Like many kids, Lisa Marie Coyle's daughter has been all about the Squishies toy craze. So when 9-year-old Cara-Rose did well in school, her mom decided to cave and treat her to the popular toy that all of her friends had. However, Cara-Rose ended up in the hospital from this decision and now her mom is warning other parents to think twice before giving this "harmless" toy to their kids.
Coyle recently gave her girl a Soft’n Slo Squishies toy -- and she now seriously regrets it.
Coyle tells CafeMom that she had just given Cara-Rose her first Squishie as a reward for doing well on a spelling assignment and she was excited to play with her new hot dog.
Soft’n Slo Squishies come in a variety of shapes for kiddos to collect and have become popular for their adorable look and soft feel. "Touch it, squeeze it, and watch your Soft'n Slo Squishies transform as it slowly rises!" the product description on Amazon reads. "Ultra soft, slow rising, and totally collectable, Soft'n Slo Squishies are the latest trend."
The girl only had her new toy for a day before it popped open and leaked a "gunk" that was only on her skin for 30 seconds.
According to Coyle, Cara-Rose got the toy on Saturday and by Sunday morning, she was woken up to her child screaming. "She had been squishing it and it burst. A gunk-like liquid came out and got on to her fingers, resulting in burns," she tells CafeMom. "She had the liquid on her about 30 seconds. I took her and immediately ran it under cold too before rushing to emergency department as blisters started to appear on her hands."
Cara-Rose told her mom that "it felt like she had been burnt by a fire" and that the toy burst just from her pressing on it. "There was very minimal liquid on her but where it did hit, it scalded her," she says.
Doctors at the hospital confirmed she had chemical burns everywhere the liquid touched.
Coyle hopes that other parents see the blistering that her girl has on both of her hands. "I have four small children and this could have been worse had my 2-year-old bitten into it or my daughter gotten this into her eyes or on her face," she says. "You expect extensive testing and a product to me safe."
After reaching out to ORB, the company who makes Soft’n Slo Squishies, Coyle says the response she received was less than comforting. "I highlighted my concerns as I don't want another child sustaining an injury," she says. "ORB has been extremely defensive, asking me to send a close up of liquid to determine what it is — I don't know how they are going to do that with a picture."
In a statement to CafeMom, ORB said that they are aware of some safety concerns with Squishies: "ORB™ has been made aware of a number of YouTube videos showing kids putting Squishies and other products in a microwave as part of an online challenge, or squishy dare. We strongly discourage people from using any of our products in any manner other than how they were intended to be played with. Intentional misuse such as heating in a microwave can result in serious personal injury."
Coyle wants parents to know that her daughter did nothing wrong while playing with the toy -- and that this can happen to anyone.
Coyle says that she received a similar explanation from ORB and wants others to know that her child was injured just from simply squishing the toy as intended. "ORB emailed me again stating there was no way there was a liquid in their product and I must have heated it in a microwave. I can assure you there was no heat source near this and it scares me that a company is willing to defer concerns and make excuses rather than ensure children's safety," she says. "My warning to other parents is check these toys out before purchasing and always keep an eye on your child with them as this may have been one faulty batch but it could be a bigger issue. If I could, I would avoid these altogether. You don't think anything like this will happen to you or your child and you take for granted toys are safe until something like this happens. This could have been a lot worse and the response from ORB has been one of 'we don't want to take the blame…but are happy to take your money.' I hope this prevents any other child from the emotional distress, pain, and injuries my daughter sustained."
