Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be shocked nursery gave my 2 year old serrated metal beer bottle caps to play with??

58 replies

Nonstopmummy · 03/12/2019 21:46

Please help mumsnetters I need some perspective on this! Took baby girl (just turned 2) for her first ‘settling in’ session at the nursery where she is booked in from January.... and found her sat there playing with a sharp serrated metal beer bottle cap! Looked around and realised in horror that they were in fact scattered all over the floor and she had a whole bowlful of them (plus a load of small plastic bottle tops too) which they had given the toddlers to play with as toys! I didn’t want to make a scene so I scooped them all up and put the bowl on a high shelf, saying ‘DD still puts choking hazards like that in her mouth’, and the room leader just said ‘that’s fine’. AIBU to be shocked by this? Having spent the last four years trying to keep such hazards AWAY from DS and DD - and having seen DS nearly choke on a plastic bottle cap of similar size - beer bottle tops seem to me the perfect size for getting stuck in a toddler throat plus sharp enough to rip her throat up trying to get it out!

Everyone I’ve mentioned this to so far (including my dad who was an A&E doctor for 30 years) has been as shocked as me - but the nursery staff, who are professionals and trained in paediatric first aid etc - obviously seem to think it’s absolutely fine! I know I could ask the nursery to remove them - but I’m not sure that I could trust them after this knowing that they clearly have such different ideas to me about toddler safety.... There aren’t any other nearby nursery options for DD but as I work from home it wouldn’t be a disaster if she didn’t spend the two mornings a week at nursery, I just thought it would be nice for her to socialise etc while I got a bit of work done. What do you think I should do ladies? All thoughts appreciated xx

OP posts:
Littlemeadow123 · 03/12/2019 22:45

@TorysSuckRevokeArticle50

But thats ridiculous though. A 2 year old isnt going to know that it is risky to put a bottle cap in your mouth and try to swallow it. And how are they supposed to learn whats risky? By whether or not they start choking on it?! This beggars belief, it really does.

babycatcher411 · 03/12/2019 22:50

Our playgroup have just transitioned onto the whole ‘real’ objects as sensory items, instead of only having plastic toys out.
In theory i get the idea, but I’m really not sold that babies and small toddlers need to get used to the feel of metal knifes and forks, pot plates, and glass percolators. There’s safer ways to introduce the feel of metal, pot and glass than leaving them out in a play area.
One of the glass percolators got smashed the first day this was introduced and the play leaders response was that it was totally okay and would help the baby learn not to drop things that are breakable. ?at 10 months old? I’m not sold!

TellerTuesday4EVA · 03/12/2019 22:52

I abhor the whole loose parts thing. We have a newly opened local nursery where this seems to be all the rage & people are joining the waiting list in droves. Every day there's picture posted of tiny people playing with utter hazards. I just don't get it at all.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 03/12/2019 22:52

You shouldn’t be able to cut yourself on the, but (as with all things) occasionally they don’t open quite right and you end up with a sharp point. I have definitely cut myself on one. Not badly but then I wasn’t trying to put it in my mouth!

Illeana · 03/12/2019 22:55

It is part of the EYFS framework to introduce items that allow children to learn to mitigate risk, to be careful as they know they could be harmed
That’s fine when they’re old enough to understand risk and appreciate they might be harmed. But a 1-2yo has no concept of risk. There also needs to be a trade off between risk and benefit - if the risk is death then no benefit is enough to justify it.

Original poster
Nonstopmummy · 03/12/2019 22:57

Thanks ladies for so many replies! Has given me reassurance that I’m not being ott to be worried by this - it’s just not worth it I’m going to cancel her place xx

Ps Out of interest I also checked the small parts choking hazard regulation in the UK and they use the same size test cyclinder ie 1.25 inches so (if you were going to be pedantic) under EU and UK law beer bottle tops would officially be breaking the law as toys for under 3s! I might mention it to the nursery when I ask for my £50 deposit back (though I know I won’t get it)!

OP posts:
queenqueenqueen · 03/12/2019 22:58

Beer bottle tops?? That's ridiculous, YANBU!!
I teach Foundation Stage 1 and reception and love loose parts play but I'm thinking wooden pegs, buttons, pine cones but beer tops is just daft

Ellapaella · 03/12/2019 23:00

A bottle top like that is absolutely a choking hazard. Not only that but even if they managed to swallow it successfully and not choke there is still a danger it can come back up and block the airway afterwards.

There is no way I would send my child to a nursery that was allowing this. She wasn't being supervised on a 1:1 as you walked in on her just playing with them. There is absolutely no need for a 2 year old to be playing with bottle tops despite what some silly wanky guideline says about learning about loose objects.
Definitely speak to the manager OP - maybe start looking for alternative childcare such as a childminder.

ladyflower23 · 03/12/2019 23:03

Choking aside the edges are sharp and a toddler treading/falling on them would be painful so yadnbu to withdraw her! Such a weird thing to give small children to play with!

