Sometimes, it seems like you literally need to watch your child 24 hours a day in order to ensure that they never get hurt -- and that's just not possible, now is it? An 8-month-old baby named Arunya was rushed to the hospital recently when her great-grandmother and legal guardian discovered that she swallowed a ball the size of a marble -- a ball the size of a marble that grows up to 400 times its size when put in water. Yep, bad times, guys.
The name of the toy is called Water Balz, and as I said, they expand when put in water, like many children's toys do. Apparently, Arunya's great-grandmother thought she swallowed a piece of candy initially, but when the little girl started vomiting bile, had a distended belly, and severe constipation, she knew something was wrong. When surgeons operated on her, they found a 3.5-cm gel ball blocking part of her small intestines -- the Water Balz. Thankfully, the ball was found early, and Arunya was able to leave the hospital -- with no permanent damage -- within four days. The ball, apparently, belonged to Arunya's older sister.
Naturally, as everyone always wants a person to blame, people are up in arms with the great-grandmother right now. Comments like, "Why wasn't she watching her?" and "What is a great-grandmother doing watching an 8-month-old baby?" abound after blog posts everywhere. And they're kind of unwarranted, because not only do we not know the full story of why this great-grandmother is this little baby's guardian, we don't know how old the great-grandmother even is. And moreover, this could happen to anyone who has more than one kid. Babies put stuff in their mouths all the time.
Short of not allowing older siblings to have toys of this nature and watching your baby every single second, there isn't a ton that can be done to stop this sort of thing from happening to anyone. So, lay off ol' granny, everyone. I'm sure she already feels bad enough.
Has your kid ever swallowed anything they weren't supposed to?
Image via Incredible Science
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Comments 8
As for watching her, nobody can be staring at their baby 24/7. You try to make sure the area is safe, and you keep an eye out. But I've had to rescue a few things from my baby's mouth, and I've found a couple of my older daughter's beads in her diaper. It happens. Great grandma didn't appear to waste any time getting baby medical attention when she noticed something was wrong. Good on her.
My son's (14 months) great grandmother and grandfather watch him every Monday for my husband and I while we are at work. They are fit and active and in their 70s. They love the time they have with Hunter. I don't see anything wrong with great grandparents spending time with little ones, and if the family trusts them to take cae of the baby then why not??
Yes, the baby should not have been able to get ahold of those toys, but that can happen to a 20 something year old mother just as easily.
Thank you :)
My children's great-grandparents babysit not only their grand kids but their great grand kids. This is just a normal accident that could have happened to anyone, young parent or a great-grandparent, or any other caretaker. Great-grandma had the forethought and knowledge to know that something was wrong and to take the baby to the hospital. I say in this case wisdom won.
I don't think my son has swallowed anything he shouldn't have. He has put things in his mouth that shouldn't be there, but I've never found anything in his diapers.
I only have 1 child right now but from when I used to babysit, it is almost impossible to keep older kids toys completely separate and away from babies/toddlers toys or away from babies.