suing for everything. I hope these parents have everything in their house locked down, because next time their daughter might drink Drano or something, then there would be another lawsuit. Take some responsibility for yourselves, people!

I’d agree with the previous post. I also have an 8 year old and if he did that I’d have an issue with HIM not the toy maker. Try SUPERVISING the child.

I was thinking the same thing. And the thought, too, that it wasn’t just one or two, it was 20 balls and 10 magnets.

They want the toy pulled from the shelves? Why is their 8 yr old swallowing the Magnetix? She should know better, and if she didn’t (say she was a special needs child) then she shouldn’t have been playing with them.

So instead of taking responsibility for the fact that either they never taught their daughter to not swallow her toys, or they let her play with something she wasn’t ready to play with responsibly, they are going to sue? Great, I am going to go sue the builder of my home because I stubbed my toe on the doorway and I will just claim my mother never taught me to not walk into walls. Makes perfect sense!

Another case of bad parenting – seriously, when are parents going to step up to the plate? These parents should be punished for being idiots for not watching their children. Maybe we should just ban everything and have everyone live in a rubber room. What’s wrong with people? On top of everything, why would Fox News give this story the time of day? Waste of time FOX!!!

I would like to know why an 8 year old is eating 30 toy pieces. That’s ridiculous. I have a 9 year old and 7 year old who play with these same toys. They don’t eat them; they PLAY with them. Why should they be taken off of the shelf when there are children who ENJOY them and don’t EAT them? That is a very odd thing for an 8 year old to do and it seems to be that the parents should have known this type of toy might not be appropriate for their child. She obviously should be playing with toys that are made for younger children as she doesn’t seem to be on the same level as a normal 8 year old.

I agree with Julie, what is an 8 year old doing eating toys? The parents had 8 years to teach their kid not to eat her toys! If the child is mentally deficient then maybe I can see something like this happening. But then, if that was the case, shouldn’t the parents have been watching her more carefully? For crying out loud people… it’s not the toy company’s fault that you screwed up. I hate to say it but in our society it seems that one mans pride and another mans greed go hand in hand.

To the parents of said child: I pray that your little girl recovers 100%. I also pray that you rethink and change some things in your home that could have prevented this in the first place.

I agree with julie.
it is not unreasonable to expect a child to stop chewing everyting in site after the age of 3.
nor is it unreasonable to expect parents to excersise some judgement when buying toys
for thier children.
this is nothing more than a feeble attempt at redirecting blame.

I watched the interview with the parent and child. She mis-took the toys for candy. There is no way you could mis-take them for candy. Sounds like yet another frivilous lawsuit waiting to happen.

the toy should not be given to kids under, say 5, but the 8 year old who eats solid objects doesn’t grow up to have more dumb kids. Sounds cruel, but it is how nature removes people from the gene pool. If this girl wasn’t able to handle magnets without eating them, her parents should be responsible for supervising her.

I am more worried about an 8 year old that would swallow that much metal. When she turns 16 will she drink the gas instead of filling her car?

I agree with Julie. If you have an 8 year old that eats toys why would you buy something with loose steel marbles and magnets. What happened to parent supervision and responsibility. Sounds like CPS should be notified before she eats something much more deadly.

You aren’t being rude Julie, unless the child is mentally retarded, what is to prevent this child from consuming other non food items, toys or otherwise? I am not familiar with this toy, but I am certain there is a suggested age appropriate to the toy on the package. The problem is not with the toy.

When are parents responsible for anything these days? I have an 8 year old who would never swallow a bunch of magnets because I and my wife have taught him not to put things in his mouth that are not food that we give him.
Does this girl have mental deficiencies? This is not mentioned in the story. If so, the PARENTS should know better than to leave the girl alone at all!
Maybe the parents can blame Wile E Coyote too for putting metall BB’s in the bird seed for the Road Runner to eat and thus use a magnet to catch him. Shameful.

I was thinking the same thing, why is a 8 yr old putting objects in her mouth??

You’re NOT rude….the parents are stupid. They should have taught their child better, or if the child has any problems, the parents should NOT have bought the child the set or they should have watched her better.

Again, parents not taking responsibility for their actions (inactions) nor their children.

Come on. What next? Do we need to ban water heaters because someone got burned? Do we need to ban swimming pools? What about just ban water all together along with every other thing that can be hazardous. An 8 year old who swallows 30 pieces of a building set? Something is missing from this story. Any child who swallows 30 pieces of a toy probably has a habit of doing that kind of thing. So, where were mom and dad? For God’s sake, watch your kids and put your lawyers away people. Let’s start holding parents responsible and quit blaming everything on manufacturers.

Ummmm….the reason that toys with small parts are labeled as “not suitable for children under the age of three” is because it isn’t developmentally normal for children over the age of three to eat their toys. There is something seriously wrong here. To make the toy company out to be the bad guy is not to see the real issue with this one child alone.

Most children over 5 certainly know enough not to swallow such objects. This child obviously has a development problem and needs to be carefully supervised. Apparently her parents failed to do so and now they want someone else to take the blame for the consequences. There are many objects in any home of similar size so toys aren’t the only potential source. Product bans and law suits based on such unique and isolated incidents make no sense and have no justification.

I’m sorry but where were the parents? If any toy has small removable parts shouldn’t be done under the supervision of the parent? I also agree, that this type of behavior in an eight year old is unacceptable and I blame the parents for this.

I agree with Julie. Don’t parents have any responsibility anymore for the actions of their child? Maybe the child should sue her parents for not teaching her to not eat her toys!!!

Jerziegirl – you have my vote! My thoughts exactly….

this child is 8 years old for pete sake–parents should have taught her better and child should have know by that age you don’ put things in your mouth—now had this been a small child under 4, this child should not have had such toys–but lets face it –mom and dad were not educated enough or the child was not or both or the child just plain did not listen. When are people going to start to accept responsiblity for their own actions??

Shouldn’t an 8 year old be smart enough not to swallow things that don’t taste good? Shouldn’t the parents of this girl be smart enough to tell the child they are not edible, or even notice the childs aparent propensity to swallow inedible objects? It is a shame that in our current society, nobody takes responsibility for their own problems, they have to sue somebody else. I think the parents should be charged with wreckless endangerment and their child removed, because they have not taught their eight year old to know any better. Perhaps the girls parents (obvious brain surgeons) should do some safety visualization before they purchase products.

Another example of the lawsuit-happy society we live in. These toy sets are clearly marked as being unsafe for children under the age of 3…by the time children are 8, they generally are past the point of seeing their toys as appetizing.

By the time a child is 8, and of normal growth mentally, he or she should know better than to put any toys in his or her mouth. I would expect a two year old to do this, but not an eight year old. Again, this is another attempt by a parent looking to place blame on something else. Wake up parents! The responsibility of our children lies soley on us parents.

I agree with Julie; where was the common sense? Additionally, what about being responsible for one’s actions? In our fault-finding culture, it’s always the fault of the corporation, not the individual. I mean, really—20 marbles before she noticed that they weren’t edible? I believe the hard these could cause, but if her parents haven’t taught her not to eat her toys, then they should not be deciding what goes on store shelves. I’m sick of the “dumbing–down” of our society. One person gets burned with coffee and now all coffee comes with a warning that it’s hot—duh.

I’d certainly have to re-iterate Julie’s point. An 8 year old eating toys sounds too be much like an anomaly. Perhaps the child might have a mentally debilitating condition, but in that case it would be on the parents to use their own common sense and not provide the child with access to these toys. An 8 year old swallowing toys is analogous to a grown man cutting himself carelessly with a knife.

I think it’s safe to assume that the child must have some type of disability or emotional issue. I can’t imagine that a typical eight year old would consume marbles and magnets voluntarily.

Yes, I agree…8 years old is well above the age of knowing eating these things are a bad idea. Maybe she had a sibiling who wouldn’t share, so she decided to eat them!!

The problem is not that the toys are available. The problem is the child swallowed something she should not have. The father should spend less time worried about my children and spend a little more time worrying about his own.

Why don’t the parents sue THEIR parents for not teaching them to be better parents

Bottom line. A child that is not old enough to stay home alone requires supervision. What were the parents doing while this child ate toys. Next we will require KFC to pull the sprok, for some unsupervised child who breaks off a thine and chokes on it, or a refridgerator magnet company… Will it ever end?..

I feel bad for the parents, but not because of this. They obviously have a very… challenging child, or are very bad parents. Either way, they are in for a lot of agony. There is nothing normal about an 8 year old eating ball bearings. 20 OF THEM! Plus 10 magnets! There are plenty of other dangerous things the 8 year old can get to and ingest besides this toy in the house.

Oh, and yes, I’m a parent, 1, 5 and 7 years old. Yes, we have this toy in our house, and yes, it isn’t allowed in an area the 2-year old can ever have access to. They have to count the parts out for us. Every time we give them to the children after they are done playing with them. If 1 goes missing, in the garbage it goes. They know to never ever ever expose the baby to this. They get the “don’t eat your toys” rule.

Parental supervision and common sense are no longer applicable in the USA. Everyone is a victim and no one is responsible for themselves or their children. Some people believe that it’s the government’s job to protect them; even from themselves. Here’s a novel idea: how about supervising the child and checking that the toy is appropriate prior to giving it to her? I’m sure the parents will sue the toy company and be awarded lots of money. Nearly all the toys I played with growing up were made of metal and contained small parts, most of which would be banned by the government as unsafe today. So why am I not dead from choking to death or intestinal rupture from eating 20 steel balls? It’s because my parents supervised me, disciplined me, and taught me to have common sense beginning at a very early age. An eight year old should have known better than to eat 20 steel balls, unless she has some kind of mental disorder. If I had done the same my father would have simply told me, “I’ll bet you won’t do it again.” Of course that would have been prefaced by, “What the heck were you thinking.” He would not have dreamed of having the toy banned or suing the company. And that pretty much says it all. I’ll bet she won’t do that again.

I agree with Julie, also. I am sick for the parents and little Haley, but believe at some point we need to apply a little common sense and accountability to our action. I have an 8 yr old daughter, and would be overcome with pain and heartache if anything like this happened to her, but she also knows that she should not eat her toys. Perhaps Haley has some special consideration, and if so, it should be recognized. Otherwise, understanding the physical attributes of magnets and how they work should be celebrated as a basic tenant of science. We hope and pray for a speedy recovery, but believe that personal responsibility is something that comes into play.

Seems we all agree that the parents are over-reacting by trying pull this very fun toy from the shelves… but I think I would over-react too, if it were my child. On the other hand, I can’t imagine my child swallowing all those magnets. But I don’t think it’s fair to judge the parents for not supervising their kid. We can’t watch them 24-7. Who would expect an 8-year-old to eat their toys?? Kids do the dopiest things sometimes. Parents and toy companies aren’t always to blame.

We have this toy and even my three year old knows not to put the marbles in his mouth. We have become such a litigious society that we no longer want to take responsibility for anything. Parents, teach your children not to put things in their mouths! Supervise your children. If they are not old enough, or are prone to swallowing odd objects, don’t buy toys like this. Don’t blame the toy manufacturer because you and/or you child made a dangerous choice. If we do away with everything that could cause us harm from misuse, we would be left with nothing.

I have but one phrase for another sorry excuse for this situation. Parental Supervision!!!!!!!!!!! Too many parents to today turn on the 29″ Baby Sitter and ignore thier children and then cry foul when the child gets hurt.

R

I agree with pretty much everyone on here. I have an 8 year old and a 2 year old. My 8 year old has several different Magnetix sets. He is not only responsible enough to not eat his toys, but to also make sure (with occasional supervision from me…imagine that!) that his brother doesn’t eat them either! I’m sorry the girl is going through this, but come on people, we as a society have GOT to start taking some responsibility for our own actions. How do we expect our children to grow to be responsible adults if we as parents can’t be responsible ourselves?

I totally agree with Julie and just about everyone else on here. I have 3 children of my own. One who is 9, he still likes to put stuff in his mouth due to him having ADHD, we DO NOT allow him to have such toys as these, as we know what would happen with him sticking them in his mouth. I also have a 3 year old who has been taught since birth that toys DO NOT go in the mouth. He has learned this quite well, but we do still have times that he sticks stuff in his mouth. And I have a 6 month old also. So for me as a parent I know not to have that kind of stuff in my house. The parents of this little girl should have known better. I mean come on I’m only 26 years old with 3 kids. Im sure these parents are probably older then me with just that 8 year old, but they still should have known better then to let her have that or to even let her play with it alone.

Parental supervision for young people playing with small toys is common sense – unfortunately you can’t legislate that or successfully sue the parents for lack thereof. If the parents were attentive to their child’s behavior this wouldn’t have happened – now the rest of us are suffering by paying higher prices for products to cover the manufacturer’s liability costs. This is why your baby stroller has a label to “Remove child before folding”

Instead of getting rid of the toy, we should charge the parents with reckless endangerment. A child can eat anything that will fit in their mouth, so what should we do to keep them safe? Hmmm…. how about supervising and educating our children. These parents are just trying to cover their own rear ends.

This is INSANE. I have the full video interview on my blog at BlueStatePrison dot com.

Um, I work in child care and I have a class of three year olds who know better. Come on. When I was three everything I had was small enough to choke me. I knew better.
When are we going to start teaching people to be responsible? Oh yea, when the liberals are out of here.

I can understand what the parents must go trough but let-s face it: an 8 year old should know better. What a heck was she thinking ? Now they want to do something to keep other kids safe????????? They should compain for parents to teach their kids what they already should know. Toys are not food. Or just feed them more .

HELLO????? This girl was 8 years old, not a toddler. I think the parents should be figuring out why she ate these things in the first place and not blame the manufacturer of the toy. An eight year old could eat screws from the doors in the house, so do I sue the house builder? Come on….whatever happened to accountability? This is just a stupid thing this girl did and no one is to blame, other than the girl….

