My dad sent me this...In case anyone has these toys. Might wanna be cautious!

Toddler Dies After Freak Accident Involving Toy

December 20, 2005

By Michelle Esteban

Two-year-old Kenny Sweet ingested some loose magnets from Magnetix toys, which became attached in his intestines and eventually killed him.

REDMOND - A freak accident involving a popular toy has killed a 2-year-old boy. And now, Kenny Sweet's parents hope that other parents can learn from their tragedy.

It was Thanksgiving Day when Kenny was rushed to Kirkland's Evergreen Medical Center emergency room with what his mom thought was the stomach flu. But five minutes later, Kenny had died.

"I heard 'code blue' and I was hysterical at that point," Penny Sweet said. "I thought maybe if we all could pray at the same time that we could pull him out, but no amount of prayers or people could save him at that point."

The King County Medical Examiner's report blames his death on a toy. The autopsy found tiny magnets -- smaller than the eraser on a pencil -- in Kenny's intestine.

The magnets were encased in plastic building blocks toys that Penny's 10-year-old son had been playing with. Penny says some of the magnets fell out, and Kenny apparently found them in the carpet and swallowed them.

"It's very dangerous. Who can police this?" asks Kenny's mother.

Doctors found the magnets in Kenny's small intestine -- one at the top and one at the bottom. The magnetic force was so great it connected both ends, twisting his intestine and forcing deadly bacteria into his blood stream.

"It does say there is a choking hazard on here," Penny Sweet said. "Unfortunately, they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind warning they need to have on here."

Dr. Tony Woodward, Children's Hospital Chief of Emergency Medicine, is not connected with Kenny's case, but he explained what happens when the intestine is twisted: "As it twists farther, you lose blood supply to the intestine. Once you lose blood supply, then it starts to die."

Mega Bloks, based in Montreal, manufactures the toy. It's one in a series called Magnetix.

A spokesperson for the company said that in nearly 70 years in the toy business, this is the first death resulting from one of their toys. The spokesman said the Magnetix toys are still on the shelf, but Mega Bloks is investigating.

With Christmas just days away the Sweets didn't want to wait for the company's findings, they want to warn other parents immediately.

Mega Bloks reported Kenny Sweet's death to The Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission confirmed for KOMO 4 News it does have an "open investigation."

Mega Bloks says it's up to the commission to decide if the toy should be pulled off toy shelves.

In October, Toy Wishes, a self-described family entertainment guide, named the Magnetix as one of the top 12 toys for Christmas this year.

This is a horribly horribly sad accident. But one thing that caught my attention was this quote from the mother:
"It does say there is a choking hazard on here," Penny Sweet said. "Unfortunately, they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind warning they need to have on here."

Does she think that choking doesn't cause serious injury or death? Sounds like she's just prepping herself for a lawsuit. I can't imagine going through that though, rushing my baby to the hospital and then hearing "code blue" OMG it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I think her point is that he didn't choke and it still caused death. So maybe she is trying to get them to put that in addition to the choking. He swalloed them no problem apparently. It was after they were ingested that all the probs started by the magnets closing off his intestine..

I see your point. I still can't begin to imagine having to live through something like that.

that is so incredibly sad :(

That's crazy! I feel soo bad for her. You wouldn't think that those little magnets would have that much power.

My son (10 year old) has thousands of them and LOVES them. Josh even loves playing with them. The tiny magnents do fall out occasionally. I feel terrible sadness for a mother to lose a child. Additionally, it is becoming rediculous to put "this toy causes death" on every freakin toy. You know those "snakes" at 4th of July, the ones you light and they grow. Well they stopped selling those for years because some kid ate one and died. Now come on parents, watch your kids and teach them not to put things in their mouth. I think the disclaimer needs to be stamped across their head and cover everything known to man.

I saw this on the news last night :(. It was very sad.

Now come on parents, watch your kids and teach them not to put things in their mouth. I think the disclaimer needs to be stamped across their head and cover everything known to man.

Toddlers put EVERYTHING into their mouths. How can you watch 24/7. It happens. I thin EVERY parent has expierenced their little one having something in their mouth without them realizing it. Heck I vaccuum every single day and still Ethan finds and puts stuff in his mouth. Do I teach him no? Yep you bet. But he doesn't fully understand that yet and thats how babies and toddlers explore their world.

If you are gonna put a warning on a toy in the first place then it should be an accurate one. Choking obviously isnt the only hazard. And I dunno about you, but I do take the warnings and age groups etc into consideration before purchasing a toy for Ethan. If it says it has small parts I don't buy it. So the warnings do help with some things.

Yes but this child was 2. By then, they should have a good understanding of what is acceptable to put in their mouth and what is not if the parents had been doing a decent job of teaching them. Anything can cause death if used inproperly, that should be a given.

I thin EVERY parent has expierenced their little one having something in their mouth without them realizing it.

and

Yes but this child was 2. By then, they should have a good understanding of what is acceptable to put in their mouth and what is not if the parents had been doing a decent job of teaching them. Anything can cause death if used inproperly, that should be a given.

I too am one of those parents that has experienced their little one having something in their mouth without them realizing. BUT, just because a child has reached the ripe old age of two doesn't mean that he/she knows what is acceptable to put in their mouth and what isn't. Kids don't think about consequences at that age.

