This is a good durable, fun toy. BUT I worry that so many prior reviewers feel it is safe for their 21 month old or other ages under 3 years. I know 3 years is arbitrary and some kids are "more advanced" than others...and we all think OURS are more advanced! :--)
BUT as a mom, grandmom of 4 and an RN, I have seen SO MANY cases of kids even up to age 5 in the Operating Room having nickels and quarters, and other small items pulled out of their esophagus (tube that takes food from mouth to stomach) where they got stuck...This procedure by the way requires General Anesthesia for the child, if the item is far enough down and firmly stuck in the esophagus.
If the item had gone down "the other way" ie windpipe, and were a bit smaller, the child would have possibly choked to death or aspirated it into the lungs, before anyone could do anything. Kids are quick, as we know. ( Try holding the child on your knees, on his/her stomach, face down, and give fairly hard back slaps a few times, sometimes that will dislodge something that is "a little bit" stuck but not gone down yet; DON'T stick your finger in his/her mouth to pull it out, you're more likely to push it in further.) If THIS doesn't work, and he/ she is still choking, making gasping/wheezy noises/ turning blue or any of the above, CALL 911.
In one case, and this was actually a neighbor's little boy, a Lincoln log piece was in his mouth as he ran, and he fell, hard enough to push the piece THROUGH his soft palate, up into the space where the brain begins...he had to undergo a 4 hour surgery to remove it, and thank God was all right in the end....these weird accidents DO happen....always call 911 and don't wait if there is ANY question of the child choking/ not breathing well and you're not sure (yet) if a coin or toy or whatever may be the culprit! Pennies seem to go "through" the child's digestive tract ok, in most cases, but larger coins, no, and dont' we all accidentally drop coins and such now and then?
The general rule of thumb, which toy companies (in this country anyway) use, based on doctor advice and histories like these, is that children under three shouldn't play with toys smaller than the circumference of an average hot dog (to make it easier to visualize).
With this toy, if you take away the loose items (stamps, magnets) before age 3 it would be safe to play with. Fisher Price makes good, almost always safe, toys. But parents are often lulled into thinking their child because he/she is very BRIGHT is also mature enough to know NOT to put something in their mouth...but they're just not. And no one can watch them every second.
This is not meant to be scary or worse...as if lecturing or anything to other adults. Just an FYI! Get more detail about
Fisher-Price Doodle Pro Red.
