Dangerous kids toys: Funeral director reveals the toys she does not allow in her house

A funeral director has revealed a list of ‘hazardous’ toys she’ll never give her kids to play with. 

Lauren Eliza, from Florida, says she’s been personally ‘scarred’ from her job after working for years as a mortician. 

In an educational TikTok video, Lauren said she’s banned water beads, teething necklaces, balloons, skipping ropes, toys with button batteries, or anything made with a dangly string (such as a yoyo or pull toy) from her house. 

After just two days the video exceeded more than 4.5million views.  

Lauren Eliza, from Florida, (pictured) says she’s been personally ‘scarred’ from her job after working for years as a mortician and shared a list of toys she’s banned from her home 

Each toy in the list can be dangerous to babies, toddlers and children if ingested, which Lauren explained in a series of videos. 

Like many parents online, Lauren was baffled that water beads are still sold as ‘sensory toys’ in stores.

‘The risk is not worth the reward for me when it comes to water beads, in fact, they were not initially meant for child use. They were actually made for plants,’ she said.

‘Then some ding dong decided “let’s make more money and market these to mums”. So they have since become a popular ‘sensory toy’ object.

‘I do not care if you want to tell me these are non-toxic, Susan. Okay? Because the truth is if your child ingests just one of these, they can end up in the emergency room because they can cause blockages in your intestines and bowels.’

Lauren went on to explain this product is readily available yet there’s often no ‘warning’ label explaining what to do if ingested or that they shouldn’t be ingested.

In an educational TikTok video , Lauren said she's banned water beads, teething necklaces, balloons, skipping ropes, toys with button batteries, or anything made with a dangly string (such as a yoyo or pull toy) from her house

After just two days the video exceeded more than 4.5million views

In an educational TikTok video , Lauren said she’s banned water beads, teething necklaces, balloons, skipping ropes, toys with button batteries, or anything made with a dangly string (such as a yoyo or pull toy) from her house

Lauren added teething necklaces to the ‘list of toys she hates’ because it’s a strangulation and choking hazard.

‘Accidents happen to the best of parents with the best intentions … it’s not worth the risk,’ she said.

In a separate video Lauren said her dad, who was a paramedic, sparked her fear of balloons as a parent because the stories he shared were ‘horrendous’.

‘Did you know balloons are one of the leading causes of choking deaths in children? And most of them involve children under the age of six,’ she said.

She warned that when someone is choking on a balloon or a piece of a balloon, CPR might not work because of the difficulty involved to get it out.

Lauren also banned skipping ropes and any other type of toy that contains a string as it could lead to an accidental death if used incorrectly.

‘If they are used properly and supervised by an adult, then sure, they are just fine to have around in your home. For the most part, when children are left unsupervised, that’s when these accidental deaths are happening.

Toys that can be dangerous to kids

Lauren said she’s banned the following toys from her home:  

  • Water beads
  • Teething necklaces
  • Balloons
  • Skipping ropes
  • Toys with button batteries
  • Anything made with a dangly string (such as a yoyo or pull toy)

The initial video has since gone viral and thousands of other parents couldn’t agree more with the points made.  

‘Yes! The teething necklaces – I never understood how they became popular!’ one person commented. 

Another wrote: ‘I don’t understand how water beads became toys, they are meant for flower arrangements.’  

‘As a former hospital chaplain…YUP. And trampolines,’ a third said. 

‘Button batteries are banned in my house and I don’t even have kids just cats,’ another added. 

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