Concerned over the safety of Geomag

(42 Posts)

A friend of mine asked me sometime ago what dd1 would like for Christmas and i told her she liked Geomag and that is what she has got for her.

Last week i read an aricle about an American boy who died because he swallowed he magnets from Magnetix.
I have since read other articles questioning the safety of Magnetix and i am thinking that the principles of Geomag are the same.

dd1 is 6 which is the recommended age but dd2 is 23 months and i am concerned for her safety tbh.

Am i being over cautious?

twentypence Sun 23-Dec-07 21:29:13

I think that Geomag are better made and the Magnetix were falling apart causing the problem of loose magnet which would be easier to swallow than the rods.

I think the balls are fine if swallowed. Ds is allowed to play with geomag under supervision. Maybe dd1 could play with them only when her sister was asleep.

I had thought that she could play with them when dd2 is in bed but she has to wait if she wants to just colour as dd2 will just scream for crayons and then draw on the walls.
Just seems a shame really but i guess it would be the only option .

Thanks for replying

Aitch Sun 23-Dec-07 21:33:30

there was a cutting edge on this week about this... basically if they swallow two magnets they will tear through gut etc to get to each other. grim.

Furball Sun 23-Dec-07 21:35:05

The problem is if more than one magnetic are swallowed before either has passed through as they obviously attract and can rip though the intestine shock

Alot of the children involved were between 8-11 and had swallowed a handful.

I saw the programme and would be concerned of a 23 month old playing unsupervised as they are more likely to pop something in their mouths.

How would i go about asking my friend to take them back?

MegBusset Sun 23-Dec-07 21:38:37

I saw the programme and TBH would personally be very concerned about letting a small child play with anything with these magnets in. Some of the children affected were up to 12.

FrannyandZooey Sun 23-Dec-07 21:39:49

very sorry to hear of this but am amazed to hear of children aged 8 to 11 swallowing toys like this

how did it happen?

MegBusset Sun 23-Dec-07 21:40:53

If you didn't feel happy about it I'm sure you could explain to your friend that you only just found out about this issue, and would she mind terribly including the receipt so you can swap it for something else.

foxinsocks Sun 23-Dec-07 21:41:45

yes, swallowing a handful is extraordinary!

Mine love this stuff because it's easy to play with (they are 6 and 7 though). Can't say I've ever seen them put it in their mouth though!

Glad you started this because I'll move it all upstairs before my (all under 5s) neices and nephews come tomorrow.

I will feel so awful but i would hate to risk it tbh and waste my friends money.

Aitch Sun 23-Dec-07 21:42:30

i didn't see the show frank but my sis did and said it was Really SHocking. and that's from a family of well-known scoffers at danger...
funnily enough i have a pal who's a paed A&E guy and he told me ages ago they were hte most dangerous too.

MegBusset Sun 23-Dec-07 21:42:41

F&Z there was a boy of 10ish (?) who liked to chew on the rods and accidentally swallowed a couple. The next thing, he was vomiting up green goo and rushed to hospital for an emergency op.

Most of the accidents have been with toddlers getting hold of the magnets and swallowing them, though.

FrannyandZooey Sun 23-Dec-07 21:45:28


I am really surprised

ds has had these for a year or so, I would have only thought of them as a choking risk but can see magnets inside your body are Not Good

Aitch Sun 23-Dec-07 21:47:14

ap[parently if you put one each inside a balloon and hold the balloons apart from each other you can get a pretty graphic illustration of what happens... shock

MegBusset Sun 23-Dec-07 21:48:33

Here is a v detailed news story about some recent incidents. The prog was v well done and not scaremongery at all, but still would put me off having any of these strong magnets around.

me23 Sun 23-Dec-07 21:49:15

hi the programme was a dispatches one not cutting edge. there's some info on it here.

stripeymama Sun 23-Dec-07 21:51:23

Look here

Basically it is saying that the small parts of Geomag are not magnetic - the magnets are an integral part of the rods and cant be accessed.


FrannyandZooey Sun 23-Dec-07 21:52:02

could you c+p please Meg? That site doesn't allow unregistered users

foxinsocks Sun 23-Dec-07 21:54:21

looks like they were concerned about magnetic jewellry like ear rings and the like because in those, the magnets were very small and easily detatched and swallowed

foxinsocks Sun 23-Dec-07 21:55:23


FrannyandZooey Sun 23-Dec-07 21:55:26

oh so Geomag are ok? I think that is what we have, will check tomorrow

foxinsocks Sun 23-Dec-07 21:56:14

detached ggrrr

Octo Sun 23-Dec-07 21:58:23

Mine have it - in fact they spend hours going round the house finding magnetic spots you would never know existed - we have them hanging from the ceiling on the stairs as they realised there is a metal strip there .... they are radiators etc .... a friends little boy swallowed a magnet ball oce - they have a great x-ray - little else was done!

foxinsocks Sun 23-Dec-07 21:58:30

I don't know. I think magnets are a problem when you swallow them - any magnet - especially if you swallow more than one because they try and join together. I think that's what it's trying to say.

Join the discussion

Join the discussion


Register now