Levi loves playing with empty tissue boxes. He enjoys stashing his toys and pacifiers inside of the boxes and gets a thrill out of retrieving them.
Yesterday I sat Levi in his crib with an empty tissue box, some plush blocks and a few books while I got dressed. When I went back into his room, I found him with a piece of saliva-covered plastic hanging out of his mouth, and there were other bits strewn across his mattress.
I quickly realized that I had neglected to remove the plastic lining from underneath the top of the tissue box, so, naturally, Levi discovered it, tore it off and tried to eat it. Now here’s the honest truth: I hadn’t even thought to remove the plastic film from inside the tissue box. I feel so foolish admitting that to you.
Before anybody panics (I’m talking to you, grandparents), I want to stress that Levi was not coughing or choking on the plastic film. I had the monitor on and would have heard him gagging. But he could have choked on the plastic pieces, which is why I’m suffering from an extreme case of mommy guilt–and why I want to share my stupid mistake with you.
So consider this a Bunny & Dolly PSA…
If you let your toddler play with empty tissues boxes, don’t forget to remove every last piece of plastic lining from it first.
{my Instagram photos taken in September 2012}
No harm done. Don’t feel guilty. Just enjoy him.
PJ. The other day I took H to the doctor and they gave him a sticker. It was on his shirt UNDER his car seat buckles. Somehow he got it while I was driving… ATE IT… and started gagging on it. When I looked in the mirror I thought it just spit up until I realized it was the sticker. I had to pull over… stick my fingers down his throat to get all the pieces (luckily he didn’t swallow it) and then wash his hands and face because there were bits of wet sticker everywhere. Talk about feeling guilty. I drove to my dads office which was 5 minutes away instead of home and forced the kid to drink stuff to make sure he was ok. Sigh.
How scary! A nurse at our pediatrician’s office once reminded us to take off a band-aid from Levi’s finger when we put him in the car because if he pulled off the bandage, it could be a choking hazard. Same idea as the sticker, and a good reminder for new parents. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great warning for new parents – in fact, I hadn’t thought about how the plastic can pose a choking hazard until I read your post (my tot loves playing with tissue boxes too). Mentioned your great advice on my site today:)
http://hintmama.com/2014/05/12/todays-hint-how-to-save-tissues-from-toddlers/
And what Adrienne says about stickers is so true. I only let my tot have them under supervision and lately, she has started putting them in her mouth. Scary.