It’s not the company’s fault. Their are many “possibly” dangerous toys out there, but it is up to us parents to keep our children safe. If we do fall short, then we are not to blame a toy manufactuer unless they created an unsafe toy. We have had magnetic toys for half a century and I am sure there are the same situations that arose back then. It is just the fact that our parents took ownership of something that their child did and also the fact that they chose not to blame someone else. Who purchased the toys? Who let the child play with the toys? We have four children and all love the magnetics…. I guess if my child swallowed a lego…..I could blame the company that made them, the store that sold them, the government that let them be sold….or heck, I guess we could just take ownership. I guess I could say…watch out for that “Operation” game…..if my kids started fishing for a “water-on-the-knee” in one of thier siblings.

Sad that this is where we have come to. Come on parents of this generation, let’s step up and take ownership of our kids and their future.

As usual the parents never want to accept any responsibility for their negelct. Where were the parents? Just one more golden opportunity to pass the buck in order to make a fast, easy buck! No sympathy here except for another child of neglect.

Cool toy! Hello, the manufacturer is not at fault, you are! Have you forgotten your duties as a parent? Wake up!

Magnetix are fun.

I would assume an eight year old would be smarter than that.

Any 8 year old is way too old to be eating toys. Where were the parents and how has this child been raised? Unless there is a mental disability, I cannot imagine a child of that age doing something like that. And, if the child does have a mental condition that does not allow her to function on a normal level, I still have to say “where on earth were these parents and why would they buy something for a child of that age that does have a disability that prevents her from functioning on a normal level?”
Sounds to me like another case of parents wanting a gob of money out of a toy distributor when they have been negligent themselves.

Let me get this straight….a not so bright 8 year old swallows some toy
pieces and now the parents want the toy manufacturer to pay a big price.
Seems to me if you have a child that still puts things in her mouth at 8
years old, you should be supervising this child more closely. I don’t think
my boys have done anything like that since they were 2. We have had
every manner of small magnet like toys for the boys to play with and not
once have they attempted to swallow 30 pieces. Yikes…maybe Social
Services should be called to investigate the complete lack of parental
supervision in this household.

I still believe this is an issue of parenting, not the toy company’s fault.

I found this article about the girl on http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8373271

“Haley loves magnets, loves them and against my wife’s advice, I made sure she got those for Christmas,” said Lents.

But he never imagined the culture differences and how Haley might respond to the colorful, shiny pieces.

“She’s only been in America three years and while she was in Russia, which is where she is from, in the orphanage she ate, they told us she ate everything she could get her hands on,” said Lents.

Haley swallowed thirty pieces.

Haley got an infection and is recovering at Riley. She is listed in good Condition. She says she considered the toy as candy.

There seems to be a number of safety recalls from items made in China. Why not give American jobs a chance, I know we could do a better job. Stuff would cost more due to the unfair burdens affixed to American labor costs.

What *isn’t* hazardous if an 8 year old doesn’t have the sense not to swallow it? This is crazy.

Wow!!! Not only is it abnormal for an 8 yr old child to eat 30 pieces from their toy set but there is most likely some other issue going on with the child. These parents need to take responsibility for their child and their lack of supervision. For example, if you know your child is fascinated with fire, do you leave the matches on the table. No!! You put the matches in an out of the way place where the child can neither see them nor get at them. If you have a child that likes to turn on the garbage disposal, do you leave them alone in the kitchen — ever?!?!?! No!

While I pray for the little girl and a speedy recovery. I also pray for her parents that they get the necessary assistance they need in order to raise their child in a safe, happy and loving home. Someone call in the social workers, psychologists and parenting organizations so these parents can get help.

I’m sorry, but since when is it the government’s job to save us from ourselves? It’s a parent’s responsibility to make sure that whatever they give their child, it’s safe. Parents should take a few minutes to childproof a toy before buying it or giving it to their child. And, for pity’s sake, what was an eight-year-old doing swallowing parts of a toy? Unless their is a mental issue here (in which case, where were the parents???), it’s a bit unusual for a child that age to be putting small parts into her mouth and swallowing them.

Too many parents are careless about watching over their children. And then when the child does what an unattended child will do, the parent blames a third party.

Amen for the common sense that has prevailed throughout these comments! .. Too bad common sense is not common.

I’m sorry about what happened, however I don’t think they should take them of the shelf. I can’t imagine an 8 year old not knowing better unless they maybe were mentally challenged or something. I don’t mean to sound uncaring I just think that an 8 year old should know better. I mean that could’ve happened with anything. I can see all kinds of things around my house that my 8 year old knows better not to eat. I don’t get why she did it ,but is she okay now?

Darwin’s Law – thinning the herd. Sorry folks, too many people on the mud ball called Earth anyway! If they don’t know they shouldn’t eat steel balls… I say serve it to them!! For some reason, the majority of us get it… good parenting skills are required when having children.

At 8 years old, I think she is old enough to know that swallowing toys or even putting them in your mouth is something a 2 year does. As a parent of a 14 and 9 year old, I know you teach them at an early age to keep things out of your mouth unless it is food.

I’d be willing to bet a years salary the parents are making this up in order to create a frivolous lawsuit.

Consider this worst case scenario: the family is relatively poor, getting hand-me-down toys, not having enough money for medical bills, and a working-class family with little or minimal education… their plight for press is just so they can pay for this poor girl’s surgery. Shall we condemn the parents? Shall we remove the child from her home? Do we take a petition for a civil suit of irresponsibility and sue the parents for ignorance? Should we not have done the same for the crazy lady that sued McD’s AND WON because she didn’t realize coffee was going to be hot (oh, “too hot”… yeah. Thanks for making the price of everything go up to cover the increased cost of insurance, lady! While you are at it, why dont you sue your doctor so everyone’s medical insurance and co-pays can increase too!) As ridiculous as it sounds, the problem here is that we can judge individuals as lacking in ethics or morality, and do so safely and relatively anonymously on the internet… we do it to these individuals and the lawyers that take their cases. Consider how harsh and full of contempt we all sound. And by “we” I mean, me too– because even in my “devil’s advocate rant”, as a parent, yea… this seems like someone’s not being accountable.

What was an 8 year old doing eating toys? Something is wrong with the child, not the toy!

Wow, 30 pieces, better keep her away from vitamin bottles and anything else that may cause harm if swallowed. Better parenting instead of more lawsuits. My daughter has played with the Magnetix also, we had fun. At one point however they did start to look rather delicious. :0 Maybe Magnetix Scampi or a Magnetix Poorboy, Philly Magnetix sub. Hmmm… New York style Magnetix/pepperoni pizza. Oh that southern favorite.. Magnetix Cobbler with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream! I’m feelin’ it!

These parents should be ashamed of themselves! There daughter did not just swallow one magnet…she swallowed 20!!!!!!! They all need help!

A third grader who eats marbles and magnets????? This is natural selection at work. What’s next, having the stove recalled because she burns herself? Get real!

I hope she is OK and has no surgical complications. Developmentally; however, I’m wondering why an 8 yr old is swallowing multiple toys?

Magnetix – Doesn’t melt in your mouth or your hands! Come on, one 8 year old child eats her toys, and the parents are suing the manufacturer?? They should sue themselves for their own stupidity. These are probably the same people who sue Ford because a drunk driver hits their car, sue McDonalds because they got fat, or who sue gun manufacturers for crimes committed. What the hell has happened to self accountability?? This child swallowed 30 objects, this obviously took some time. Where were the parents during this?

where were the parents???? an 8 year old should know better – next time the parent should stay with the child – what will she eat next??????????

What is an 8 year old child doing swallowing toy magnets?? Unless of course the child is developmentally disabled, but if that is the case then her parents should have been supervising her much appropriately.

Where the heck are the parents??!!! She ate A LOT of pieces….she must have been alone for awhile. I agree with someone earlier who writes that this is a prime example of parents not taking the responsibility for being parents. AND why should the next kid be deprived of this educational toy because one kid ate all the pieces?? I pray that the 8 year-old is okay….she just can’t play with toys with small pieces anymore.

With that kind of oral fixation and the neglect of her parents I wonder what kind of kid this is going to turn out to be as a teenager.

Magnetics toy…..$19.99

Surgery to remove magnetics from 8-year old…….$28999.99

Saving the rest of the children in the world from eating their magnetics…..Priceless

Give me a break!!!!!!

Why on earth should my kids not be able to play with their Magnetix because an 8 year old girl putting her toys in her mouth? My kids (4-16) play with this stuff and seem to understand that you don’t eat your toys! I am really sorry for her condition, but if she does things like this maybe the parents shouldn’t buy her toys with small parts.

where is the parents responsabilty in this hello???????????????

I totally agree with Julie and everyone else.. why was a 8 year old putting things in her mouth and yes after 20 give me a break.. in my days we had kinds of toys*am 44* and we didnt eat them. Maybe at 2-5 but if that was the case our parents didnt give them to us. I think the parents are responsible not the toy maker. Yes Kay might as well pull them nasty legos and game pieces while we are at it.

8 years old and she’s swallowing magnets? It’s obvious that this little girl is “special” and the parents should have been watching her more closely. But NOOoooo – Instead, let’s take the toy off the market so no kids get to play with it! Let’s blame someone else!
Are we going to take bicycles off the shelves when she eats one of those next month?

and where was MOM and DAD?? besides, what is an 8 year old thinking by EATING their toys? NO sympathy here. mental evaluation for the kid, sterilization for mom and dad!

I am a lawyer and a parent of 3 kids between the ages of 7 and 12. I certainly wouldn’t wish these medical problems on any child, but pulling a fun and normally safe toy from schools and school shelves because of this is utterly ridiculous. This is yet another case where parents go on a crusade against a third party to make up for their own parenting mistakes. I would be embarrassed to represent people like this as should any self-respecting lawyer. This foolishness has to stop somewhere.

I would advise every manufacturer and retailer to post conspicuous, simple warnings to give notice of dangers to even the least brilliant among consumers. Of course, to be completely effective, the warnings will need to cover the majority of the packaging! Maybe they should give IQ tests at the checkout counter before they swipe buyers’ plastic.

The parents are idiots for purchasing a toy that their child would eat. How does this become an issue for the toymaker?

The kid must be retarded, or maybe the parents are? Not trying to be mean but someone has to have some personal responsibility. The toy manufacturer can’t help what idiots buy their toys and give to a child (EIGHT YEARS OLD!) and they eat them. Maybe the parents should be charged with child endangerment? I raised four boys and none of them ever ate anything like marbles at eight years old!

First we sue when a lion at the zoo bites because we put our hand in the cage; put up a fence and a sign saying lion will bite-that should solve the problem…
Then an ID-10-T climbs over the fence and has hand bitten. We sue because there was no sign telling ID-10-T not to climb fence.
So we put a second fence up…
Do we see where this is heading…is society, as a whole, so dumb that we need someone (government) telling us what to do, not to do, and when to do/not do it? When did we stop thinking for ourselves, and start blaming (or suing) everyone/everything around us instead of taking responsibility for our own actions and learning from them so as not to make the same choice again.
This is who we will run our country someday? How will they know how to run it if there is no one to tell them how….God help us all!

Maybe Mega Brands should file child neglect charges against the parents.

So, if my one year old swallows a penny and gets sick can I fight to take those away? I mean that way I wouldn’t have to watch her and actually TEACH her not to put items like that in her mouth and save me soooo much time and energy in my day! I spent 2 years teaching that to my 5 yr old and by golly she has never swallowed a foregin object in her life and helps make sure her baby sister doesn’t either. But I don’t want to actually have to work and be responsible for my children’s safety. It’s not like I’m a parent or anything!

Somebody sued McDonalds because they got fat eating there everyday. The fact that they weren’t jailed for abusing the court system (as well as just being idiots) is shocking to me. After that, this is penny-ante.

This is very unfortunate. I question the idea to remove this product from the market. Will there not always be toys/chemicals to swallowing, guns, knives, rope, rocks… that can harm children and people? Perhaps the focus should be education for all ages, parenting and hope for a little luck along the way.

My son has played with these toys since 8, and he has not eaten one of these. If these parents lose a lawsuit, they should be paying for the companies legal fees for their stupidity. Maybe unintelligent parents will think twice about being parents and not greedy gold diggers.

SO other kids can’t play with this because an EIGHT (8) year old does not know enough to not swallow toys? More ridiculous “PC”

Wow, an eight-year old still swallowing stuff. Maybe the parents should explain that toys are not food!!!!

AT 8 years old I had a chemistry set that by today’s standards would be considered “lethal”, never ate the chemicals. Never ate any of my toy magnets, didn’t even shoot myself with the 22 cal rifle I had received as a gift from loving family.

Okay… When are we going to start suing people who waste are tax dollars with their ignorant lawsuits? The parents probably made her eat the marbles so they could sue! If the girl was mentally disabled, then she shouldn’t have been left alone. There are millions of children out there who can play with magnets and marbles and not eat them. Let’s not ruin the fun for everyone. Pretty soon people won’t be able to do anything but lie around naked so there are no safety hazzards near them. So frustrating!!!!!

They’re not called “Magnetix: a Delicious Treat.” Bad parents!

Unless someone from the company showed up and force fed this child, the 8 year old had to choose to eat these toys. This is simply a case of bad parenting! Obviously the child is not mature enough for this toy and obviously the parents were not supervising her.

Any attempt at a law suit against the company needs to be put down.

Perhaps the toy company should demand that the parents be charged with neglect and stupidity.

No one made her eat the toys. Her hands picked them up and put them in her own mouth. Not the company’s fault that the parents allowed the child to use a toy in a manner other than recommended for use.

It is very promising to note so many comments supporting what Julie had started. This country is known for the greatness and hard work by the citizens. It is very sad to note that some irresponsible parents and trying to cover up their irresponsibilities by forcing everyone else not to enjoy a cool toy. What a shame they are bringing to the society. I hope people start taking responsibility for their mistake and their lives and the loved ones they are supposed to care and provide.

Didn’t this kid’s parents teach her not to swallow things that aren’t food??!

