of Canada, the second-largest construction toy company after the Lego Group. Sweet and several other parents have sued Rose Art, which was acquired last year by Mega Bloks Inc. "As a bare minimum, there needs to be a warning label on the package to make sure parents understand that if the toy accidentally breaks or a magnet comes loose and it is swallowed, the child needs emergency medical care." "It's scary" that Magnetix will still be sold, she said. Sweet said yesterday that she believed Rose Art needed to do more than a replacement program. A 5-year-old inhaled two magnets that were surgically removed from his lung. The CPSC said three children, ages 3 to 8, had intestinal perforations that required surgery and hospitalization in intensive care. No one noticed the loose magnets or saw Kenny eating them, she said. Penny Sweet said each of the gray magnets was smaller than an unpopped popcorn kernel, and that they must have fallen out of the toy pieces while the older children were playing on the sandy gray carpet. When his condition worsened, she took him to the hospital, where he died within hours.Īn autopsy revealed the cause: Kenny had swallowed eight magnets they were in two groupings that bonded to each other through the walls of his intestines, causing a fatal blockage. Penny Sweet initially thought it was the flu. About 10 days after his brother's birthday, Kenny got sick. The older children were allowed to play with the set only when Kenny was not around, and they were told to store it well out of his reach, said the children's mother, Penny Sweet. Sweet Jr., of Redmond, Wash., whose brother received a Magnetix set as a present for his 10th birthday on Nov. That's what happened to 21-month-old Kenneth W. "If these magnets come together in your system, they can cause a serious injury."
"They are small but powerful and a true hazard," she said. Vallese said the problem is not that the product breaks into small parts but that it contains small magnets. While that may very well be true, the agency will continue to investigate to make sure no products in the marketplace pose this same hazard." Vallese said: "The company has told the CPSC that quality-control changes and enhancements have been made to the products. Zerczy said it is up to parents to buy age-appropriate toys and supervise their children at play.
The warning says the toy contains small parts and is not intended for children under 3. "If you look at the package, it very clearly is labeled for children 6 and over, and there is a small parts warning on the package as well." "We believe these products meet all federal and international safety standards and are safe and fun for kids age 6 and older," said company spokeswoman Jennifer Zerczy. However, the company said the recall would not affect packages now on store shelves. said it would offer replacement toys suitable for children younger than 6. The voluntary recall affects about 3.8 million packages in homes across the United States.
Citing the death of a 21-month-old after he swallowed several magnets that fell out of the toy's plastic pieces, the CPSC said the product was "unsuitable for young children." The agency said it knew of 34 incidents involving small magnets, including four serious injuries involving children from 3 to 8 years old.
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