The Toddler has always been the type of child that needs particularly close supervision when she’s playing. She’s quiet, fast, curious, and short. So, I know to keep a close eye on her lest I want to find her attempting to put a key in a light socket or pushing her doll stroller up the street. She’s especially dangerous, though, about exploring her world with her mouth. As an infant, she got choked and coughed up a tiny piece of Scotch tape she had found lying in the floor. Last year about this time, I removed two pennies from the back of her mouth. And, in the fall the Preschooler dramatically alerted us to the fact that her sister had stuck an eraser into one of her cheeks.
Despite this history of dangerous behavior, I thought we had turned a corner in recent months as she had seemed to lose interest in putting objects in her mouth. I had gradually become much more lax about what toys and accessories I left out.
Well, that was unwise.
On Saturday night, the Spouse heard the Toddler making a wheezing noise at her table. And, when he ran over to her, she was gagging on one of the wooden circle decorations you see below:
This is one of the girls’ favorite toys. Isn’t it cute? It’s hard to tell from the picture, but those circles are not small. They’re about the size of a half dollar, and 1/4 of an inch thick… with velcro attached. Yet, none of that was a deterrent to the Toddler who put TWO pieces in her mouth and attempted to swallow one. Fortunately, she threw it back up without too much intervention. As you can imagine, it was a lovely way to wind down our Saturday night.
So, now I’m going through the house trying to imagine what I might be tempted to try and swallow if I thought like the Toddler. In addition to wooden cake decorations, I’m confiscating things like this:
Poor Barbie will be shoeless again, and for who knows how long. Thank goodness it’s spring, and barefoot will work for her.
By the end of the day I expect to have a Rubbermaid full of what I’m going to call “top-shelf treasures.” And, already, I have a new respect for those “small parts: not intended for children under 3” labels I have rolled my eyes at in the past. Maybe 3 will be the age of oral accountability for the Toddler…
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