An Australian mother has warned parents about squishy toys after one reportedly burst in her 10-year-old son’s face, spraying an unknown substance into his eyes and leaving him vomiting.
Mason Bennett was visiting the Royal Adelaide Show on Friday when he stopped at a stall selling squishy balls and picked one up to inspect it. While playing with the toy, it suddenly exploded.
He began coughing and vomiting immediately after coming into contact with the substance inside the ball and was taken to hospital.
“He just squished it in his hand like any other kid would and the whole thing exploded straight over his whole entire face,” his mother, Amanda, told 7News.
“He was choking on it, finding it hard to breathe, constantly coughing, a little bit wheezy.”
Mason said: “I was going to see if I was going to buy one and it popped on me.”
Photos shared by Ms Bennett showed Mason shielding his eyes with one hand, with redness visible across his face.
Amanda said she did not know what caused her son’s reaction, but feared the toy may have been a counterfeit version of the popular NeeDoh stress-relief products. She said the stall owner was unable to provide packaging or a product code.
Mason Bennett became unwell immediately after a squishy ball burst in his face.
Mason’s mother, Amanda, is warning other parents about the popular toys.
‘I asked the lady from the stall what was inside the squishy, and she said she had no idea,’ Ms Bennett said.
‘I’m extremely concerned because if they can’t tell you what the ingredient is, then they shouldn’t be selling them.’
After the toy burst, Ms Bennett said a stranger helped her treat Mason at the stall.
‘Luckily, a man behind us had a water bottle in his hand and… he was tipping that over Mason’s head while I grabbed some baby wipes and his twin brother was hitting him on the back to (dislodge) the squishy from his throat,’ she said.
The boy was discharged from hospital but was still coughing five days later. He returned to Noarlunga Hospital on Tuesday for X-rays to check whether the substance had entered his lungs.
Ms Bennett is now warning other parents to be aware of similar toys as she called for tighter regulations.
‘Just be very cautious. The one that he was using had, like, a… netting-type plastic over the top of it. That was the one that he was testing at the show,’ she said.
‘I guess to parents, if you’re buying them, check like the packaging, check the ingredients, ask the vendor… what’s inside them.’
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Ms Bennett claimed that the stall owner could not provide packaging or a product code for the toy that exploded in her son’s face
The Daily Mail has contacted the Royal Adelaide Show for comment.
An organiser told 7News that the owner of the stall claimed she sold squishy toys from a reputable brand.
The scare comes just weeks after the Australian Border Force launched a crackdown on fake squishy toys entering the market, amid serious safety concerns.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has ongoing guidance for parents on squishy toys.
‘Some reports have raised concerns about harmful chemicals in these products,’ the watchdog says.
‘The ACCC is aware of reports that exposure to some squishy toys or (their) contents may irritate the skin or eyes, or cause symptoms such as nausea, headache or dizziness.’
Manufacturer Schylling, which produces the globally popular NeeDoh brand, has taken extensive measures to prevent counterfeit products entering the market.
‘Counterfeit products and websites are coming through thick and fast for NeeDoh,’ Schylling’s Australian distributor William Valentine wrote in an email to retailers.
‘I’m currently lodging documentation with Australian Customs, which allows them to seize goods at the Australian border for any importer other than us.
‘This should also drastically slow down any of this product reaching the stores.’
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued similar warnings about knockoff toys widely sold through online marketplaces, social media, discount stores and other retailers.
Often designed to resemble animals, food and popular characters, the toys may also become dangerously hot when left in direct sunlight, inside a hot vehicle, near a heater or in another high-temperature environment.
The heat can cause a toy to burst, spraying scorching material onto the skin and causing severe burns.
Do you know more? Email kylie.stevens@dailymail.com.au
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