She’s EIGHT, not two!!! What the heck!?

An eight year old child should be able to play with a toy and not EAT it!

I blame the parents for this one… Sheesh!

Julie +++++ (thanks for saying clearly what needed to be said…)

Invective ——————————————————————

Governments job is not to “watch out for us”. That is your own responsiblity in the case of children, it is the responsiblity of parents. Thousands of children have succesfully mastered enjoying this toy without serious harm, two kids manage to do the improbably, mostly because their parents didn’t give them the required attention and you want to blame Bush. HOW PETITE of you.

Just exacty which government agency should have stopped an 8 year old from eating a toy?
How much more ‘funding’ would we have to provide so that the FOOD AND DRUG Administration, or maybe the Department of AGRICULTURE or the TRADE commission can put an armed guard in every home to make sure the parents don’t allow 8 year olds to eat STEEL… (so is a metal toy Food, Drugs or Agriculture???)

If you are going to sit there and wait for the government to send you a personal crossing guard and breathing coach your license to breed needs to be revoked.

If I weren’t so disgusted by your stupidity I would feel sorry for you.

OK, the girl is 8 years old, and if the parents can’t trust her from eating the small pieces of a toy, they should keep her away from the toy. It is not the toy manufacturer’s fault, it is the parent’s fault. This craziness has to stop in this world where people blame everyone but themselves.

I can’t believe these parents don’t hold themselves responsible for their child’s actions.
Where were the parents when this child was swallowing these toys? I feel it is absurd
that the parents of this child even think for a moment that they can sue a company for
their own negligence.

An eight year old kid swallowing toy parts?????????? C’mon. Kids are supposed to outgrow that kind of behavior after age three. The problem here isn’t the toy, but the kid or her parents. Something is seriously wrong when you have a child this age still putting foreign objects in her mouth.

One of my best friend’s son (5yrs old) swallowed 2 of the magnetic balls. The recall happened about a week after he did it. The problem was that none of the Doctors new about the recall (ped. and emergency room). They said don’t worry “it will pass.” It wasn’t until I saw the recall at the toy store and let her know about it that she started to worry. She called the doctors and they still didn’t think it was a big deal. Finally, he started to have problems and then they took x-rays and foung that the intestines were stuck together by the magnets. He had surgery and is still having problems. So I tell everyone not to buy that toy!!!! I agree that something must be wrong with an 8 yr old swallowing 20!!!

When I was 8 yrs. old I received my frist Erector Set. I t had lots of screws, nuts, bolts and washers. I never ate one. My parents were always there to make sure I didn’t do something stupid as to ingest any part. What in the world is wrong with the parents? Why weren’t they there to protect their child. This is not about a company making sure these type of products are safe……………It’s about parents taking responsibility for their kids. While I feel abad about the child…..Where was the parents counseling and training? The company should not be held resposible………The parents should be held criminally responsible for not training their kid. I guess in this legal Sue The Manufacturer…..That relieves the responsibility on the parents common sense, which has no value in this day and age. Sorry, but the parents were negligent in their supervision. Come to think of it; I’m not sorry for stupid parents.

Sorry, but any eight year old who sits there and swallows all these balls and magnets deserves what he or she swallowed OR is being helped by a money grubbing mommy and daddy. This is a frivolous case and needs to be dismissed immediately. It is the same type of case as, “Gee, I didn’t know this coffee was hot, McDonald’s. WAKE UP AMERICA!!

if people would teach there kids not to put things in there mouth things like tis would not happen my 3 and 6 year old know better than to put toys in there mouth. THis kid was 8! she should know better. But when parents just put there kid in front of the T.V. and go to do who knows what! when they should be rasing there kid!! which is your job as a parent not the TV or the Nanny! May be these parents need some help from the state in the form of a parenting class. or are they to busy with ther careers to pay attention to the child!

It is a sad day when parents don’t take responsibility for their children. Where were the parents when this
child was eating 30 marbles and magnets? I can understand one piece, but 30. There are deeper issues here.

This lawsuit is absolutely ridiculous. The child is eight years old, and if the parents of the child were actually parenting, she would have known not to eat her toys. Whats next? Pulling all grass out of backyards because some kid decided to snack on some and got sick? This toy is not only fun, but educational. It provides hands-on learning of shapes and increases one’s spatial ability, something vital for a child’s development.
This whole mess is totally the parent’s fault. They are supposed to guide their child until the child can make rational decisions by his/herself. They obviously failed. That said, I do feel sympathy for the child and hope for a speedy recovery.

If I’m the parents, I wouldn’t be admitting I had an eight year old eating metal. How could this child attend school?, she’d be in the third grade and my God the hazzards, crayons, markers, erasers, magnets. A real all you can eat one stop dining adventure. How does she pay for her daily lunch if she’s eatting the change.

There is nothing wrong with the toy. The parents should be reviewed by Child Protective Services for not teaching there EIGHT YEAR OLD not to swallow things that are not food. Shame on the parents.

I tend to agree with most of the posts above. I think the parents should forget about the toy and focus on the daughter. What eight year old is going to sit there and swallow thirty small objects. Twenty steel balls is not a snack, it is a warning sign. How many second graders do you know that would do this? My three year old daughter knows not to put small toys in her mouth, she even knows not to give my four month old son small things. As a parent it boggles my mind why they would want to rid the world of what sounds to be a pretty cool toy for the right age kid, rather than think, “Why? Why did she do this?”

As a MOTHER of 4, I would like to know , what is wrong with a 8 year old eating toys?
Hello?
That is a typical example of liberal parenting, children making there own choices.
Instead of being a parent and make the child aware of what happens when you EAT toys, and telling the child, there will be ugly consequences if he / she even attempts to do so, they properly leave the kid alone with the toys, the kid at eight knows well enough of right or wrong, does what he / she wants to do anyway, is stupid enough to eat the toys.

the parents should be charge with neglegents, and stupidity for leaving a child like that unsupervised.

I would tell Magnetix—–Let this go to court!!!!! These people probably heard about a prior incident and made their kid eat the magnets so they could sue. There is no way 12 people will side on behalf of these imbeciles. It’s people like this that make it suck for the rest of us. My kids like magnetix and not a single magnet has ever ended up in their mouth. Why? Because I bought the toy at an appropriate age and they used the toy as designed. If you can’t control what your kids put in their mouth, don’t buy them toys like this. What idiots.

OK. At the risk of being called a failed parent or my son being called mentally challenged here, he was 10 when he shoved two small plastic bb’s so far down each ear canal that we had to have a pediatric ENT remove them. Sometimes kids just do stupid things. His answer to “what possesssed you to do that” was “I don’t know”.

However, it never even crossed my mind to sue the BB company or to have them removed from the shelves. It was my responsibility to keep an eye on him and I missed that one but I can’t say the company was to blame!

I agree with what has been said on here over and over again, we need to take responsibility for our own kids and not blame everyone else!

THE KID IS 8 FRICKEN YEARS OLD! THEY SHOULD GIVE HER SOME WASHERS FOR DESERT WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THERE BRAIN

Too bad the parents couldn’t be a little more attentive to their child. An 8 year old who is swallowing magnets and such obviously has other issues. Why does the blame always have to be on someone, anyone other than those who are ultimately responsible for the safety and well being of the child, namely mom and dad?

could see this happening to a crawling baby who wants to stick everything they pick up in their mouth, but an 8-year-old is beyond normal. I truly hope the Judge throws it out of court as a frivolous lawsuit, or if it gets to a jury, I hope they have enough sense not to give this entire demented family any money.

I have to agree with everyone here. Parental supervision! HELLO!!! How is it the manufacturers fault that these parents can’t supervise their kids? I’m having a hard time with why an 8 year old would be swallowing toys anyway…Unreal. Seems in our society anymore it’s never the parents at fault when something bad happens. The parents are always blaming someone else for their lack of supervision. Guess some people need a reality check when it comes to raising their kids.
Do I feel bad because the kid’s hurt, yea…But 1st, an 8 year old should know better unless mentally challenged somehow in which case the kid probably shouldn’t have been givin this toy in the first place (at least without proper supervision)… And 2nd the parents need to learn to supervise their kids. They do not get my sympathy.
I’m with jerziegrl on this too. I’m gonna sue my car manufacturer because I slammed my fingers in my car door…ok, not really but hey, if I did man there’s a lawsuit! Why is everyone sue happy these days?
Magnetix is a cool toy too…I have to admit that I have a set and I’m 28 LOL It’s quite fun coming up with new designs. Ok. Off my soapbox…

I’d have to ask why the kid was eating the magnets, marble size is not that small. Was the kid mentally challenged? And where are the parents?

At the risk of being called a failed parent or my son being called mentally challenged, he was 10 when he shoved two plastic bb’s so far down each ear canal that we had to have a pediatric ENT remove them. His answer to “what possessed you to do that?” was “I don’t know”. Sometimes kids just do stupid things.

However, it never crossed my mind to sue the bb company or have them removed from the shelves.

It was my responsiblity to keep an eye on him, although given his age it never occurred to me that he’d do something like that, and I am at fault for missing that one and I can’t say that I blame the company for it!

I agree with what has been said over and over again on here, we need to take responsibility for our own kids and not blame everybody else!

Parents should be sued for being bad parents, and causing the company that produced the toy to have bad publicity. This is not the government’s responsibility, it is the child’s and the parents’. I was shooting marbles for keeps when I was in the first grade, and we knew marbles went into our pocket and not into our mouth. If the child is not capable of playing with a toy without eating it, then the parents should be held responsible for buying something the child could eat and cause harm to a dumb child.

At 8 years of age, a normally functioning child should not be placing objects in his/her mouth. A child with any degree of mental or psychological problems, should be playing with toys that are more appropriate for their functioning age. Because an individual has problems with a product, that does not mean that others can’t use it appropriately. Take for and adult example, the man who placed his RV on cruise control because he was told (this thing practically drives itself): the rest of us are not penalized by having cruise control taken out of our vehicles because an individual had a misuse of a product.

I think the parents should be charged with neglect. How is it that they weren’t watching their daughter let alone teaching her not to put things in her mouth at that age.

I think the parents should be investigated for possibly forcing their child to eat these pieces so they could sue and try and collect money. That scenario is the only way to explain an 8 year old child eating marbles and magnets…well that or the kid is mentally challenged. Did they stop her in time before she washed down the marbles and magnets with some tasty bleach or windex?

“These magnets are making me thirsty”

This is obviously a child who needs either psychiatric help, or more capable parents. No child at 8 years of age should be putting non-food objects in their mouth, much less swallowing them.

The parents have no right blaming the toy company for their lousy parenting skills. If anyone should be sued, it should be the parents.

A normal 8 year old child would NOT do something like this; a toddler yes. I have to wonder if the child does not have some kind of mental problems in which these toys should not have given to her. It’s her parents whom are at fault, not the toy makers. But hey, they can get rich now…USA, the sue happy country!

First, let me agree with all the sentiments about the parents needing to supervise the child. Obviously, something is wrong there, but maybe the kid has pica.
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/pica.html

If that’s the case, that would be a much greater need for the parents to address than trying to get rich quick off of the American legal system.

If the girl is not mentally challenged, she should get a good “spanken” for swallowing the toys. A kid could eat anything if they put their mind to it, it’s just that most kids (unless mentally challenged) KNOW BETTER!

Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest is true! Not every baby turtle makes it off the beach. Sad but true.

Children might swallow ONE of these toys but 20?!?! This is clearly a case of bad parents trying to cash in on something they should have taught their child NOT to do in the first place. My 5 year old knows better. I hope the little girl makes a quick and full recovery. When she does, she needs to be moved to a place where her parents have a little common sense.

Shouldn’t someone question why an EIGHT yr old child is swallowing metal objects? Certainly if the magnets/metal pieces are loose they present a danger to small children- but to an eight year old?

What ever happened to personal responsibility? Kid eats something he/she shouldn’t and it’s the toy maker’s fault. And these are the same people that wonder why America is going to hell in a handbasket. Step up, take responsibility for your actions and learn from it. Don’t penalize everyone else who is using that toy (or any other product for that matter) responsibly.

Okay…..I would be totally embarassed if I were these parents!!! I can’t believe they are actually wanting to take this toy off the market and I would imagine sue the company. It is assumed that children above a certain age will not eat their toys!!! Following their logic….let’s see….there will need to be a recall of Legos, all marbles, and every small part that could fit into ones mouth (like Barbie shoes, brushes, Thomas the Train signs, etc). And why stop there?? How about we ban everything that is larger than a child’s mouth because she could eat those, too.

Please!!!! This madness has to stop and parents and people have to accept some personal responibility for their stupid mistakes (or lack of parental supervision).

Eating marbles and magnets is the least of her problems if she’s eating them at 8 years old.

Where are the parents? They should be upset with themselves not the manufacturer. These people need to grow up and accept responsibility.

Where was this adult when the child was eating the toys? This was not just one swallow! I am sure the lawyers are circling overhead. Should see ads and 1-800 numbers on TV any day.

Go ahead, say what you will.

There’s no cure for stupid.

I couldn’t agree more with these posts. What would compel an 8 year old to eat one, let alone 20 steel balls and a bunch of magnets as well? Someone should consider suing the parents for negligence if they have an 8 year old who is prone to eating non-edibles and is not being watched more carefully. Didn’t they serve dinner that night? Geez!

I understand the recall if the pieces were faulty(magnets falling out of pieces). What I don’t understand is why an 8 year old thought it was good to swallow the peices. I have an 8 year old daughter. She stopped eating pieces when she was three/four years old. My question would be, as with some of the other toys that are recalled, do the toys need to be taken off the shelf or does there need to be a warning on the package that parents need to be with the child when he/she is playing with them?

I think it’s all RIDICULOUS. Our society has come to a point where people make stupid decisions, choices, and mistakes and then want to blame someone else for it (case in point: 8 year-old swallowing toys!). And the reason people do it is because over the years, our justice system has allowed these types of lawsuits to be successful! Are there times when companies have to be held accountable? Absolutely! But, aren’t we taking this a little too far when we’re sewing them for something we could have (and should have) prevented? If you ask me, I think the parents should be under investigation and the child put in counseling!

