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15th December 2023
01:56pm GMT
With the endless options in place when buying presents for kids, it can be a long process trying to decide which one is equally fun and safe.
As a parent or relative of a young person, you want them to enjoy their gift, but you also want to avoid any mishaps, injuries, or accidents.
To help with this, a doctor has revealed the five presents most likely to land your child in the emergency room on Christmas Day.
The paediatric emergency doctor and mum of four (@dr.beachgem10) has taken to Instagram to give the gift of foresight to gift-givers this season.
Trampolines seem like the gift of all gifts - especially to a family with a handful of energetic kids.
However, it is the number one gift that should be avoided, even if it's labelled as a more 'safe' or 'expensive' option.
"Number one should not be a surprise to anyone. I detest trampolines," the doctor admits. "They literally keep the emergency department and the orthopedics team in business."
"It doesn't matter if you've got a net, it doesn't matter if they're buried in the ground. Most of the injuries actually happen ON the trampoline. Also, your insurance company also hates trampolines," the doctor urged.
A hoverboard would likely get you plenty of smiles from its recipient, but their parents may not thank you in the long run.
"We see so many hover board injuries right after Christmas," the doctor revealed.
"They break their forearms and their elbows and sometimes their heads."
Additionally, these toys put the entire family at risk.
"They can literally light your house on fire," she adds, with one user backing this claim up, "A student in my class got a hover board for Christmas one year, it was charging in the garage, caught fire, the family lost their entire home and puppy 😭 NOT WORTH IT!!!!"
Not only does this ER doctor warn against buying electric scooters as presents, but the Road Safety Authority here in Ireland also urges people to avoid gifting them.
"Kids go way too fast on these. They hit a bump, they go flying. They mess up their faces, their arms, their heads. It's bad news," the doctor reasoned.
Speaking about the dangers, Sam Waide, Chief Executive of the RSA, echoes this warning: “Parents should not consider purchasing an e-scooter for any child this Christmas.
“It is important that parents and members of the public are also aware of the risks associated with quadbikes and scramblers.
“They are intended to be driven by people in a supervised and controlled environment who understand the threat when driven on uneven ground.”
Water beads sound harmless, but parents and gift-givers should be cautious about buying this sensory toy.
"These are sold as sensory toys but little kids can ingest them when they're small and they can get larger and cause bowel obstructions. Don't mess with these and little kids," she warns.
"They can cause problems with pets, too."
It might be worth leaving this present in the store, especially if you're buying for small children or a house with pets.
Removing this option will likely cut your gift ideas in half.
Toys that are button battery operated are actually life-threatening presents, according to the doctor.
"They keep those little compartments closed with those little cheap screws. It's not worth it. They can literally kill kids and they do every year," she shares.
