Sophie the giraffe - a choking hazard?

carolinakiwi

I posted last night asking about Sophie the giraffe teether and the Munchkin teether ball.  Most of the reviews for Sophie the giraffe on toy r us are great, but after I posted, I looked at the reviews on Amazon. 

 

On Amazon, the overall reviews are also phenomenal, but there are so many reviews regarding LO?s choking badly on Sophie?s legs.  In the reviews, parents said that their LO put Sophie?s leg down their throat and couldn?t get it out (b/c the leg(s) are curved) and they were so relieved they caught it in time.

 

One mom said that she contacted the CPSC to get them to review the giraffe for a choking hazard.

 

Has anyone had any issues with their LO putting Sophie?s leg too far into their mouth and down their throat?

 

I really wanted to get it, but after reading all of the choking issues on Amazon it makes me nervous to get it.

~Flossie~

This is why I'm not getting one for LO. The first time I saw one I thought that the legs could be a choking hazard.

MrsFv20

I've never seen LO even get close to that. The legs aren't that long.

QueenBee320

I've heard people complain about the legs as a choking hazard, but I would just watch LO while she's playing with it, as I would with anything she would be playing with at this age. I also think getting it that far down while not impossible is pretty hard for LO to do.

NoCode10

 Not even close. You aren't supposed to leave a baby unattended with toys for very long anyway, so as long as you're watching them it'll never come to that point.

maurs98

The legs are my DS's favorite part to chew on! Although sometimes he gets too excited and he will gag himself with it, but he does that with his fingers sometimes too. He loves his Sophie and I figured that if there was a choking issue with it they would've taken it off the market or made changes to it by now.

Rosebud1313

I could see a baby gagging on it but choking on it I think is a bit of a stretch.

carolinakiwi

Here's a link to the reviews for the parents who said their baby choked on it.

https://www.amazon.com/Vulli-Sophie-the-Giraffe-Teether/product-reviews/B000IDSLOG/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar

 

MrsQueale

Almost anything can be a choking hazard to a baby, if not watched properly. They shouldn't be left alone with any toy. Looking at my D's sophie it looks like it would take ALOT of work to wedge the legs down the throat that far to the point it would get stuck. So I am sure that if you caught your baby trying to shove legs down their throat, the toy would be taken away asap.

IMO, irresponsible parents = hazards. There all lots of toys that have been deemed unsafe. In Canada walkers are banned, because parents did not watch thier children in them and they would get hurt. Bumboo chairs are considered unsafe because parents would let their child sit on the counter and turn their back for a second and their baby would flip forward. 

Bailey81

kheel1205:

 Not even close. You aren't supposed to leave a baby unattended with toys for very long anyway, so as long as you're watching them it'll never come to that point.

Exactly.

I'mAcrossThePond

There is a difference between choking and gagging.

Should I cut my baby's hands off because he gags himself with them? No.

Should I not let him play with Sophie because he gags himself with her? No.

Should I be supervising my baby when he plays with ANY toy at this age? Yes. 

New_MrsP

You're not supposed to leave a child unattended with any teether. I agree with MrsQueale that it's the parents that are the hazards. 

Mt2G1012

i saw this too and it made me hesitant, but I got it anyway.  I don't think you should ever leave your child unattended at this age with toys.  I never give it to her unless I am in the same room with her.  So, she doesn't get it in her crib only when I am watching her on the playmat or in the bumbo.

jamiemsmith

I'mAcrossThePond:

There is a difference between choking and gagging.

Should I cut my baby's hands off because he gags himself with them? No.

Should I not let him play with Sophie because he gags himself with her? No.

Should I be supervising my baby when he plays with ANY toy at this age? Yes. 

This is my train of thought too. 

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

mrsf123

I agree with PPs.  I don't leave DD alone with any toys at this age.  At this point she only seems to suck on her head in the front of her mouth. I can't imagine her getting the legs all the way down her throat without my seeing. 

Unfortunatley, I think a tremendous amount of toy recalls are really due to negligent parents not paying attention.  JMHO.

huffman627

mrsf123:

Unfortunatley, I think a tremendous amount of toy recalls are really due to negligent parents not paying attention.  JMHO.

Completely agree with this. We're planning on getting DD one for Easter, but I'm not planning on leaving her alone with it for hours . 

New_MrsP

mrsf123:

I agree with PPs.  I don't leave DD alone with any toys at this age.  At this point she only seems to suck on her head in the front of her mouth. I can't imagine her getting the legs all the way down her throat without my seeing. 

