CBS News

(CBS) An eight-year-old Indiana girl swallowed 30 magnets and steel balls from a toy last month and, her father says, needed emergency surgery to save her from what doctors told him were eight gunshot or stab-like holes in her intestines.

Haley Lents told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Monday she ingested the ten magnets and 20 steel balls because they “looked like candy.” Haley’s father, Jason Lents, told CBS News he “really” doesn’t understand how Haley could have consumed the parts, because she “gets A’s and B’s, and we taught her not to do stuff like this.” The parts came from a toy called Magnetix, made by Mega Brands, which issued a statement about the incident: “”Mega Brands was saddened to learn that a child sustained injury from ingesting a large number of toy parts, some of which apparently contained magnets. While we have not been able to confirm whether the toy involved was a MEGA Brands product, it is clear this was a highly unusual and isolated situation and is not indicative of any problem with Mega Brands’ magnetic construction toys currently on the market. In general, if a child swallows 30 pieces of any toy, it is likely that it will result in harm regardless of the toy in question.”

Haley told Rodriguez she wants other kids to know they shouldn’t eat toy parts. Jason also wants to get the word out. He pointed out to Rodriguez that, “These are high intensity magnets. There are so many parents out there that have no idea that these toys — it just takes two magnets to kill someone. … And because they are so easy to swallow … (Mega Brands hasn’t) done enough.

I’ve never seen candy that looked like steel balls, and this kid is one of the “smart” ones? Click here for a picture of the “tasty” toy.




  1. Angel H. Wong says:

    She’s like Superman with the balls of steel.

  2. Mister Mustard says:

    >>She’s like Superman with the balls of steel.

    Angel, you horny bastard!

  3. Mikey says:

    Didn’t these get pulled from store shelves earlier last year (Christmas ’06) because children had already been injured?

    http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/PRHTML07/07164.html

    Seems as if there was a recall or something like that…

  4. Ultramannick says:

    When I read this story, I turned to my 8 year old son who has played for years with Magnetix and asked him if he would EVER mistake the components for candy. He was shocked to think that anyone would actually eat them. This girl did not mistake anything for candy; she did it on purpose and is obviously trying to get attention from her parents or someone. There’s something else going on in this household than this being a “mistake.”

  5. Lester Spratt says:

    Looks like she learned from her Dad to eat everything in sight.

  6. Bobby Joe says:

    I don’t think magnetix look the least bit like candy and I am 8 years old.


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