When it comes to keeping children safe, there's nobody better to listen to than a funeral director who has regrettably seen "too much" throughout their career. Mortician Lauren Taylor, from Florida, has revealed the toys she would never allow her children to play with after seeing them cause traumatic deaths.
Speaking on TikTok, she said: "I’m a scarred funeral director and we don’t allow fidget spinners in our home. I wish these things and the dangers of them were talked about more." She went on to explain how parts of a fidget spinner can easily fall off, landing your child in the hospital if ingested. "The pieces can become choking hazards. If your toddlers are anything like mind, it's not if it's going to break, it's when it's going to break," she added.
Showing an image of a 10-year-old's X-ray, Lauren explained how part of a fidget spinner became stuck in the young girl's throat, causing her to need "life-threatening surgery" to remove it.
She said: "She put the little piece in her mouth to clean it off and this happened.
"The ones which light up actually have button batteries in them. So not only do we have a choking hazard, we now also have the possibility of your child swallowing a button battery."
She has also banned water beads and skipping ropes from her home because "they're not worth the risk".
Lauren told the Mirror: "In the States, water beads are marketed towards toddlers as sensory play, and schools even have them for such activities.
"Skipping ropes are also not allowed for my kids. I've seen too many trauma deaths involving them and I can never unsee it."
Lauren has been raising awareness of "dangerous" children's toys on her TikTok channel, @love.miss.lauren, where she has gained more than 850,000 followers.
"Monitoring your children is very hard, especially if you have multiple children," she said.
"Accidents happen very, very fast. I want to get these points across to you - accidents happen very fast. Just throw them away."
Unfortunately, Lauren has faced criticism online for not allowing her children to play with certain toys - but she argues she is only trying to keep them safe.
Lauren added: "People have asked me if I keep my children in bubbles, or tell me how awful of a parent I am for protecting my children.
"Monitoring my childrens' Christmas lists is one of the easiest things I can do to keep them safe."
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