Over the Christmas period, children receive lots of new, fun and exciting toys to play with.
However, amongst all the celebrations and excitement, parents can often overlook the dangers of certain types of children's toys for young age groups.
Irish paediatrician and neurologist Dr Niamh Lynch took to her TikTok account to warn people with children in their lives of the hazards magnetic toys pose to kids.
She said: "Heads up parents, grandparents, guardians, anybody with children in their lives. Do you know how dangerous magnet toys can be? There have been multiple cases of children swallowing these little magnet toys.
"They can cause severe damage to a child's intestines, here's why: cute, colourful, easy to swallow, these magnets can stick together in the gut, causing pieces of the gut to die and making your kid really really sick."
Magnet toys are particularly dangerous for children as if they swallow the small magnetic balls, they can rip holes in the intestine.
The magnets stick together internally through organs and tissues and can cut off the blood supply causing the tissue to die.
If your child swallows magnets, they will need emergency surgery and depending on the severity of their injuries, they may need several operations and time in ICU.
Dr Lynch said: "It's probably best to completely avoid magnet toys.
"Definitely don't give them to children under the age of three, and if your child is playing with magnet toys, supervise them at all times."
