Montana Parents: Keep This Popular Toy Out of Your Child's Mouth

I just got a new puppy, and similar to small children, most of my time lately is spent keeping things out of the puppy's mouth that shouldn't be there.

Fortunately, she'll grow out of this tendency much faster than a baby or toddler would. For parents, worrying about a child putting something inappropriate in their mouth can last until the child is three years old, and it can cause a lot of stress and worry.

Think back to your own childhood: how many of you tasted or ate playdough when you were a kid? How old were you when you did it? It's not just small children that put toys in their mouths, and there's a popular toy you'll want to make sure your kids aren't putting in their mouths.

Do Your Kids Play with Water Beads (aka Orbeez)?

My Montana friends with kids have shared these little toys with me because as adults we all couldn't get over the texture. If you've never seen them, water beads are like miniature science experiments. The beads look a bit like marbles and feel like the boba pearls that you can order in tea. They expand when you put them in water.

You may be starting to see the problem with these.

Now, a study indicates alarming statistics regarding injuries to children associated with this toy.

Study Finds has a new article saying that hospitalizations due to water bead injuries are up 130%.

When children eat water beads, they expand inside the body which can cause "intestinal blockages or other serious complications."

While many toys can be dangerous for children if not played with properly, the article quotes Dr. Gary Smith who says hospital visits for these injuries are "increasing rapidly" and that "water beads pose a unique increase risk of harm because of their expanding properties, and they're hard to detect with X-rays."

Keep this in mind as the holiday season begins. Even Halloween is a time when people are handing out toys instead of candy.