My four year old son has these toys… he has never eaten them as I have taken the time to raise my children to only eat food. I totally agree that this is a case of bad parental supervision, if anything the parents should be investigated for neglect.

Eight years old is old enough to know NOT to swallow metal objects. Take some responsibility for you dumb actions, people!

(dont know if this posted twice, sorry if it did)….I really am getting cynical I suppose, but I wonder if the parents decided to have the kid eat these toys just so they could collect a ‘payday’…Kudos to all the replies that made so much sense, you are giving me hope that people DO actually have common sense…

Hey, I have an idea. Lets ask, better yet force, toy manufacturers, for the sake of our precious children, to not make any toys that have big or small parts, stationary or moving parts, sharp or dull parts. This way, our children will learn exactly what it will be like in the real world – absolutely pain free and risk free with no need to take responsibility for their actions as “the other guy” will look after their well-being.

I swallowed a quarter once when I was six. We need to get rid of money.

C’mon…even though it shouldn’t have happened the toy company will likely settle for some outrageous amount of money.

Let’s ban toys completely so that no child gets hurt. Not the answer.

The fact the no one accepts any blame for anything they do is going to be the downfall of this country!

I agree with the people here. An 8 year old should have a little more sense than to eat her toys.
I think some of today’s people raise their children in a less than intellegent way, and want to blame the world for their bad parenthood. I bet you they sue, and all for not teaching their kid common sense.

I’m very glad that the girl is going to be okay, but this should not be pulled just because an eight year old girl swallowed something that she should have known very well not to have. This toy should be kept away from smaller children, but why would an eight year old swallow such a thing??

My recently turned 9 year old daughter has this same set and when I read her the story, she said “Why would she eat them? It has a warning on the box that it’s a choking hazard”.

So if an average 8-9 year old can state the obvious, then how is it their girl managed to swallow that many of the little things? I’m glad the girl is OK but her parents need to be investigated for neglect. How could they let their girl eat that? Didn’t they stress not to put things in her mouth?

Maybe she’s handicapped, and that could explain it, but then why would you give a handicapped person something that has a “choking hazard” label?

Something is not as it seems.

Invective, above, says:

“Whether or not the parents sue, or whether or not the child made a mistake, or was half starved, or developmentally ill isn’t the point.

The point is that our government infrastructure is gutted. The Food and Drug Administration, FTC, USDA and others have all been gutted. They’re either forced to run on a shoe string budget, or never had their budgets properly increased, or flat out corrupted by Administration appointments. None are doing their jobs to protect the people, or worse, the children.

Stuff like this the population expects to be protected from, but if you watch CSPAN, or can read, you’ll know that many government watchdog agencies are NOT doing their job. Every single one has been brought before congress comittees for evaluation and all have scientific testimony that they are purposefully kept from doing a proper job of watching out for us.

Both political parties are corrupt and take advantage of the population not being informed. Yet people still want to blog to discuss whether or not the parents where good people. We deserve what we vote for. It’s time America wake up and vote Independent and vote corruption out. Otherwise our children will continue to suffer and so will our society.”

**************************************************************

And I ask Invective,

Are you serious? You really believe that corrupt government is underfunding their own watchdog agencies?

I say take a walk through Washington, D.C. See all the big buildings? They’re chock full to bursting with over-paid federal employees of watchdog agencies.

The real problem is that too many Americans believe that the government is supposed to solve life’s problems.

My suggestion to you is to read the constitution. It doesn’t mention DOE, NIFL, DJFS, or any other nanny-state entity.

This story sounds like parents that either ought to (1) pay closer attention to their children and/or (2) not buy toys with small parts if the kid is likely to put things in their mouth.

Hi, I don’t agree that the toy company is responsible, but please don’t be so harsh on the little girl, it sounds like this child could be mentally handicapped in some way based on her actions. I think we all know children much younger who would never eat inedible objects, so give her the benefit of the doubt OK? If that is the case, her parents should have been responsible for supervising her with any toys that have small parts. Chances are they are just overwhelmed with guilt about this they are lashing out trying to shift the blame so they don’t feel so humiliated and well, plain stupid.
They should just be thankful she is going to be OK instead of worrying about suing.

if they recall magnetix, I’m throwing the biggest fit. Since when is it the toy company’s fault that some eight year old swallows them?

What if it had been Legos instead of magnetix? would Lego pull every single toy (aside from duplos… of course!) because of the fear of swallowing? or lite-brite pegs? or any OTHER small toy, for that matter?

The parents need to teach their kid to eat food, not toys. And people need to take responsibility for their children, not turn to a lawyer.

Now, if only someone would get vapor-patches for kids back… THEN life would be good!

i totally agree – why is it the manufacturer’s fault? if i ran myself over with my own car, then i will definitely sue toyota and tell them not to sell 4runners again!

i remember playing with dangerous toys when i was young and, inexplicably, i never did anything like swallowing 20 STEEL BALLS AND 10 MAGNETS

My children and I have enjoyed Magnetix toys for years, and no ER visits yet. The recommended age for Magnetix products is 6 years and up. So, if your child has the intelligence, discipline, or restraint below a normal 6 year old, do not give Magnetix toys to your child. Take responsibility for the parenting of your children; don’t blame toy manufacturers for your failures.

I saw this on the morning news; the little girl and her parent. My first thought was the same; “Why is an 8-yr-old eating magnets? MAYBE one or two, but 20?? Come on, where is the supervision??? Perhaps she has special needs, but still….

It is so sad…I am a special education teacher and a great portion of my frustration was with SOME parents. Caseload of 48 special needs children and only 2 parents showed for parent conferences.

parents should monitor kids playing with toys. if they are too young for the toy, take it away from them. this is not the toy company’s fault. this toy clearly was not meant to be eaten or put into the body.

Seriously??? My son is 8 and has used these for about 2 years. While I hope the young girl is better, what were the parents doing? How is this the toy manufacturers fault??? What is an 8 year old doing eating marbles, I mean come on…

The toy company will likely be forced to settle because, as was said previously, it is what we have allowed our society to become. Anybody at any time can sue because of their lack of personal responsibility, and they will win. My wife and I own a restaurant and are routinely threatened with suits. Two that we were recently forced to settle include a mother who dropped her child from her shoulders while playing in the store and a grown man who stuck the corner of a napkin in his own eye while blowing his nose and scratched his cornea. We provided the napkin and the floor upon which the child was dropped. We therefore, like the toy company were guilty.

Eight year olds know better, unless there is a mental problem. The child is at fault or the parent is if the child has mental problems. It is a shame that people must blame others for their own stupidity. Judges and lawyers needs to stop allowing these unwarrented lawsuits from clogging the system.

Yo Invictive. I don’t want the Government to “watch out for me”. I want them to defend the borders and fix the pot holes. I’ll watch out for myself. And if I screw up I will not sue the freakin toy company.

An 8 year old eating steel balls and magnets. Please. There is either something wrong with the child or something wrong with the parents or both.

Although I sympathize with Haley for having to spend time in the hospital for a life-threatening condition, her parents need to wake up. The world is full of items that can be swallowed by children. Many of those items are harmful and even life-threatening. This young girl is eight years old for crying out loud. Didn’t anyone teach her anything in that amount of time. She is not an infant so my expectations are much higher. This is the problem with the “victim mentality” in this country. Even if China built some junk toys, you need to take some responsibility for your own actions some time. If Haley doesn’t know better than to put things in her mouth, a teacher or her parents should have been watching what she was doing and get busy teaching her a few things. Since you people seem to be liberal and stupid, I’ll give you a place to start. Stoves are hot. Don’t touch them when they are in use or you’ll get burned. Stop looking to place blame on someone else before you assess your own foolishness.

Whoa people!!!
Enough is enough already… Would everybody quit saying “I agree with Julie”? #1 Julie is probably going around amongst all of her friends saying “See, everybody agrees with me, yeah, like 475,672 Fox readers, mmhmm, yeah, whateverrr…” #2 How do you all think this made the rest of our fellow contributors feel? Huh? What about ‘Tal Scheer’, or ‘Carla’, ‘Magnetix Fan’, or even ‘Mother of 4, Grandmother of 10′?
So (even though I TOTALLY agree with Julie…) I just wanted to say that I agree with everybody else… * years old… Eating toys… Lawsuit, lol… Wowsers Indeed!

I think I will watch this story close and see if they win big money. Then I will sue cause my 13 year old daughter swallowed a quarter here while back. See the way I think the money should be big enough where children can’t swollow them
All fun aside. The parents need to see that the company aint at fault here. If your child aint mature enough to play with a toy for its age group then don’t buy it or allow your child to play with it. Thats kind of like you have a child that can really play a guitar. You let them play a good one. If not you get them the 5.00 ones at the dollar store that don’t matter if you drop it down the stairs.

I think it is truly just another example of people blaming their troubles on a third party to assauge their guilt. Be a parent! Watch your child! Stop the blaming!

Haven’t read comments BUT first thought: where were the parents when this kid is eating toys? Seems more a parental problem than a toy problem!!!!

8 year olds don’t eat their toys. Especially girls. Boys might eat them on a dare, but NEVER girls.

Somehow I think that after the 15th or 16th marble or magnet she should have realized that they weren’t Gobstoppers.

Perhaps the parents force fed the child these items for devious reasons. What is it called Munchausen Syndrome, where parents purposely make their child ill for attention?

Where were the parents? Looks as if the parents are trying to get out of their responsibilities & blame others.

ok i’m sure TOYS nowadays are safer compared to a few years ago when i was growing up. I’m 23 now, and back then i played wit ALL types of toys that are classified as “dangerous” today. like marbles for instance, i’m sure i wasn’t the only one that played with them back then. played with all types of small toys that could be easily swallowed. but nothing ever happened because i never decided “hmmm this piece of metal looks tasty i’m going to eat it” whats next? a kid eats legos and there you have it legos gone and so on, ANYTHING no matter what toy can be swallowed if its small. kids just need to have supervision when playing with those things if they have a history of putting stuff in their mouths. plain and simple as that. i don’t have a family of my own yet but it seems like everyone is trying to sue every company for their own fault just to make a quick buck. like i said look after your kids when they play and if you don’t and something happens its your fault its on you. i know when i have kids my eyes are going to be on them like a hawk to make sure something doesn’t happen. and if i take my eyes off and something does happen i’m not going to sue because i left them unsupervised its my fault. also i’m sure all toys today have warnings and stuff on labels saying basically not to leave your kids unsupervise when playing. i do hope that little girl gets better but i’m sure if her parents were doing their job and looking after her she wouldn’t have swallowed them.

Wow! Really parents? That is ridiculous! Kids need toys like that (magnets, etc.) to develop their critical thinking skills and to develop inquiry based learning. No way should that toy be taken off the shelves and out of schools. I am sorry that happened to the child, but who is to blame in a situation like this?

I don’t understand why it is the fault of the toy company when an 8 year old girl swallows marbles? By the age of 8, a child should know what is edible, and it is not the responsibility of the toy company to do that!

Whereas this is tragic, and I hope the little girl is okay, when an eight year old is eating not one, not two, but thirty Magnetix pieces—there’s a far bigger problem than the toy itself. My kids have played with Magnetix toys for year, certainly since my youngest was four or five. Interestingly enough, neither has eaten a single piece. If a child is developmentally disabled, suffers from pica, or has some other propensity for such behavior (including deliberate self harm), then caregivers must provide adequate supervision—including keeping such toys out of the child’s reach. Failing this, it’s not the toy manufacturer’s fault.

Is it necessary now that a manufacturer anticipate and respond to every conceivable way their product might be misused, no matter how ridiculous? Must we now include instructions, for instance, regarding all the ways NOT to use a table fork. Perhaps we should all go back to eating with our fingers. Of course, that begs the question—who could someone sue if they were injured my misusing their own fingers…Between political correctness and the growing unwillingness of many Americans to take any sort of responsibility for their behavior, we’re truly going to hell in a handbasket…

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! This 8 year old should know better than to swallow her toys – there is something wrong with the parents. This is the reason why we continue to have OUTRAGEOUS laws passed continually infringing our rights to decide what is best for our children! OUTRAGEOUS!!!!

ummm….I am sure this is not an original thought, but, what the heck is an 8 year old doing eating crap. Is she slow or mentally disabled? If she isn’t then her parents should have taught her around the age of two or three not to eat anything that isn’t FOOD… If she is mentally disabled, then her parents should not have bought her toys that have a potential choking hazard. Now these people want to ban a toy that most NORMAL people can use without injury. For Goodnesss sake, take some responsibility people.

I’m sorry the little girl got hurt. But she and her parents are to blame for this, not the toy company. It’s the responsibility of the parents to teach her what is edible and what isn’t. If the girl is mentally retarded to the point that she can’t understand that her toys aren’t food, then it’s up to the parents to keep her away from toys that could pose a threat to her because she isn’t smart enough to avoid eating them.

If I had the chance to speak with these parents I’d tell them to take responsibility for their own kid and quit trying to ban everything.

While I certainly feel sorry for the girl, at 8 years old you’d think that she would be smart enough not to eat metal. Oh, and where were her parents during all of this? Perhaps, not buying her the toy in the first place or some guidance about the metal parts might have been in order. But alas we live in a land where no one is at fault.

Most 8 year olds are old enough to NOT swallow such toys. Perhaps she did this on a dare or to get parental attention. In either case it is not a valid reason to remove this toy from the shelves. What has happened to person responsibility and parental supervision? Everything that happens to our children is not someone else’s fault.

