Mother Shares Heartbreak After Son Ingests Magnets from Popular Children's Toy

By Amanda Thomason December 28, 2018 at 10:58am

As kids enjoy unwrapping Christmas presents and getting acquainted with their new toys, the flaws in those toys become very clear. They look all nice and tidy in their shrink wrap and colorful packaging, but the reality is that with time they can actually become dangerous.

For one family, a broken toy ended with a trip to the hospital and emergency surgery. A little boy named Beck managed to open up a seemingly innocuous toy: a plastic, magnetic building triangle.

You may have seen them. The idea is pretty creative: You use small magnetic pieces to build larger structures. The problem was that when the piece was broken, the magnets spilled out and Beck ingested 13 of them.

You may know that button batteries are incredibly dangerous and often lethal for children and pets, but many people are not aware of how dangerous magnets can be. Mom Jennifer White has posted their story to Facebook in an attempt to warn other parents about these kinds of potential pitfalls.

“Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts ❤️” she wrote on Facebook after midnight on Dec. 27 with a photo of her son, “all the good vibes and juju are needed. We are headed to Children’s hospital in Milwaukee.

“Beck and Mom are taking an ambulance and Dad’s meeting us there. Beck broke open a magnetic toy and has 13 tiny magnets in him.”

“If you have little ones or chewers these are dangerous and we’re removing them from our home. Dogs could also break these open too.”

“Updated: He has finished with surgery they had to remove part of his colon, intestines and appendix. The magnets created holes and infection in his intestines. He has to stay in Children’s for at least 3-4 days. They need to restart his bowels and watching the infection. He is high risk still and please keep him in your thoughts and prayers thank you ?”

Many people have sent their prayers and gifts, and though Beck has been sleeping a lot, things are looking okay at the moment, based on recent Facebook posts.

“Never in all of my life have I had the support and unbelievable generosity of so many people,” White wrote on Dec. 28 “I’m still in complete awe. Beck is doing well and mostly sleeping which is good cause it will be easier to rid the infection in his stomach.”

“His stay will be at minimum four days and our family is over an hour away … We are beyond blessed and set for whatever comes are way with Beck this week. I’m pretty sure I haven’t stopped crying since a special angel showed up with so much love from so many of my friends and new friends.”

“Thank you all so very very much from the bottom of my heart and from my family. We are truly grateful and blessed for all the love and support. He will be excited to check out some movies and programs when he does wake up. Thank you!!!!!”

Thankfully the family caught this in time and despite the stress and trauma they’ve experienced, it looks like Beck will pull through. Make sure you keep an eye out for dangers like these that are lurking in plain sight!

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