Unfortunatley, I think a tremendous amount of toy recalls are really due to negligent parents not paying attention.  JMHO.

Like when Graco recalled strollers because children could get hurt by being in them unbuckled?

detokiet

I only give him his Sophie when we're supervising. I refuse to put him in his crib, give him Sophie and go take a shower. He gets other, safer toys. He has gagged himself on the legs before, but he's always gotten them out before I could even get there. When he does that, I usually take Sophie away for a little while and hug him for a bit. 

Normally he's eating Sophie's face off, so it's not usually an issue with the legs.  

LinZbb

I don't see how that is possible, I'm not saying it's not but we haven't had a problem.

snansley

Sophie does not play in the crib at night or when DS is in his carseat.  I like to be able to supervise DS gnawing her face off.

scstwedding

This is the email I sent to the Sophie the Giraffe Co. This happened this afternoon. 

"Today my 5 month old daughter rolled on top of her Sophie the Giraffe toy and the front leg became lodged in her throat. Her mouth turned blue/purple and she vomited a bit as she choked on the toy. When I rushed over and picked her up from the face-first position, the giraffe was sticking straight out of her blue mouth. I pulled the giraffe out and attempted to soothe her as she gasped to catch her breath. She seemed ok once she caught her breath, but as it was a pretty traumatic experience for both of us, my husband and I drove her directly to the ER. Her oxygen levels were normal at this point, but her throat was red from the leg being lodged and then pulled out. 
This was so terrifying. I have been a basket case all day.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE warn and be warned, as the soft, pliable, chewable rubber was easily lodged quite far down her throat with the weight and force of her simply rolling onto it face first."

sidey1

There is another version of Sophie that is smaller and has all curves, no way that I could see LO even getting the whole thing in his mouth.  DS loves it so I dont' think you need to get the full size one if you still want to get it and avoid any concerns over the above. I of course wouldn't let DS use it completely unsupervised regardless.

sidey1

https://www.diapers.com/p/vulli-sophie-the-giraffe-sopure-vanilla-teether-83823?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_D&utm_term=NC-017&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1338713216&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=NC-017&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}

Here's the link to the above

 

Shoecrazysarah

scstwedding said:

This is the email I sent to the Sophie the Giraffe Co. This happened this afternoon. 

"Today my 5 month old daughter rolled on top of her Sophie the Giraffe toy and the front leg became lodged in her throat. Her mouth turned blue/purple and she vomited a bit as she choked on the toy. When I rushed over and picked her up from the face-first position, the giraffe was sticking straight out of her blue mouth. I pulled the giraffe out and attempted to soothe her as she gasped to catch her breath. She seemed ok once she caught her breath, but as it was a pretty traumatic experience for both of us, my husband and I drove her directly to the ER. Her oxygen levels were normal at this point, but her throat was red from the leg being lodged and then pulled out. 
This was so terrifying. I have been a basket case all day.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE warn and be warned, as the soft, pliable, chewable rubber was easily lodged quite far down her throat with the weight and force of her simply rolling onto it face first."

I have avoided purchasing Sophie due to reviews like this. However, many of the reviews on Amazon seem to indicate the Sophie being sold there is counterfeit. I can't help but wonder if this is true, perhaps there is a discrepency between the real and counterfeit Sophie that is causing these hazards.

Where did you purchase yours?

LisaLisa1980

DS has never choked on Sophie. We also have the mini Sophie with handles & he loves that too

blush64

LisaLisa1980 said:

DS has never choked on Sophie. We also have the mini Sophie with handles & he loves that too

My LO loves Sophie as well. There has never been an issue with choking but I agree with all the PP who don't leave their baby alone with anything. A is not left alone with a toy or anything else, even for a few minutes.

jlpev

That giraffe has been around forever!!!! It was in 3 men and a baby with tom selleck. If it was that much of a choking hazard it would have been taken off the market decades ago!
I agree with the others that your child should be supervised with any toys.
My DD gags on her hands all the time. DS had a Sophie and he loved her and so does DD. I'm not getting rid of her.

Shoecrazysarah

jlpev said:

That giraffe has been around forever!!!! It was in 3 men and a baby with tom selleck. If it was that much of a choking hazard it would have been taken off the market decades ago!
I agree with the others that your child should be supervised with any toys.
My DD gags on her hands all the time. DS had a Sophie and he loved her and so does DD. I'm not getting rid of her.

Actually, Sophie has been around since 1961. It would be silly to think that in the 50+ years of production no design changes have been made in Sophie, for the better or worse...