When are people in this world going to start taking responsibility for their own stewardships? Grow up and stop passing your job to other entities! Stop expecting schools, teachers, neighbors, communities, companies, government and everyone you imagine to have more time and money than you to raise and monitor your child and keep tabs or make arrangements so that they are healthy, happy, well balanced individuals with character, morals and confidence (and every other luxury you imagine they are entitled to)! Perhaps if people would stop buying their kids every little thing they want and sit down and actually spend quality time with them, our society would regain some balance and we would eliminate this generation of entitlement and consumer addicted “gimme gimmies”! Come on people! Stop this ridiculousness!

Absolutely agree with most of the comments here. An eight year old really should not be eating her toys…and 20 times. There has to be more to this story. This is potentially 3rd grader!

Is everyone mad? Kids are just that, KIDS! And yes, they stick things in their ears, up their noses and even swallow things from time to time….so did you! The problem is not the toy in and of itself, rather the size and magnetic properties. They are too easily swallowed and indeed have severe health risks and are potentially deadly.

As everyone acknowledges, the manufacturer has know about these risks for many years and has failed to do anything but change the age appropriateness packaging. Maybe they should manufacture a safer product. It doesn’t seem that hard to do….just increase the size of the pieces.

Is anyone asking why social services hasn’t been called into investigate the situation? After all they are a government agency that is supposed to protect our children from parents. I hope the little girl recovers without complications, but I really question the newsworthiness of the story in the first place. A kid unwisely ate her toys, how many wander off and get lost each year? How many are casually neglected by their parents? I would guess a lot more than are reported on CBS.

One would think these parents would be so ashamed to have an 8-year-old who isn’t intelligent enough to not be able to discern that she isn’t supposed to eat metal that they would try to keep the tragic incident from public exposure. No, they want all the publicity and possible sympathy they can garner… do I smell a lawsuit? From the comments on this site, it is easy to see how reasonable people, if seated on a jury, will decide the outcome of a lawsuit seeking money.

I work with profoundly challenged students, many of whom would know NOT to put a magnet in the mouth. An average EIGHT year old is not liklely to try to eat these toys. Do you not agree? Does the child have severe problems? It is PAST time for China (where I have six times taught English) to GET IT RIGHT, however, I really do think Americans are often paranoid. Some of us should check out the simplier life. MONA

Oh for Pete’s sake………this type of thing is getting WAY out of hand. I can’t decide which disgusts me more, people like this who refuse to take any personal responsibility or the total lack of parental supervision. It’s got to stop America. People like these sit their children in front of the “electronic baby-sitter” (i.e.. Television, computer, video game, what have you) and never give them a second thought. Oh but let something happen to said child and listen to them scream about how THEY have been victimized by whatever it was (in this case, a toy) that caused the problem (because it couldn’t POSSIBLY be THEIR FAULT). And telling them that they should have spent more time with (their own) child and they’ll howl like a banshee. Oh they couldn’t POSSIBLY do that, what with all the self-centered, egotistical, things they have t keep up with in their self-important lives. They’re just too busy to be an actual PARENT. It’s much easier and, more profitable, just to blame the innocent instead of taking responsibility FOR YOUR OWN CHILD (or at least, your own NEGLIGENCE for not watching your own child). This type of garbage is killing our country………. and lawyers are leading the charge. What happened to personal responsibility? What happened to common sense? And just what IS an 8 YEAR OLD doing putting things in her mouth? Just what, if anything, are these people teaching this poor child. I think this is nothing more that a ploy to either make a fast buck or, to keep from being brought up on criminal CHILD ENDANGERMENT CHARGES.

What eight year old still swallows things they are not supposed to?

This comment is for Invective (June 2nd at 9:05 pm)

You miss the point. Freedom loving Americans need less “Big Brother” watching out for them, not more. Freedom means choices. I want to have the choice to purchase Magnetix, or an AR-15, or (for those over thirty-five) lawn darts (Jarts), or whatever else my hard earned capitalist dollar can buy. Freedom also means responsibility. When you abdicate responsibility to a government watchdog agency, you cede a commensurate portion of freedom.
As to your Government agencies and corruption, neither Republican nor Democrat administrations (“Part Timers” in the Government Services (GS) world) hold a candle to the inferno of corruption imbedded within the full time employees who’ve been working within those offices 20, 30, and even 40 years. I spent 27 years working with various government agencies, both as a military officer and as a non-government civilian and the least of your worries is the elected official or the appointee. He or she will be gone after the next election or two…but the little lady in white tennis shoes behind the disbursing counter and the balding man with the pocket protector in procurement will still be there…often times with an attitude.
Anyway, you look out for you and yours and I’ll look out for mine. Keep your watchdog agencies out of my life, out of my pocket and away from my freedom.
Oh yeah, Julie is right.

Illegitimi non carborundum!

While the story and the cases similar to this are sad for the child the parents are obviously not doing their job. I agree that either the child is mentally disabled and doesn’t understand or the parents are not supervising their child. Either way, unless there is something that will explain why the child did this, it sounds like this girl should not have been playing with this toy. I work in a hospital and we see kids (rarely above age 4) putting objects in their nose, ear or swallowing them. Usually it is things that families leave around and/or not supervising the child. If the child is not mentally disabled, but doesn’t understand this was wrong, I hope she and her parents get help/counseling NOT money. Unfortunately, the parents’ lawyers will probably only chose the same clueless/greedy people as the parents for the jury so they will get sympathy. (Everyone else is responsible except myself mentality)

When my older 2 sons played with the magnetix (or any other small toy), they could only play with them when their youngest brother was taking a nap or a gated room where the younger one couldn’t get to and had to be cleaned up when he was around. If the youngest child were to get a hold of the small toy, the older children who left it out would have been responsible as well as I, as a parent, for not making sure the area was safe for my son(s), not the toy maker.

Just a thought here. When does an 8 year old not know he/she should put only food in the mouth? This is not a two or three year old. Do these parents not accept responsibility for proper training of a third grader? I am sorry, the toy was age appropriate, the child was not taught appropriately.

Even my 3 year old niece knows not to put her toys in her mouth!
That girl is 8!!! And it wasn’t just one she swallowed ‘by accident’, so I think she ate them on purpose.
Come on… those magnet toys are great fun for kids. Just teach them you’re not supposed to eat your toys.

Julie for President!

I am eight years old and I am going to put two pieces of my toy in my mouth. Mom and Dad aren’t watching. Opps, I swallowed them. Dad is playing solitare on the computer and Mom is reading. I think I will swallow two more steel marbles. That was easy. No has told me to stop. I wonder if I can swallow three this time? Huh, kinda fun. I wish Dad would come play with me. He’s still on the computer. Maybe three more marbles? I can cough a little this time and maybe Mom will hear me. Well….here goes another and another and another, and another and another.
I think I will swallow a magnet, or two. They didn’t go down as easy. I wonder what mom is reading about. I’ll just ask Dad if he wants to play my game with me. Oh, wait. He said not to bother him when he is on the computer. I will swallow five more and another magnet. I better not swallow all of these though. Then we, I mean I can’t play the game. I bet Mom could win. She used to be really good at games. She played alot when this game was new. But I can play by myself now. I am a big kid. I just put two more magnets in my mouth. They are not as easy to swallow. My mouth is getting kinda dry. My tummy kinda hurts. I’ll tell Dad tommrrow when he isn’t on the computer.

I agree with Julie also. I can understand a 3 or 4 year old, but EIGHT? Why are they not teaching her not to swallow her toys?

If she swallows a bug and is poisoned to death, are they going to sue God?

So, I understand how toddlers or infants can accidentally swallow pieces of poorly manufactured toys, but what is an EIGHT YEAR OLD doing swallowing parts of toys? I feel badly for her, and hope she recovers, but really . . . how could swallowing 20+ parts of a toy be an accident? If she is capable of swallowing so many parts, her parents seriously need to supervise her when she plays.

You’ve got to be kidding. Where were the parents of this child and as Julie says, “what is an 8 year old doing eating her toys”.
I doubt that the disclaimer on the box stated the toys could be eaten by 8 year olds.
What ever in this country became of “personal responsibility’?
Next you’ll be suing the car salesman for selling the car used in a DUI

Ok, this kid was 8 years old…not 2 or 3! No where in the article did I read if this kid was a “special needs” individual! If this kids is not “special needs”, the kid’s an idiot!

Yes, children do put things in their mouths, but what this child did was excessive. Swallowing 20 steel balls??? Where were the parents while this was going on? Wasn’t anyone watching the child? It sounds like the parents are trying to blame someone else for their own stupidity and make a profit at someone else’s expense. I think by the time a child swallowed just a few of these, someone should have noticed. How long does it take to swallow 20 of these? That makes it sound as if the child were unsupervised which is a foolish thing to do.

I feel sorry for the child who clearly does not have parents who are too busy to watch her.

Frivolous and unnecessary lawsuits are only going to drive costs up and make the rest of us suffer when we try to buy things from the same companies.

The parents are to blame for not supervising their child. How long does it take to swallow 20 steel balls and several magnets? Someone would or rather, SHOULD have noticed after just a few of these AT MOST.

shame on the parents for suing the company. While I feel sorry for the child and what she went through, the parents are in the wrong. If the child were properly looked after I doubt she would have swallowed more than one of these.

Frivolous and unnecessary lawsuits are only going to make things worse for everyone when costs to up to compensate for this.

I am more concerned about the widespread use of Dihydrogen Monoxide. it is dangerous! It can kill people! Tens of thousands of people die every year after coming in contact with this substance! We must protest against its use! Recall all of it immediately!! Ban it before more people suffer!!!!

Please write your congressman and insist that they take this issue on so we can protect ourselves!!

i think the girl has emotional problems. probably trying to hurt herself. she will just get more inventive the next time she tries to hurt herself. probably she is very smart and has heard of this magnet issue before. the toy companies should not suffer for this. and the parents should not make money on it.

I hope FoxNews does a follow up story. There are too many unanswered questions. Do they have any other kids? How are they?

Did anyone else see the interview with girl and her father?? Judging bythe strange behavior of this child, there has to be a diminished mental capacity. My 2 year old speaks better than she did. These parents should be held responsible for not only not supervising their daughter, but also not having their daughter evaluated and treated for her mental disabilities if that is the case. I have worked with many children with various mental disabilities and with early intervention, they do quite well. And many of them know not to eat their toys. I wish this kiddo the best and a speedy recovery. But this is not the toy company’s fault. Hopefully this will be the wake up call that this family needs to get this girl some help.

This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard. Like all the other posters here, I question the mental state of an EIGHT year old who would EAT her toys. I also concur with all those who see this as the obvious ploy that it is – another victim wants to sue for $$$$$. One more angle with which to view the absurdities in this case is by asking oneself, “If an 8 yr old goes on a joyride in their parent’s vehicle, is the answer to ‘recall’ cars? It’s a perfect parallel to the old saying “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people – the toys didn’t almost kill this girl, the GIRL almost killed HERSELF.

I mean, I’d be embarrassed as heck if this were my kid, and I’d want the story to go away ASAP…

Funny, but the comments above are 99.9% unanimous. That’s a rare thing to see.

Where was the parent at the time? And being at 8 years old she should of know better .If the Parent was doing there job at hand.riasing her . needless to says let’s blame it on the toy’s manufacturer so they can try and get money from them I have family at the age of 5 and 8 years old they both know better not to eat toy’s

Ummm…. Hmmm…. I’m pretty sure I was about 5 when I figured out that you aren’t supposed to eat ball bearings, live animals, explosives, magnets etc… This is clearly not the fault of the toymaker or the toy, but I predict the idiot’s parents are seeing dollar signs when they should be looking for signs that point out the direction of the short bus.

Not only does their 8 year old child need to be supervised, but also I think they as parents need supervision or parenting classes. A law suit should not even be allowed.

WOW, I was expecting to login and see so many people siding with the parents. I agree with all of the comments about responsibility. It seems that people do not believe they are responsible for themselves, let alone their children. Had people not taken some responsibility and action in the 1700’s we would still be a British colony. Some people need to think about that and take a stand against these kinds of ridiculous stories. I want it to be known I am glad the child is okay, but my question is, “Is this a NATIONAL news story?”. We have lost sight of too many things and are focusing on some that do not seem to be all that important, in the “big picture”.

I’ve seen kids her age put together beautifully creative and well-engineered designs from this toy. Haley’s use of these parts doesn’t really sound like the work of a budding genius. Other kids should not be deprived from the opportunity to exercise theirs.

THIS IS VERY SIMILIAR TO THE STORY A COUPLE WEEKS AGO ABOUT THE PARENTS WHO ARE GOING TO SUE THE METAL BAT COMAPNY AND THE YOUTH BASEBALL LEAGUE, FOR DAMAGES CAUSED TO THEIR SON. THE YOUNG BOY WAS A PITCHER AND THE BATTER HIT THE BALL SO HARD, THAT WHEN THE BALL HIT THE BOY, HE FELL UNCONSCIOUS AND IT LATER DISABLED HIM.

WHO SIGNED THE BOY UP FOR BASEBALL? WHO KNEW THE SLIGHT RISK BEFORE? THE PARENTS!

THIS STORY IS EVEN MORE IDIOTIC. ONE, BECAUSE OF AGE, AND TWO, THE PARENTS DON’T WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILTY.

THEY BOUGHT THE TOY, THEY GAVE IT TO THE GIRL, THEY RAISED THE GIRL, AND THEY DIDN’T SUPERVISE THE CHILD WHILE USING IT.

THE ONLY PERSON WRONG IN THIS SCENARIO IS (THEY=THE PARENTS).

It is not the toy companies fault that this girl is an idiot. I can understand if this was a toddler, but she is 8, come on people…this is one of many reasons our country is going down the tube, because parents like this can actually blame a toy company for their lacking as parents.

My son swallowed one of these medal balls from the Magnetics set a couple of years ago. He was also 8 years old at the time. He isn’t a challenged child nor neglected. Although at the time I was debating that fact:) (the challenged part not neglect). He had a mixture of these toys which included a less expensive brand (made in China) and later pulled from shelves for containing lead. I don’t believe they should be pulled from the shelves unless they contain lead. I still don’t know whether or not the marble my son swallowed was one of the marbles recalled.

