Buckyballs

Littledeer84

Read about them here. Do you think they should be banned completely? Or can they be used by responsible adults? I definately think they do not belong in the hands of kids, or homes with kids. But it seems harsh for the government to completely ban them. Not sure what to think - if it happened to my daughter I am sure I would want them banned.

CoffeeBeen

I have these in my office and I love playing with them!  But I would never ever leave them at home. 

I place a lot of the burden on the parents, I read one news story about kids swallowing magnets in toys and I instantly made the connection and concluded that these tiny, highly magnetic balls would be similarly dangerous for DS. I don't think they should be band and I'm usually pretty paternalistic.

fancynewbeesly

We have them. My husband keeps one set at work, and one hidden in our house. I am not even sure where it is.

He loves them. But he is always fascinated by magnets.  

Littledeer84

anna karenina:

Is the benefit they provide worth the risk it poses to children? 

I doubt it...the company owner was on the early show on cbs. He asked why ATVs and button batteries were not banned - they have a much greater rate of incidents with children. But my thought was that those things also serve useful purposes to many people. These magnets are just toys for adults, as far as I know. I am torn - my gut tells me that there is personal responsibility involved, and the government should not step in and ban them.

kcisthebombdotcom

I'm of the thinking that government should step out of our personal lives.

persephonerose

I do not think they should be banned. Unfortunately children put a lot of items into their mouth. Recently it was the Tides Pods product. I am not sure we should ban items because children might eat them.  However, I can understand how as a parent I would be very upset if my child did eat something like this and had to have surgery or worse. 

I just wonder if we are shifting the blame to the government and companies instead of holding parents responsible for monitoring their children and holding young adults responsible for their actions.  At 12 I would have expected that a child would understand putting magnets in their mouth would be dangerous. Perhaps I am wrong? Do they not understand by that age? (This is not sarcasm, just curious developmentally if children should understand by that age)

I agree with OP, I am just not sure what to think. So I guess I'm no help at all.

persephonerose

Littledeer84:

anna karenina:

Is the benefit they provide worth the risk it poses to children? 

I doubt it...the company owner was on the early show on cbs. He asked why ATVs and button batteries were not banned - they have a much greater rate of incidents with children. But my thought was that those things also serve useful purposes to many people. These magnets are just toys for adults, as far as I know. I am torn - my gut tells me that there is personal responsibility involved, and the government should not step in and ban them.

Some physical therapy places use the bucky balls or other small magnets for hand exercises. For a while they used it with my RA to try and help me get some of my mobility back. Trying to grasp those tiny balls individually and then squeezing against the resistance was helpful to me. But I doubt there has been research into using bucky balls specifically for this purpose. 

Littledeer84

persephonerose:

Some physical therapy places use the bucky balls or other small magnets for hand exercises. For a while they used it with my RA to try and help me get some of my mobility back. Trying to grasp those tiny balls individually and then squeezing against the resistance was helpful to me. But I doubt there has been research into using bucky balls specifically for this purpose. 

Wow - interesting. I wonder if there have been any studies. Maybe another reason to not ban...

Kitiara5512

persephonerose:

I do not think they should be banned. Unfortunately children put a lot of items into their mouth. Recently it was the Tides Pods product. I am not sure we should ban items because children might eat them.  However, I can understand how as a parent I would be very upset if my child did eat something like this and had to have surgery or worse. 

I just wonder if we are shifting the blame to the government and companies instead of holding parents responsible for monitoring their children and holding young adults responsible for their actions.  At 12 I would have expected that a child would understand putting magnets in their mouth would be dangerous. Perhaps I am wrong? Do they not understand by that age? (This is not sarcasm, just curious developmentally if children should understand by that age)

I agree with OP, I am just not sure what to think. So I guess I'm no help at all.

Betty Lopez, Sabrina's mother, says her daughter never saw the warning on the Buckyballs packaging and says it "wasn't sufficient enough for the parent who did buy them."

Really? You needed a warning for you and your 12 year old to know not to put small balls or marbles in her mouth? The stoopid in this amazes me.