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When you're the parent of a young child, everything feels like it could be a threat. Sometimes it's just your parental instincts creating risks that aren't there, but sometimes the threat is very real.
Like coin sized batteries. It's estimated that 20 Aussie kids a week are admitted to hospital after swallowing a coin battery.
Energizer has done some really excellent work then to launch its new Ultimate Child Shield batteries, which prevents burning if swallowed.
The problem has been getting worse, not better. Energizer points to a nine fold increase in coin battery ingestion incidents over the past decade, driven largely by how many everyday gadgets now run on them. Everything from key fobs, remotes, tracking tags and toys all use the awkwardly shaped battery.
A 20mm coin battery is roughly the same size as a child's oesophagus, so if it gets lodged there, burning can start within 15 minutes and turn life threatening within hours.
Ultimate Child Shield tackles that risk from three angles. First, the chemistry itself has been reworked so the battery won't cause burning if it's swallowed.
Second, there's Colour Alert technology, which Energizer claims is a world first: the battery dyes a child's mouth blue when it comes into contact with saliva, giving parents and carers a fast, visible warning that something has happened.
Third, a non-toxic bitter coating is designed to make kids spit the battery out rather than swallow it in the first place, backed up by child-resistant packaging that's harder to open.
"As coin lithium batteries play an increasingly important role in powering everyday devices, it's crucial we continue to innovate. Energizer Ultimate Child Shield does exactly that. It includes a technology that eliminates the risk of ingestion burns, if a battery is swallowed by a child," said Amanda Broderick, Senior Director of International Marketing at Energizer Holdings.
It's worth remembering that a battery with these protections is still a battery, and prevention beats cure. Energizer recommends keeping spare coin batteries locked away, checking that battery compartments in toys and remotes are properly secured, and disposing of used batteries safely rather than tossing them in the general bin.
Coin lithium batteries can be a fire hazard in household waste, so Energizer suggests taping over both terminals before dropping them at a B-cycle recycling point, found at major retailers including Woolworths, Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks.
Obviously, it's still better to try to prevent your kid eating a battery, but if the worst happens, these new batteries won't cause life-threatening illness.
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