Ok, what the HECK is an 8 YEAR OLD doing swallowing toys? I think that the child needs to be checked out…..

YO! Parents of this kid!! This kid is screaming for help but in a warped manner. To blame anyone BUT yourselves is assinine. She wants out from under your thumbs. And this was the only way she could think of.

No one, not the store that sold the building set, not the manufacturer of the building set….NO ONE is responsible for this kid’s suicide attempt but yourselves so get the hell over it.

GOOD GOD! What the hell is wrong with the people of this country??? When anything bad happens to someone they think that they love, they have to try and sue everyone under the sun. Never does anyone take responsibility for their own idiotic actions. It’s ALWAYS someone else’s fault. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

Glad to see everyone else had the same thought I did when I first read this! She’s 8 YEARS OLD. Either there is a mental problem or her parents were looking to cash in on a lawsuit. Pretty sad that anyone would put their child at such a risk, either by not teaching her and supervising her, or encouraging her to do something stupid for money.
Perhaps the toy company should look at suing them, not the other way around!

Hmmm…funny, because I knew what was edible and what was not when I was 3 years old. What kind of supervision does this girl have that she would be eating the contents of her toys at her age?

Parents of the Year those two are not.

This is crazy!! I may be over the edge on this, but anyway…..everyone knows an 8 yr old should know better-I agree! So, it falls back on the parents, right? OK-everyone seems to be thinking money is the motive here. I would HATE to think anything like this would actually happen, but stranger & more horrific things have-Suppose the parents put the daughter up to it so that they could sue…….Sad to say, but I’d rather believe this than just downright ignorance from all involved!!!In our world today, Who knows!?! Regardless, there are issues here that need to be addressed-I think both the child & the parents need to be evaluated-this just doesn’t make sense any way you look at it!! Overall-it’s not the toy manufacturer’s fault, but the ones who chose to buy it! Once it leaves the shelf, it’s YOUR responsibility to use it properly!!!!

I agree with the previous comments. I think it’s the parents that should be sued…..sued for not taking the responsibility of properly raising a child………..an 8 year old eating steel marbles is ridiculous and if the girl is mentally challanged then she should never have had the toy to begin wth……….its’ just a clear case of bad parenting………..

Julie said exactly what I was thinking as I read the article! People are way too sue-happy and money-hungry as of late. Start THINKING, people! I think I stopped eating things I shouldn’t after I turned four…

8 year olds do not swallow marbles and inch long toy pieces unless they are developmentally disabled with an eating disorder. The child stated in an interview that she swallowed the pieces because they looked like candy. Besides the fact she was supposedly playing with them while in the same room as her parents ( so obviously they were not presented as a food item), 8 year olds chew marble sized candy and do not swallow it whole. My 9 year old still cannot swallow a pill. In an interview her father stated the date she swallowed the marbles and stated they did not realize it until several days later when she was in tremendous pain. If she is so delayed that she could not differentiate between metal balls and rods and candy, there was no way she could have noted when she swallowed them. Keep watching the news. These brings back memories of the finger found in Wendy’s Restaurant chilli several years ago. This poor child is being used to make a buck.

Why is an eight year old swallowing toys? If you have a child that cannot make good decisions or does not have the capacity to know better at that age, they should not have bought that item for their child. This cannot be the first time this child has done something like this. You just do not start eating toys at age eight!

Hasn’t one rotten apple always spoiled the whole bunch?
Another case of a child being used to make money for their parents. Last week my son wrecked on his bike and cut his leg on the pavement, maybe I should sue the county!

My dog knows better! Wholly mackeral what is wrong with parents these days?

Since I’m not the vice president, I can publicly state: only in Indiana!

don’t blame the company, they didn’t put it in the girls mouth she did. blame the girl for doing it. she was the fool that swallowed it. everyone always wants to be blame the company.

maybe it’s just me but shouldn’t the parents be liable because don’t the toys warn you of a choking hazard. but if shes 8, then it has to be bad parenting. now maybe only being 16 i don’t know what im talking about but im pretty sure i’m right on this one.

I think the better question would be this; if they’ve had to recall that many toys over the years, then why are they still making them?
I mean, an 8 year old should know better, but they dont always. This story reminds me of a show I saw once. I cant remember if it was House, Grey’s Anatomy or ER.

An eight year old should know better.

I’m glad to here the child is on her way to recovery. That being said, it’s not the toy’s fault that she swallowed it…at eight years old. How many other common everyday items that this child comes in contact with everyday could cause her great harm if she swallowed them? Do we we blame Elmer’s if she eats a tube of glue, Everready if she eats a battery, or even Papermate if she pokes her eye out running with a pencil? For the parents to blame the toy is ridiculous. As the father of 2 young children I realize its tough to keep them safe, but this is not the way to do it. All the parents are doing is continuing to help foster their child’s poor decision making by placing the blame elsewhere. What they should be doing is teaching their child common sense and responsibility for one’s actions.

I have to agree, if your child tends to eat their toys then buy them safe toys, which won’t hurt them. At some point you have to teach children not to put small things in their mouths.

I don’t think the toy is the issue. I think there are other issues, as it is very inappropriate for an 8 yo to be ingesting foreign bodies such as this and in this amount. They need to look at some definite psychopathology. Are the parents in denial???

No 8 year old should be putting any kind of toy in their mouth. Parents need to be more aware of what their child is doing. Come on parents are suppose to be responsible for their child don’t pass the problem to someone else.

I think maybe the parents somehow got her to eat the pieces so they could eventually get paid.

I’m glad you guys agree…my first thought was what kid-eight years old and eating TWENTY marbles?? An eight year old eating one or two marbles is ridiculous but TWENTY is absurd! This is like the woman who spilled her coffee and sued McDonald’s for not having a warning label on the coffee saying it’s hot, and she won. I hope someone has common sense enough not to let the manufacturer suffer for this. They can put an age limit on their products, but they can’t require you pass an IQ test.

Is this kid special? Did her parents hold the glass of water while she swallowed? They might need the money so that they can spend a little more quality time with their kids.

I think Julie speaks for the majority of people. My 7 and 8 year old children have these toys and they don’t eat them – because we have taught them NOT to. Too may people are sue happy these days. Take some responsibility for your own family and their actions. Grow up! Raise your children. Don’t depend on others to do it for you!

An 8 year old should be smart enough not to swallow game pieces or maybe the parents weren’t smart enough to teach the 8 year old. Either way quit blaming someone else & accept responsibilityyourself.

I AM NOT SURE IF I AM MISSING SOMETHING BUT SHOULDN’T THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WATCHING THEIR CHILD IN THE FIRST PLACE AND NOT LETTING HER EAT TOYS….PRETTY RESPONSIBLE PARENTING THERE.

Stop looking for handouts, and quit having children if you are going to be so irresponsible as to let them eat things (TOYS) that could possibly kill them.

Sounds to me like some “little Miss” wasn’t getting enough attention.

I feel the same as the previous person’s comment. Come on, 8 years old? That’s ridiculous! I would have hoped that by now, her parents would have taught her what you can & can’t put in your mouth. Duh?!!

when I first read this article, I was shocked to see the age of the child. I can imagine a 2 or 3 year old possibly swallowing toy parts but an 8 year old. Then again we dont have any idea of the childs mental capacity, its not mentioned in the story.

I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this is asenine! If the child didn’t “act so slow” in the interveiw I would think that this was intentional. Look at the way the child never looks up and the Dad conducts the interveiw.

She thought it was candy!!!! It is Steel Ball bearings! What a crocK!

She is 8, she is old enough to know better than to swallow anything other than food. Her parents need to take some responsibilty. It is crazy to take this toy off the shelves. Chances are if it wasn’t this toy it would have been another one.

I believe that an 8 year old child should be old enough and taught not to put things in there mouth. Unless of course the child has some kind of disability and just don’t know better. The parents are upset and want the toys removed from stores. What about watching your child or again explaining to your child especially at that age not to eat toys.

Russ Reed is exactly right. This child has to have some serious mental/psychological issues. She needs mental help just as soon as she is physically stronger. I hope her parents or authorities make sure she gets it. Just as everyone has said, normal 8-year olds don’t swallow tiny toys, especially not 20 of them! Hope she recovers completely.

Another case of parents not watching their kids and they blmae someone else.

Great to see so many people fed up with lawsuits! While some kids are just oral longer than others (legos,etc) that doesn’t excuse the parents from watching her. Ok she swallowed one that’s one thing but TWENTY? something’s not right here and it isn’t the toy companies fault. EVERYONE knows those toys have been recalled! I hope she makes a full recovery and has a great story to tell her grandkids but the toy companies shouldn’t shell out the money.

Invective you need to get something else to do this has nothing to do with the government or the need for more regulation. Nor does it mean just because one family isn’t very smart that all parents need regulating either.

STUPID LAWSUITS SUCH AS THIS ONE SHOULD BE BANNED…THIS IS NOT A 2 YEAR OLD…SHE IS 8 YEARS OLD. SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. THIS IS PATHETIC!

I read this story and was immediately going to post a comment asking why the heck an 8 year old was eating toys? Then I read all of these comments and it sounds like everyone was thinking the same thing!

Yes, I agree an eight year old “should” have known that swallowing those marbles and magnets is not a very good idea, but we are all assuming that she developmentally is at that appropriate age. We have to keep in mind that Chronological age and Developmental age are 2 different things. There are some 4 year olds that I know who would never think about putting toys in their mouths and there are others, such as this 8 year old that it is still an issue.

There are also some children who explore their world through touch and taste. It is a sensory issue and that is how they learn about their environment. So this child could very well be one of those children. It does not make her abnormal (there are some adults who still have an oral fixations, they just choose more appropriate “fixes” and it isn’t so easy to spot, however an 8 year old has her toys and that is what she chooses).

It all comes down to knowing where your child is developmentally and supervision!

Do I think this toy should be banned? No! I think we as parents often assume that since the age on the box matches our child’s age that it is appropriate, when most cases it is not. There are some toys that I buy for my daughter that are marketed for 6+ and they perfect for her (she is 4) and then there are other toys that are for 4+ and I do not buy for her.

But I labeling the child as being “abnormal” “should know better” is only perpetuating the old school mentality, that all children who are 8 should be at the same place in their development, Instead of meeting the child where she/he is at.

I can not believe these parents. I blame the parents for this. This shows how pathetic these people are, they feel they should not be held accountable for anything. They probably swallowed too many marbles as a child and should have died, but someone saved them. Now they are raising children who swallow too many marbles and lives to reproduce. What ever happened to survival of the fittest. don’t get me wrong i’m happy the child survived, but come on how much longer can this go on. Saving every kid that does something really stupid, and gets to live to have kids that do stupid things too. like i said i’m glad she’s alive, but they should start testing before people are able to reproduce. I also believe the child should be taken out of her parents custody.

The toy doesn’t need to be removed from stores – it is very clear to me that there is something very wrong with the 8-year-old girl and that, assuming she is of normal mental capacity, she needs counseling or some type of treatment! In fact, I have a feeling the parents may need that oo.

Follow this story, as there is more than meets the eye, it’s about money, and some parents who could be possibly be seeing early retirement, along with a multitude of ambulance chasing lawers. Watch the parents, something is not being told here. I hope I am wrong for the childs sake, but something smells funny.
DWLL

So … I asked my own 8 year old about this story. She said she could imagine some “really … kid” who was curious enough to try this but then added, “Why would you swallow more than one? I swallowed an ice cube by accident once and it really hurt! Did someone MAKE her do it?”

That question brought an interesting and terrifying scenario to my mind:

A *normal* 8 year old *might* swallow one marble. It’s not a pill and it’s not food and it’s not going to soften on the way down. That would *hurt*. NO normal 8 year old would then follow that up with 19 more large hard objects and 8 magnets. I just can’t come up with a scenario for this that doesn’t involve some kind of cohersion.

So I ask the same question that came to the mind of my own 8 year old: Did someone MAKE her do it?

Another thing that comes to mind is this: When you swallow something, it takes *time* to get through the stomach and into the intestine. This child had to be in pain pretty much from the start of this incident. How is it that she managed to endure enough time and stomach cramps that these items were *able* to pass far enough into the intestine to cause multiple injuries?

Did the same parents who raised an 8 year old capable of ingesting 28 foreign objects also ignore her cries of pain and pleas for help and wait till she was screaming to take her to the doctor?

Whatever the problem is with this household, the safety of the toy in question isn’t it!

As a parent myself, you have to watch your kids always and know what they are doing. Banning a toy does not fix the issue. I see parents trying to blame a to instead of blaming them selves for not knowing what their 8 yr old child was doing. If it were my child that did that, I can’t blame some toy manufacturer when I should have been paying attention to what my child has been up to.

This 8 year should have known better than to put toys in her mouth. My 8 year old knows better!

I just watched the interview with Haley and her father. When asked why she swallowed the steel balls and magnets, she replied saying “They looked like candy.” I don’t believe that. It sounded like she had been told how to respond. If they really looked like candy, wouldn’t one taste, not 30, have told her otherwise? She appears to be of normal intelligence. In my mind, her parents need to take a long hard look at their parenting skills and have Haley analyzed for a mental issue.

While I really am sorry for the little girls pain……………why in the world would an eight year old put them in her mouth, much less swallow them? That is something that a 1-4 year old might do, not usually one of her age? God bless her and the faimily.

Heaven forbid these parents are actually held accountable for their negligence in either not teaching their child not to eat toys (and I agree, 20 magnets is absolutly ridiculous) or at least by not supervising her when playing with this toy. If she is of diminished mental capacity, then double shame on them for not watching her better.

If she’s not, well, I just don’t understand the toy maker’s responsibility in this very stupid action of the child to keep eating them. I do feel badly that she had to have surgery, but that doesn’t make it any less a stupid action.

This is along the same lines as people suing McDonald’s for the “addicting” French Fries that made them fat. Along the way, some people have decided they can blame anything and anyone else rather than take personal resposibility.