Not all toddlers put everything in thier mouth. And yes, a 2 year old should know that non food items do not belong in the mouth. And that toy does say not for children under 3. That should have been enough for the older one to play with them out of the reach of the little brother. Those parents should have known that their toddler had a problem putting things in his mouth and only let the older one play with those toys in a room that the toddler wasnt allowed to play in.

I'm not saying I dont feel sorry for this family. Anytime a child dies for any reason is sad.

I was just commenting on the fact that the way things are going now-a-days everything should come with the warning that it could cause death.

my dad sent me this article last night :( my old neighbor had some of those toys that someone gave to her. i had no idea the magnets could be that strong!

I agree April

How incredibly sad.... :(

i think its sad too, and i also agree with the fact that you cant watch your kids 24/7 but in just my opinion , 2 years old do not know better that well yet, heck 3 year olds dont either. they may know alot but they still dont always understand and sometimes even if they do understand they are still going to do inappropriate things. i know my 3 year old understands most things but he still does things that he shouldnt and i try to watch him as much as lieth within me , but parents cant watch their kids 24/7 otherwise how are we supposed to get things done around the house. but all this is just my opinion. heck i think parents of teenagers need to keep more of an eye on their kids cause they can get into far more trouble then the little ones do. i mean i dont think this is any one persons or companies fault, but i guess people need to put the blame somewhere. i kinda would think you can blame both in a way. but it is still sad and i am sorry that their christmas will not be a very merry one. i love my child and will keep them out of harms way as best as i possibly can.

:tears :tears that is sooo sad. i thank god my 2 year olds got outts that phase we almost lost aiden when he was lalmost one when we found a piece of wood that dh had been working on and didnt pick up all pieces:mad he started choking and it was caught in his throat i couldnt get it out i call 911 and by this time he was turning blue i ran over to the neighbors and he was able to get it out. i thank god for him being home and he bein able to help me. this is soo sad and it touches me a little closer cause i almost lost aiden from chiking. even thought the child didnt die of choking it still hits close to home

Two year olds don't neccessarily know its not ok to put stuff in their mouths, but hey I was student teaching in a first grade classroom and alot of those kids STILL kept putting crap in their mouths. I think unfortunately parents don't consider all the children in the house when they buy toys. They think that if the child they bought the toy specifically for is old enough for, then everything is fine. You see it all the time. Litte building blocks, hot wheels, all kinds of stuff and the baby or toddler right in the middle of it.

That kind of scares me. I would hate for Cameron to eat soemthing from one of Alex's toys and me not know. :(

Makes me want to have my kids stomaches x-rayed every couple of months. You hear of kids eating money all the time and the doc just says watch for it to pass:shock

OMG...that makes me fall apart just thinking that could happen to my baby!

I think the warnings do need to be more accurate!

well i do remember my parents told me when i was really little that i swallowed a penny and the doctors told them to just let it come out the other end. from what they told me i dont think i actually choked, but since they are both now deceased i have no way of knowing for sure if i actually started choking or not. but yes it does make you want to be more watchful of your little ones even if you already do so.

That is so sad:no

Maybe the company had no idea that the magnets could actually cause death like that. Seems pretty "freak" to me. I mean a lot of things can and do kill people in ways that the maker of the product could never even dream of. Now that they do know, stating that on the label is a must IMO.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about this and something came to mind. This woman bought this toy for her 10 year old child. She bought it for her 10 year old child even though the box said that it was not intended for children under 3, and that it presented a choking hazard. My question is this...do you really think that if the box had said that the toy could cause serious injury and/or death when ingested, do you honestly think that she would not still have bought the toy - being for the older child in the first place?? I don't think a warning or serious injury/death when ingested would have prevented her from giving the toy to her 10 year old in the first place. So...it's a moot point.

On a side note, do you think it's odd that my mind wanders to debates when I'm laying in bed trying to sleep?? :lmao

I was laying in bed last night thinking about this and something came to mind. This woman bought this toy for her 10 year old child. She bought it for her 10 year old child even though the box said that it was not intended for children under 3, and that it presented a choking hazard. My question is this...do you really think that if the box had said that the toy could cause serious injury and/or death when ingested, do you honestly think that she would not still have bought the toy - being for the older child in the first place?? I don't think a warning or serious injury/death when ingested would have prevented her from giving the toy to her 10 year old in the first place. So...it's a moot point.

On a side note, do you think it's odd that my mind wanders to debates when I'm laying in bed trying to sleep?? :lmao

Yeah she should of known. And yeah she probably would of still bought it. Rod and I were talking about this last night and he was like sadly you can't lock the older sibling up to play with toys that aren't appropaite for younger siblings. Just keep as good of an eye on them as possible. I'm not her but maybe she figured with the warning she might of thought twice. I dunno. But yeah it probably is a moot point and I think at this point she is probably in shock and emotional and not thinking clearly. Maybe she feels like she would of thought twice since she is going thru this outcome now. Even tho she may not of.

Nah I don't think it is weird. I do the same thing. I think of the oddest things while laying in bed :hehe

I still feel an enormous amount of empathy for her and her family. It was a horrible horrible accident, no matter how you look at it. :(

Makes me want to have my kids stomaches x-rayed every couple of months. You hear of kids eating money all the time and the doc just says watch for it to pass:shock
My son swallowed a quater... :hehe

This story is very sad. I am SO glad I did NOT get those for ds for Christmas, even though we do not have a baby/toddler in the house, we do have a dog and a cat, and I can see that happening with them too.