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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to feel this product is not safe for children?

66 replies

lill72 · 02/05/2018 15:53

Hi, so DD , 3 , licked a kids ink pad and violently vomtited 4 times and ended up in A and E.

I was terrified as I was in the room but did not know what had happened until she had stopped vomiting and explained what she had done.

She was in A and E for a few hours.

I wrote to the company and after a long time waiting, they have replied with a weak apology and said that while unfortuate, it was due to an embittering agent put in the product so that kids dont keep licking it.

So it is ok to make a child vomit???? She licked it once.

Shouldnt a kids product be non toxic?

I find this very unacceptable.

The brand is a UK brand , based in London. It does not say it is non toxic

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 03/05/2018 06:24

I took dd to A and E as I called 111 and they told me I had to as they were worried she had been poisoned.

Gosh some people are so harsh . Saying a 3 year old shouldn't be putting things in their mouth anymore - yrs she generally does not but hey on this one occasion she did.

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 03/05/2018 06:28

I did take her as I was told I had to - so yes I did end up in A and E. If your child violently vomited four times you'd be terrified of poisoning too. Gosh shoot me for being concerned!!

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 03/05/2018 06:30

Smirk the company has taken weeks to get back to me after apparently investigating things and being very concerned. Seems very insincere. This is also what im angry about.

OP posts:

SecretIsland · 03/05/2018 06:34

she didn't need to go to A&E. She didn't end up there because she licked the pad, she ended up there because you panicked

Fuck.

I really really hope people in general don't listen to this tripe. Bollocks like this could actually get a kid killed.

Your small child licks/ingests something non-edible and starts violently vomiting repeatedly. You'd be an absolute moron not to take them to A&E.

insancerre · 03/05/2018 06:35

I wouldn't necessarily take my child to a and e for vomiting
I hope she has learnt her lesson to stop putting things in her mouth

BarbarianMum · 03/05/2018 06:44

I don't agree with the OP about the product not being safe but I think she's been given a hard time on here. And I do agree with secret. If your child has this sort of reaction after putting something in their mouth the fgs seek medical advice and follow it! There is a reason children react so strongly to bitter tastes - they've evolved to do so precisely because they are prone to put things in their mouths and particularly vulnerable to poisons because of their small body size.

I was an ecologist attached to a museum years ago that happened to be next to a children's a&e. We were always being asked to identify bits of garden plant to try and work out whether what a child had eaten was dangerous or just inedible.

SecretIsland · 03/05/2018 06:44

Op yanbu imo.

Kids sometimes put things in their mouths. On purpose or absent mindedly.

The whole point of having specific kids items is the additional safety aspects imo - the non-toxic ingredients being one, meaning if a mouthful gets in unnoticed, because not one of us is perfect, it isn't going to harm them.

This sort of inclusion, an agent to make someone vomit, would be more suited to your average adult ink pad imo as a just in case - not one specifically aimed at children. Children's ink or paint or pens shouldn't induce such a violent reaction from a tiny amount on the tongue, they should be non toxic/non harmful/non reactive entirely imo.

And saying she shouldn't have licked it isn't the point...what if she'd got it on her fingers and then put them in her mouth?

DeniseBest · 03/05/2018 06:45

To be fair to the company, you can't actually prove it was the ink stamp that caused the extreme vomiting. She may of eaten something dodgy prior, had a tummy upset anyway or it could of been the ink. Who knows?

They probably think you are after compensation.

Dontbuymesocks · 03/05/2018 06:46

Resounding YABU from all posters. Why ask if you won’t accept what people are saying?

HighwayDragon1 · 03/05/2018 06:52

This stuff is also on Nintendo Switch games. It made me feel sick for hours yes I licked it to see how it tasted it's highly unpleasant, not toxic.

Olicity17 · 03/05/2018 07:01

So you would prefer it to taste better?

Which means she would have licked it multiple times? Its ink. Its not a natural product. Your child licked it. Thats why parents should supervise at all times. Even then things happen. Even with ghe best supervision. But because it tasted awful, she wont do it again.

She isnt poisioned. She is fine. But not everything can be made ingestable. So you have a choice...to let her play with it or not.

Rudi44 · 03/05/2018 07:03

I don't think the company could do anything else. The product would go through testing and compliance in order to be sold in UK (this is vaguely my area of employment) and it sounds like they have taken steps to try and make the product unappealing for children to taste. It is suitable for 'normal use', e.g. It is not designed to be put in the mouth.

kaytee87 · 03/05/2018 07:10

Tbf I was sick after biting into a raw, red onion once because I absolutely hate the taste and it was hidden in my burger so caught me by surprise

Your daughter is fine, A&E said she wasn't poisoned, therefore the product is safe (if unpleasant). She probably had a more violent reaction than another kid might have.

Grandmaswagsbag · 03/05/2018 07:18

Unfortunate accident but no I wouldn’t expect them to make all kids crafts items safe to eat. It’s sounds like the ink wasnt actually toxic so I’m not sure what your point is?

TenGinBottles · 03/05/2018 07:26

I just double checked our stamp sets and they both have the red circle with a baby face and 0-3 crossed out. On that basis, YABU for leaving her alone with them.

I don't think the company have done anything wrong. Would you rather they didn't put the embittering agent in so if a kid did lick it, they would keep on doing so?

mavismcruet · 03/05/2018 08:02

What are you wanting the company to do? Withdraw the product? Change it to make it taste better? It doesn’t sound like the company have done anything wrong that requires a huge apology. If they were to make one to appease you, this could be seen as an admission of guilt - which would leave them open to being sued.

It just sounds an unfortunate incident. No one is to blame. You did the right thing getting her checked out. But she wasn’t poisoned, she just had an extreme reaction to the taste of Bitrex. This is a fairly normal thing. Some young kids gag and vomit at the taste of certain strong flavours. Apparently it’s survival mechanism still in us from the time when we were hunter gathers. To stop toddlers eating berries that might poison them.

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