Shame on these parents.

Seriously, take the toys off the shelf because of an abnormal child who has a toy eating fetish? My kids have had these toys for years and not once did I have to lecture them about placing them in their mouths or making a meal of them. The small toys should be taken away from the irresponsible child not the whole country. Punish the ones whose fault it is, not the ones with common sense. I agree with other people’s comments who place some/all of the blame on the parents for lack of instruction and upbringing.

I don’t know about any1 else but the article says she is 8 yrs old , shouldn’t an 8 yr old knoe better . I know my 8 yr old does not put anything in her mouth, but then again the article also says they are from Ind……. enough said !!

If she eats dog poop, willI be forced to kill my four dogs?

At 8 years old any child should know that what are toys and toys are not edible. I have a four year old daughter and she would never put these things in her mouth. The interview however said it all. Something is probably wrong.

The girl was 8 years old for crying out loud. She is old enough not to put toys in her mouth!!!
Parents take some responsibility.

Isn’t 8 a bit old to be swallowing toys???? What were the parents doing? May have been in same room, but come on,,, supervision?????? A child of 8 should know better!!

I agree with all of the above. Especially, GreatGrandma, Mom of 2, Janet. Way to go James, Ken, Julie and Vikki couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Maybe the parents should feed their better so she would not eat toy parts! And now all the rest of us and children will suffer because of one families stupidity. Where is common sense anymore and accountability? When I grew up, if I did something stupid it was my fault, not the Governments or the toy manufacturer. That’s why we have warning labels on things.

I cannot believe what I’m reading! What on earth is an 8 year old doing eating toy parts to start with? Its not the toy manufacture’s fault that the child puts things in her mouth! It is the parent’s responsibility to teach their children that they are not supposed to be putting anything but food or drink in their mouths. That is why toys have age guidelines on the box. Because an 8 year old should know better. This tells me that child has either not been taught that putting things in her mouth and swallowing them could be dangerous, or has an issue where she eats things. If she has eaten part of this set of toy parts, you’d better believe she has eaten parts of other playsets. I don’t feel other kids should have to suffer and not get to play with cool, fun toys because this set of parents don’t pay attention to theirs…

This story doesn’t make sense to me. An eight year old would know better than to swallow marbles and magnets. Is this child mentally handicapped? This sounds more like the actions of a toddler than a school aged child. If this is the case, any small toy could be a potential danger to a child who needs constant supervision around toys with small parts. When I was growing up in the 70s, the popular toys were Jacks, Light Bright, Hands Down, Hi Ho Cherrio. Many of these toys had brightly colored parts that might look inviting to a baby or toddler. But to an eight year old? If this child is mentally handicapped, she needs to be supervised. That is not the responsibility of toymakers. I wonder how we survived childhood without all the safety regulation?

I just wanted to say it’s not the Mega Brands fault, it’s the parents. It’s an 8 year old girl, you can’t blame not watching your kid on anything else but yourselfs. I think the lawsuit should be thrown out the window if you asked me.

I feel terrible for this little girl for having to go through this painful ordeal.

That being said, where has parental accountability gone???? I have a six year old son with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has been enjoying his Magnetix for almost two years. He loves them and they are great for his fine motor skills.

He doesn’t eat them because *gasp* I taught him not to eat steel balls and magnets, as they are not food.

I love that “The parents want the toys completely removed from shelves”. Curse evil Mega Brands and their poor parenting of that child!

Go ahead and sue though….champion that “cause” which in reality is an oppotunistic manipulation of a child’s misfortune. It amazes me that someone thinks they deserve a windfall for not teaching their child basic life skills. Join the ranks of the “McDonalds never told me not to put hot coffee in my lap” lady….then wonder later if the TV you inevitably use as a babysitter is to blame for your teenager’s “depression”, sense of entitlement, and lack of productivity.

When I hear people mutter “Kids these days….” what I really hear is “Parents these days”

-DaddyOhio, father of three (6,17,18)

I’m wondering if there is more to the story. Maybe she’s mentally challenged. If so, they need to buy toys appropriate for her mental age, instead of how many birthdays she’s had. I hope they never leave her unattended in another room. There’s no telling what she’d do outside their presence. I wonder if social services is looking into this.

omg! are you kidding me? i bet if you could talk to her doctor she has a history of swallowing things, she just never swallowed something that could damage herself like that, i think she was crying for attention and got it like kids who cut themselves

Where is the parent’s responsibility? Do you leave a child alone for any length of time with a toy who donesn’t know better than to swallow them? Parent’s need to watch their children!

I have a 5 year old that has been playing with that exact set of her sisters for the past 2 years and has never attempted to put the pieces in her mouth. Maybe she was just hungry. They might want to look into feed her more food instead of toys and trying to make money off the toy company.

Good to see so many level-headed people replying to this. This is an example of parents trying to blame everybody but themselves–they admitted that they were in the room when it happened! This is plain and simple bad parenting.

STOP EATING STUFF the last thing I ate that wasn’t food was a pair of earrings when I was like 7 months. If you have not figured out by 8 not to eat metal you deserve the consiquences. Not the manufacturer of the toy. And how are the parents not watchig the kid in the same room as her.

We own Magnetix toys and still have them in our home.
Can I still return them as part of the recall?
We keep them in a box and I oversee the children
when they play with them. I knew they weren’t
safe for 3 and under. Kids need supervision on
a lot of toys.
Thanks for the story,
Audra Hungate

WOW! That is all I can say, maybe this little girl needs to be checked for a chemical imbalance in her head. She is 8, that is way past the age of reason and she should know that toys do not digest properly!! What a shame, what is America coming to? This little girl is sheltered and obviously needs serious attention from her parents.

She’s 8 years old and she’s swallowing toy parts with her parents in the same room? I don’t understand why people so often want to see others pay a price for something they should have prevented. This isn’t the companies or stores problem. It’s their families problem. They need to handle it within their family.

This is the stupidest thing I’ve heard of. The parents are way off base to try to remove this item from schools and stores. Most normal 8-year old children would not swallow 20 steel balls and 10 magnets (WHILE THE PARENTS WERE IN THE SAME ROOM!!!). To try to blame the toy (or to prevent others from enjoying it in the name of “keeping children safe” is absurd.

This is not the fault of the manufacturer and sounds more like parents who do not know how to handle their own guilt

I may get myself into trouble here but it is the parents fault for not watching her a little closer – I have a set of triplet niece and nephews who don’t put things in their mouth (they are 8 yrs old) they no better. So, they can’t blame the toy company for what their daughter did.

Please let her parents know that the world is full of small pebbles, sharp stones and other small objects that can be swallowed. This sounds like a problem for her family–not toy manufacturers.

This is rediculous. Even if I was in the next room, I some how think I would be aware of what my 8 year old was doing! Did the marbles just flow down her throat so she kept on eating them??? An 8 year old should know better… or should I say, the parents should maybe look at this that their daughter will be okay and not to go public with this irresponsible act. Money is all they are looking for!

Darwin Award candidate right there. Eight year old swallowing marbles?!?! “Thought they were candy” – total BS. The child and the parents all need mental evaluations. How do you sit in the same room with your child while she inhales 20 metal marbles and some magnets and not have any idea it is happening??

Craig, the toy manufacturer isn’t to blame for this. Someone purchased the toy, if swallowing multiple (30 in this case!) objects is too much of a temptation for the little girl, whoever allowed
her to play with them is the one responsible for her problem.

There are rocks outside that children can swallow, foods that she could swallow and choke on
in mass quantities. You can’t SUE someone or tell them to remove these dangers whenever a
child requires hospitalization.

This is about someone paying hospital expenses, and folks, that has to stop. Parents are responsible for the care of their children outside of the hospital and responsible for the costs
should they be checked in. PERIOD.

If I were the parents instead of blaming the toy I would be investigating why my 8 yr old was eating all the parts.Not normal!

If as a society, we continue to point fingers and blame others for what is our responsibility then why do we live in a free country? This family and all families should use common sense and not even need most warnings on toys. I’m sorry but if you were watching the kid and they still did this, then you weren’t watching them well enough. So if we continue with the idiotic law suits, eventually we won’t be able to do anything. I can’t stand the idiotic warning labels on products today. We need to get smarter or we are going to come across as a very dumb country. But we all know it just comes down to greed, many people will play dumb to get a large amount of money.

These parents need to be brought up on child negligence and endangerment charges or something. They are certainly not going to be “heroes” by taking this toy off store shelves. 8 years old and she’s eating magnets and other small parts from her toys? Is there any FOOD in the Lent’s house?

The Lent’s are idiots. Plain and simple. They should be sued and their child taken away.

Plain and simple.

ok, 1 or 2 swallowed parts can be understandable. who hasn’t done something dumb? but, 20 marbles and 8 magnets….wtf??? to top it all off, the parents were there!!! this kid and her parents need counseling, and perhaps medication to controll her erratic tendencies!!

Perhaps the magnetic toys should be removed from shelves, but this particular incident involves an eight year old girl. We are not talking about a small child. Swallowing 12 or more magnets is what one can expect from a 2 or three year old. If a child as old as eight does so, I would have to look at the parents. Why are the parents always so quick to blame toy makers and not question the actions of their child or their own parenting?

I think in an earlier article they said something about the girl being adopted and having some sort of eating problem. If that were the case, the parents were stupid to buy ANYTHING with small parts until they were sure their child no longer ate small pieces. To take away a really cool toy from every other 8 year old in the nation just because their ONE child (with an eating disorder) almost died from it, is ludicrous and just another sign of the socialist direction our country is trying to go. People! Take some responsibility!

Actually, what should happen is this child should be taken away from these parents because OBVIOUSLY she is able to go unsupervised and get into all kinds of trouble without them knowing it. Think about it: these were 30 METAL objects she swallowed. Imagine swallowing 30 of anything–be it food or pills or whatever, it takes awhile. Add to that it seems the girl may be developmentally disabled in some way to have swallowed metal objects at her age, meaning she would need more supervision than a typical 8 year old. WHERE WERE THE PARENTS??? I don’t believe for one second they were in the same room! It makes you wonder what else this child has swallowed in the past but never grabbed the attention of the media or child protection services. Shame on these parents!! If my parental skills were as bad as theirs I’d hide my head in shame–not bring about a lawsuit.

How about the Parents accepting responsibility or is it to easy to blame a toy company for there lack of parenting skills?

I’m curious about how much dental damage this little girl would have…. Last time I put candy in my mouth, I chewed it.. I would think after chewing on… let’s say 1 steel ball… She would not have any teeth left, or a broken jaw….

I can see accidently ONE for a younger child. I have a three year old that wouldn’t even do that! I’m hope there was food in the kitchen… but still… don’t eat toys kids! Never give this child scratch and sniff stickers ya’ll. But.. i am glad she survived.

I am currently in in my classroom. I just asked a 7 year old student if she would swallow marbles and she laughed and said, “No!” Story seems a little silly. A younger child…sure. A child that old? I have to question.

If this child is mentally disabled then she should not have this kind of toy. I’m so tired of people wanting to gov. to step in because they lack the responsibility to be a parent. In the article the father is quoted that he and his wife were both in the room when this happened and didn’t notice. I realize that parents can’t watch their children 24/7 but I find it hard to believe that a parent sitting in the same room wouldn’t notice their child eating their toys. The blame for this is with the family not Mega Brands.
To Debbie: I agree with you, this does sound suspicious like it could be Munchausen’s Syndrome or just simply greed.

I agree with those that have stated they think the child is handicapped… she must be mentally challenged , and should be properly supervised when playing with age appropriate toys. Maybe for her the appropriate age would be toys for those “3 and under”.

Parents should be more careful when buying toys with slmall parts for young children. If a parent sees that a toy has small parts and they have a young child then you need to watch your child more closely with that particular toy. It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure that you properly watch your child with any small object. Young children like to put things in thier mouth. At eight years old this should not still be an issue. Parents need to stop blaming everyone for thier mistakes and take responsibilty that they are sometimes careless in the observation of thier children. Taking a toy off the market because your child swallowed something that should not have been in your mouth in the first place is not going to fix the problem. Instead, parents should pay more attention to thier child or children. In this way we can effectively rectify a growing situation of parents wanting to replace quality time with your child by having them play with toys that are not acceptable to be played with alone by young children. No parent should ever feel that any toy, especially one with small parts, is an adequate substition for “time” spent with a parent. Parents should not be so engulfed in what they are doing to not pay attention to your child. Thanks.

My son is 3, has been stringing beads in school and at home and NEVER had an incident of swallowing small pieces. Knows he’s not supposed to be handling knives, sharp objects or get into Mommy’s or Daddy’s stuff without supervision. Parents should spend MORE time with their kids to TALK about their surroundings, EXPLAIN safety and rights from wrongs. I expected all the comments here will be like mine. I’m not surprised at all! Reading this news made me cringe and thought ‘Duh???

I live in the same county as this family, and this story was on the front page of our daily newspaper on Monday (June 2nd).

According to the article, the girl was adopted from Russia when she was either 3 or 5 (I forget), but no where does it state that she has any type of developmental problems or disability. In fact, the article even quotes her parents as saying that she’s a very well-adjusted girl, who makes good grades in school (A’s and B’s).

I made the same type of comments to my wife when I read the article. This is not the fault of the manufactuer. This is a parental accountablity issue. And the culture of entitlement that has been fostered in this country. “Not MY fault, let’s blame somebody ELSE and make THEM pay!”

Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for the pain and suffering that she had to go through, but it just sounds fishy beyond that.

I could understand a lawsuit if the manufacturer used chocolate flavored magnets but I don’t think that is the case.

I’m pretty sure an earlier article said she was adopted and in the orphanage had some sort of eating disorder. If that was true, they were crazy to buy her this toy, knowing full well she puts things in her mouth. And to take it a step further and try to get it removed from all the shelves (including hurting a company at that), is just another indication of the socialist direction our country is leaning.

Looks like this girl is learning a lesson from todays society, that is to do whatever you want to do and if something goes wrong or someone gets hurt, just sue someone!