Drabarni · 03/12/2019 23:06

It's hardly new then, if it's been around since the 70's.
The child carers have to follow the curriculum, they can't just not do it.
I think it's a great idea but maybe not in a group environment

IWentAwayIStayedAway · 03/12/2019 23:08

Choke hazard! Im a huge fan of loose parts but they must be age appropriate. Something like this would be for 3 plus

mumwon · 03/12/2019 23:09

@Footballmumto3 raw red kidney beans are extremely toxic- what in gods name were they thinking? look saucepans & lids & wooden spoons things without sharp edges so they don't poke one and another's eyes out - (shakes head in disbelief) how does this work with health & safety?

IaIa3 · 03/12/2019 23:26

Choking hazard and as pp said painful for the children if they stand or crawl on them. It's the equivalent of having loose coins lying around which I think most people would agree aren't suitable for children.

pigsinarow · 03/12/2019 23:30

I don’t necessarily disagree with some level of concern about this but the fact you have described a bottle cap as a ‘serrated metal beer bottle cap’ implies you may have a tendency to over react.

TisTheSeasonToBeJollyFaLaLa · 03/12/2019 23:36

I've got a 2 year old, I wouldn't feel happy at all. I'd pull my child out personally and let them know exactly why. I'd far rather be "that mum" than wait for an accident to happen.

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 03/12/2019 23:56

I work in a nursery and we use loose parts. but not metal bottle tops, maybe we would in a guided activity with 3/4 year olds.

we have to have a risk assessment for the loose parts we use (beams/wooden steps etc) maybe ask if they have one?

regarding risk - i read it as more to do with exploring cause/effect in younger children and opportunities for climbing/balancing as they get older, taking risks with guidance from practitioners. so not really relevant for bottle caps at all.

and for the person who said nursery workers don't care, that's absolute nonsense. me and the ladies i work with are passionate and enjoy our jobs. I care about all the children I look after, I spend my evenings researching activities to do with my key children relating to their interests and cry every year when they leave for school. it's a job of love you certainly don't go into childcare for the money!!

Spacebowlisback · 03/12/2019 23:59

I can sort of see why some provisions might try this kind of thing, but in a setting with staff who are shared and public liability issues, why would you even go near it?

steppemum · 04/12/2019 00:20

Our playgroup have just transitioned onto the whole ‘real’ objects as sensory items, instead of only having plastic toys out.
In theory i get the idea, but I’m really not sold that babies and small toddlers need to get used to the feel of metal knifes and forks, pot plates, and glass percolators. There’s safer ways to introduce the feel of metal, pot and glass than leaving them out in a play area.
One of the glass percolators got smashed the first day this was introduced and the play leaders response was that it was totally okay and would help the baby learn not to drop things that are breakable. ?at 10 months old? I’m not sold!

This is sensory play, so different to small parts play. But I wanted to comment, becuase they are not doing this to 'get used to' the feel of metal or whatever, they are doing it, because it is so much more interesting than boring plastic toys.

We used to have a basket like this at home, and it contained all sorts of things that are interesting to feel and hold and move, a shell, a heavy paperweight made from solid glass, a velvet scrunchie etc. My kids loved it and it kept them entertained for ages as the things in the box had different weight, texture and feel. But nothing should be breakable, or dangerous. Glass for example should be a solid weight, not a percolator. One problem is that we have become poor judges or what is and isn't safe. A metal table knife that does not have a sharp edge is not going to hurt anyone, neither is a large shell, but many people would not allow their child to play with them as they are not toys. Most baby toys are really boring from a baby's perspective.

steppemum · 04/12/2019 00:22

highlight fail. And i meant to say obviously the bottle caps are a choking hazard

Vgbeat · 04/12/2019 00:25

It sounds to me like managed risk. I know forest schools that let children use tools at 3 and 4 and in school I've used hit glue guns with 5 year olds. It's all about getting them to use things sensibly and safely and that they are not wrapped up in cotton wool all the time

Andysbestadventure · 04/12/2019 00:29

@Littlemeadow123 toddlers can understand the concept of 'dangerous' quite early on, if they're taught.

My DS is 2.5 and understands entirely that when we say something is "dangerous!" that it could hurt him, and he puts it down/climbs down slowly/steps away.

Oddly enough because we let him experience controlled risk 🙄

Andysbestadventure · 04/12/2019 00:29

But I still agree a big NO to bottle caps

ferrier · 04/12/2019 01:03

Anything smaller than a 50p piece was dangerous 'back in my day'.

Monkeynuts18 · 04/12/2019 03:48

@Andysbestadventure

That’s not him making a judgment about risk though is it? That’s him understanding when YOU judge something to be dangerous. Most kids will do that! The poster you’re responding too is saying they have no concept of risk - ie they can’t assess risk for themselves - which is absolutely true.

YANBU OP, I wouldn’t be happy about this at all.

AliciaFleas · 04/12/2019 04:00

Yanbu OP