The time of year is upon us again when millions of parents in Georgia and across the country are getting ready for holiday shopping. You might want to look at this post before buying presents, if you have young children.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, balloons pose a significant danger to children when they are uninflated. A quick Internet search reveals that many toys for children incorporate balloons in some way or other. From water balloons to games that involve balloons which are gradually inflated until they pop, these can be fun, yet extremely dangerous children’s toys for children who are too young to know how to handle balloons safely.
The CPSC points out that inflated balloons are not of themselves dangerous, but uninflated or popped balloons in children’s products are the number one cause for suffocation fatalities. A child may accidentally suck a balloon into his or her windpipe while attempting to blow up the balloon or may choke on pieces of a balloon that he or she was chewing on or playing with.
Because of this great risk, the CPSC recommends you don’t allow children under the age of eight to handle uninflated balloons without supervising them. If a balloon breaks, immediately pick up the pieces and dispose of them. These measures may help prevent a tragedy. A hazardous situation may occur in cases in which there was insufficient warning on a dangerous product and you perhaps did not know that a toy contained uninflated balloons. You should not take the information provided here as legal advice.