It’s not the governments job to watch or child. Banning a toy won’t keep your daughter from swallowing things. Teach her and watch her. I have a three year old that knows if I catch her with something in her mouth the toy goes in the trash.

I’m glad I am not the only one that was appalled to hear of another family not taking responsibility for their own poor parenting. EIGHT YEARS OLD?!?!!? Are you kidding me?!?! I think we need to start mandatory parenting classes or something to start teaching people how its done! Apparently this girl is going to have to be kept in solitary confinement to keep her away from anything small that could be confused for candy. Come to think of it…that promo flashlight on my desk looks mighty tasty…

Just goes to show, some folks really do have marbles for brains!

Come on! Anything can be dangerous if not used properly. Even a teaspoon. Should we remove everything. What in the world was an 8-year old girl doing putting this in her mouth! Life just continues to get more ridiculous the older I get.

Seriously, I am glad that she survived the surgery. However, it is ludicrous to assume the toy company should be liable for this situation.

Jeff I read that too, and I think they said the Russian orphanage did say she had a problem with eating non-food items….

No way the parents are going to win in court with the testimony of the orphanage like that…they had fair warning.

Was this eight year old who swallowed magnets mentally handicaped? Was she starved of attention? Does she have a history of self destructive behavior?
Because I’ve worked with children for over 11 years and

AN EIGHT YEAR OLD CHILD KNOWS BETTER THAN TO SWALLOW NON-FOOD ITEMS.

Clearly this child has mental problems or at the least severe problems with reasoning in which case her parents are to blame for not knowing their child’s mental limitations. I can understand if the toy was defective or broken in some way but if you start punishing companies for building small toys over half the toys will be pulled off the shelves. Clearly these parents are in denial as to who is to blame and they are doing their child a HUGE dis-service by not making her take responsibility for her actions.
As far as the company goes I will be VERY disappointed if they bow down to this. They should fight this case whole heartedly. I know that this toy has an age limit on the box. Therefore parents have forewarning as to the age of children who can handle this toy.

Good luck to the company and I hope the family can get help for their clearly incapable parents and disturbed little girl.

My 5 year old just got a set of these for his 5th birthday earlier this month. There is a warning on the box of the potentially fatal injuries that may occur if you eat the magnets. I read the warning and knowing my 5 year old doesn’t eat his toys I feel the set is approriate for my son. But come on, an 8 year old??? An 8 year old should know better. If their child wasn’t mentally developed enough to understand the dangers of eating toys it looks to me like the parents are to blame for not supervising their child.

Another case of poor parenting being blamed on the public sector.

How can these parents blame a toy company for their 8 year old’s poor culinary decision (or if the girl is mentally challenged, THEIR poor choice in exposing her to the hazards of such a toy)? I seriously doubt even a 4 year old would ingest 20 metal balls and magnets. Parents are to be responsible for their child’s safety until they have been taught and observed to be able to make safe decisions themselves.

My head is swimming with all the stuff that we played with when I was a kid. Yeah, we broke a few arms and legs, even got a poke in the eye with a stick or two, but we lived to tell about it and nobody was sued.

Nobody ever got sent into the yard with firecrackers and a pack of matches without watching parents do it for years before getting our first try. Most of us had training wheels on our bike, or Dad holding it upright, before we attempted it unsupervised. That pogo stick was tough, but we took it in baby steps, with mother yelling the whole time, “be careful or you’re going to break your leg!”. We spent hours trying to dig a hole through to China so that we could give those starving children all the stuff our mothers said they needed.

What we didn’t do was sit in front of a glowing screen all day! We had fresh air, exercise, interaction with other kids, proper body and motor skill development and got dirty! Then we were forced into the bathtub, without fear that we would drown or be rendered otherwise lifeless by some bath toy.

We don’t need more government agencies taking over our responsibility as parents and consumers. We need to pay attention to what we’re doing! We DO need to put a stop to the frivolous lawsuits. John Edwards got to be filthy rich as a plaintiff’s trial lawyer, suing companies on behalf of those who were “wronged”. These blood suckers get from 30-50% of the settlements AFTER expenses.

Whew! Sorry for being the windbag of the day. This hit one of my hot spots.

Ann, the difference between your son and this girl is that your child at ONE. I could have accepted, reluctantly, that at eight years old child got curious and tried one, but not TWENTY and the link Jeff had to the interview really makes me question her mentality…”because they looked like candy.” Obviously, she would have discovered after ingesting the first one that it wasn’t candy!

How did we survive as kids? No helmets when we rode our bikes, climbed trees taller than our house, ate glue.

When I was nine my parents gave me a wood burning set. A WOOD BURNING SET!!!
Y’know what I did with it? Made pictures on wood. These kids todays would immediately try to stick it in their eye. Then they’d sue the wood burning set company.
Were we smarter? Were we more careful?

I had marbels as a kid. I never ate them.

I had a G.I. Joe. (A REAL one. Not these “action figure” things.) He came with a mess kit that had a little bitty spoon, fork, and knife. That’d slide down a kids throat quick enough. But y’know. I didn’t try to swallow them. Why? Cause G.I. Joe needed them for the mess kit! Duh!
I had an erector set. With sharp edges build perfectly for poking out my eye. Why did I never do that?

Maybe… Just maybe… Darwin had a point with “natural selection”?

What is the difference between leaving this child unsupervised and leaving a child unsupervised in a hot car? It sounds like negligence at least. If the child is so well adjusted maybe, the parents should be looked at. Do the parents have any other children that have had strange medical adventures?

There was an episode of Grey’s Anatomy dealing with this very issue. It turns out, the child did it on purpose because his parents were getting a divorce and every time the kid did it he got rewarded! I’m wondering if this 8 year old saw that episode and it made an impression. Kids are easily shaped from popular stuff like that. But has anyone considered this…

Could it be possible that she has some sort of mental disorder, and at such an early age is hard to detect? No parents want to admit their children are different from the “norm” however in this situation I feel like maybe it is worth looking at. What a shame though, I know the very toy they speak of and it would awful if it were taken off the shelves because of these wretched selfish neglects, who are looking for a handout because they live in impoverished Southern Indiana.

Perhaps DSS or CPS should be involved with this. It sounds to me as though the parents have been negligent with their child!!

Oh, come on! This is sooo American (sadly). The article indicates that the parents WERE in the room with and 8-year-old who ate her toys and did nothing about it. Now the same parents are suing? This smells like a set up, get-rich-quick with a lawsuit scheme. Perhaps the parents should be charged with negligence, at least, and perhaps wilful child endangerment. People like this are exemplary of what is wrong with America now. They should be ashamed of themselves, not flaunt their poor parenting and stoopidity!

That is bull crap! Why in the world is an 8 year old putting ANYTHING in her mouth???? Did her parents not teach that it is not ok to do that……My 6 year old son LOVES Magnetix and NEVER puts them in his mouth! I think that it is totally unfair for them to demand these toys be removed from stores. Why should other children go without being able to play with such an awesome toy because of their lack of parenting skills? For crying out loud, 20 MARBLES AND OTHER PIECES……

WHERE EXACTLY WERE THE PARENTS??????

The parents should take responsibility for their child in failing to teach her that toys are properly played with (according to directions) and not EATEN!! If the child is mentally challenged, clearly there is neglect by the parents and they should be held accountable. It appears to me the child was “coaxed” into ingesting the toys by the parents for financial gain.

Sounds like everyone in this family has the IQ’s of a squid! Hey, just mabey the parents had their kid eat this stuff for $$$. After all, they were in the same room. Feed your kid some food, Mommy.

Are we encouraging a generation of bad parents who raise their children to be this stupid so the parents can sue some “deep pockets” corporation? The parents need supervision as much as the child.

When are people going to start taking responsibility for their own actions and the actions of their children!!! This is no one’s fault but their own for not teaching an 8 year to eat toys. If this is not usual behavior for her they have bigger problems than her medical bills.

Lets outlaw bicycles. After all, you might fall off!!!

Maybe she has a serious iron deficiency? Or an older brother who gave her a dare!! Or it could just be stupid parenting!

An 8 year old still swallowing toys!!! this is ridiculous. I dont understand why she would eat the toy and why the parents are outraged by the unsafeness of the toy. because of her, other children will not be able to play with it and all it is going to do is scare other parents from buying similar toys. The only people the parents should be mad at is their daughter.

Swallowing one or two pieces is in the realm of an accidental ingestion. Swallowing almost 30 pieces shows intent for self-harm or an unsupervised special needs child.

Honestly the parents are Resposible for watching their kid. It is not the toy company’s fault that an 8 year old did not know enough not to put small objects in her mouth.

What about personal responsibility from the parents. We are talking about an eight year old who should have been taught to not eat anything but her food. And the article makes it sound like the item was recalled yet the parents continued to let their child play with this ‘dangerous’ toy.

A family in our area lost an 18month old from this. I’m still haunted by the one visit I made to their home prior to this incident. The house was covered in stacks of filth. I would not let my dog walk thru there. Counters, floors, furniture – I was very uncomfortable and embarressed for them. When their child died, they sued, won & when I read about it I thought “are the parents at at fault here??”

Ok … let me get this staight. An eight year old little girl took in not one, not two, but 20 if these metal balls. Ok something just don’t seem right. This really makes you question the ability of these parents. If they were in the same room with this child how come she took in so many and what were they doing not to notice this? And why would an eight year old child not know any better? Are these parents even responsable enough to take care of a child? I mean i know accidents happen but come on folks this is an eight year old!!! I have a 2 year old and even he knows better than to put something in his mouth besides food. This is truely a sad situation…. does this child not get the attention that she needs or is this something that she has to do in order for someone to look and listen to her?!?!?! I’m going to go now because the more I talk about this the more pissed off I get.

What in the world is an 8 year old putting these in her mouth anyway!!! There are things a lot smaller that would cause damage. Do we remove everything small or magnetic??!!!!

CHRIS…I brought up Natural Selection too, earlier as a sarcastic joke of this situation and Fox didn’t print it. I found it quite funny.

My favorite part of this story was that the parents were in the room. Um….doing what?

I can’t get past the tone of the little girl in the interview. Others who have said she was probably coached are likely correct; she says (to her knees–and did anyone else notice Dad’s shifty eyes at this point?) that, “They looked like candy.” I just can’t get past the taste thing though. A metal ball. A silver cake decoration. Nope–not even similar tastes. And it surely wouldn’t take more than one to get that point across.

For the fans of big government who think there should be more regulation and supervision of parents poorly equipped to care for their own children, please feel free to refer this family to CPS. If, after eight years with a child who is emotionally or intellectually challenged, these parents are still unaware of her individual needs–that she needs supervision with basic childhood toys for instance–it sounds like they might need some coaching of their own. If she is challenged in some way, does she not have physical or occupational therapists to work with her and her parents? Do they not have a case worker of some type? Or educational specialists with whom they can consult?

Figure out what your kids can handle and provide the appropriate amount of supervision for that activity. Let the rest of us provide toys for our own kids that we know they can handle.

And for Pete’s sake, keep the government where it belongs, which is not in my living room.

WHAT! It would take a long time for anyone to swallow that meny magnets, or metal balls, the parents should have been watching.

Stupid parenting or just a stupid child. Either way the toy shouldn’t be taken off the market. GRRR – people really need to start being responsible for THEMSELVES!!

Ok, how old is she? Let me guess her parents are going to sue because of their daughters stupidity. How about instead of insisting that the toys be pulled off the shelves, how about the parents go back to the basics of when you had a toddler. Do not put things in your mouth. this is a joke. She is old enough to certainly know better. Or maybe not!

Has anyone thought this girl might have pica?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29

Who, pray tell, bought that for the obviously unattended child? I think the appropriate action would be to charge the parents with Child Endangerment. dlm

What would possess an 8 year old to swallow magnets. There is something definitely wrong with this child. I strongly suggest the parents get her psychologically evaluated and take responsibility for their unsupervision of a more than likely disturbed child. They don’t have a leg to stand on against the Toy company. My child had the same set when he was 7 years old and we never had a problem.

Oh My!!! My daughter is a month short of being 8 and she would NEVER be swallowing ONE toy let along 30 pieces from a toy!!! Sounds to me like this child is under some severe stress at home to be doing something like that!!! Get her and the parents some serious help!

I am so happy to see all the people on here that can use common sense. This country will end up being ruined with these ridiculous law suits. They cost the American people millions of dollars each year in court cost, insurance rate increases and product costs. We need to put a stop to this crap. Somewhere along the line people need to step up and take responsibility for their actions ( also for their minor children). I have a 10 year old that left his baseball bag with his and my 7 year olds glove in it. I told my 10 year old he would have to pay for new one with his own money. I told my 7 year old I would buy him a new one. He told me no that he was at the park and should have reminded the 10 year old to bring it. So he said he would pay for his with his own money as well. Luckily someone found the bag and returned it. The point is that it is very sad when my 7 year old can own up to his responsibilities yet we have adults that are responsible (or at least are supposed to be) for children and they can’t even control them when they are in the same damn room as the child. I’m feel sorry for this child. If the parents are that oblivious just imagine what will happen when she becomes sexually active. They’ll probably try to sue when she gets pregnant.

An 8 year old girl, in the same room as her parents, was able to swallow about 30 pieces of a toy, unnoticed.

Now, because of their carelessness, I’m feel like I’d better go buy up a few more sets of these toys, since my kids like them so much (hrmphf.. and my youngest was playing with them at 3 yo and never put them in his mouth, let alone swallowed one)… shame to think a creative, thinking toy may be removed from the shelves because of negligent parents and a child with issues (whether it’s mental retardation, or perhaps a plea for attention…..)..

Ok, how old is this child?! An 8yr old should know better than to swallow anything other than what she is suppose to. Shoot my kids at 2 yrs old knew better. Somewhere, sometime parents are going to have to be responsible for what their young children do. People are so quick to blame everyone else, except the person (people) they should.