This mom is going viral for her warning about button batteries

An Indiana mother is sharing her son’s story as she hopes it will keep other kids safe.

Ta’Sha Garrett’s 1-year-old son, Mahziere, recently swallowed a button battery, leading to emergency surgery.

“I knew the severity of swallowing batteries,” Garrett recently told Good Morning America. “I didn’t think that would happen to us. I’m really careful when it comes to things like that.”

Unfortunately, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, this happens to thousands of kids every year.

A mother whose toddler accidentally ingested a button battery is speaking out in hopes to warn parents of this pote… https://t.co/kCb6lnvGwF

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Doctors believe Mahziere might have swallowed the battery up to two weeks before he started showing symptoms.

Garrett said Mahziere seemed completely fine; he was eating well, sleeping well, and playing normally. One day while picking up her older son from school, Garrett noticed Mahziere seemed very lethargic.”Everything about him was moving slow. He ended up sleeping on the car ride home.”

Shortly after they got home, Mahziere began whimpering and bubbles appeared in his mouth. Garrett packed up her son and took him to the hospital. At first, doctors weren’t sure what Mahziere had swallowed. It was only during surgery that they found the battery, which was about the size of a quarter.

“Up until then,” said Garrett, “I was pretty optimistic it wasn’t a battery. I don’t have watches around the house.”

Mahziere spent about a week and a half in the hospital and has recovered well. Garrett thinks her son might have found the battery while playing at a relative’s house. She wants parents to be aware of the dangers of the small batteries and to remember that kids can find them anywhere.

“They move really fast. Even if you think you’re watching them, you have to be mindful that kids move quicker than you,” Garrett said. “If a lot of times people are watching your kids or your kids are going places, warn others what your child is capable of and getting into.”

Duracell is working hard to help prevent the unthinkable with the new lithium coin battery with bitter coating (ava… https://t.co/DHXqtPCikM

— Duracell (@Duracell)
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Earlier this month, Duracell announced a new technology for its button batteries: a bitter coating designed to discourage kids from popping the batteries in their mouths. With ingestions on the rise in recent years, the battery maker decided to create an additional safety measure that will hopefully keep children safe.

The National Capital Poison Center has several tips for protecting your family from the dangers of swallowing button batteries, including storing them out of sight of children, using strong tape to secure all battery compartments for electronics, and warning family members who use hearing aids of the dangers the batteries pose for young children. They also recommend familiarizing yourself with the types of items that use the batteries, including hearing aids, key fobs, bathroom scales, watches and talking books.