I need a reality check...

[rubidoux]

Do you think a one gallon zip lock bag would be a danger to a 15 month old? My husband is so fearful and worried about all sorts of real and imagined dangers that I have become numb to them. So I'm finding myself feeling resistant to worrying about the dreaded one gallon zip lock and I'm not sure if its just because dh has driven me over the edge or because there really is no great danger. I just cannot see a kid getting one over their head and sealing it up. But I know that there are times that I ignore dangers because he has driven them home to the point that I'm rebellious or something. And now I'm starting to not trust my instincts on this.

Btw, dh's insanity is all about adoring his children beyond reason and that's all good. So, I don't mean this to be so much a complaint about him as, well, a reality check.

[5gifts]

Well...I don't guess I'd let little one dissappear all over the house to go play with one...or take it to bed as a lovey or crib toy

But if LO was playing with the box of baggies on the kitchen floor with me there...pulling them out/stuffing them back in...no big deal!
....until they start biting on them/ripping little pieces of plastic off!

[seagull]

I would never let a child play with a plastic bag. Suffocation can happen rather fast or more likely the child might bite off some of the plastic.

[One_Girl]

Yes I do think a plastic bag is dangerous. My dd would was quick to put things in her mouth and chocking can happen so easily at that age. I think it is good that your husband is aware of danger and tries to protect your kids from it. I think you should try not to let yourself put your kids in dangerous situations just to prove to him that kids don't always die when they aren't in ideal conditions. I don't think you need to avoid things completely, but things that carry higher danger should be avoided.

[goodygumdrops]

Yes, I wouldn't leave my child unsupervised with a plastic bag.

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by seagull

I would never let a child play with a plastic bag. Suffocation can happen rather fast or more likely the child might bite off some of the plastic.

That.

It's not just about the bag going over their head, it's about plastic being relatively easy to bite pieces from and choke on.

[Mountaingirl79]

Yeah, I have to agree that even though they can't " zip it up" or seal it, they could still get in a position of suffocation. And why take the chance really?

[karika]

when I am in the kitchen, dd2 18mo pulls out the ziplock sandwich bags and puts them back in the drawer regularly. I don't worry about it because she is never unsupervised. It is easy to see if she bites it, which she doesn't. She enjoys closing it and opening it. then ripping them down the side frequently. I make sure they are all put away when we move on. When she was younger I took them away, when she was still in the stage of putting everything in her mouth. I do keep grocery bags and produce bags in a different place since they are thinner and more likely to be accidentally inhaled which would freak me out, even if I am right there to pull it out... I also learned to be calm about toddlers putting rocks in their mouths. It is natural. Some say it is a way for them to get minerals.

[rubidoux]

Well, live and learn. lol Maybe he isn't over the top. I actually have worried about the pulling a piece off and choking on it part. He's not worried about that or hasn't said so at least. He did, though, take my one gallon plastic zip-lock that I keep my knitting in out of my diaper bag and poke a bunch of holes in it because he was afraid that Augie could put his head inside it and suffocate. It made me feel rather oppressed. But I suppose I'll thank him someday.

I am btw only talking about one of the one gallon zip locks. Somehow I can imagine a head going inside other bags a little easier. These are technically big enough for a baby to put over their head, but it is hard for me to imagine that it could be pulled tight and closed, kwim? But I will certainly suspend my disbelief as you all seem pretty definate about it. lol

And in my defense, I gotta say that I am thought of as one of the most uptight moms in the playgroups I've been in. I am super careful with my children.

[Peony]

I have to admit that my 1 year play with them all the time and I don't bat an eye. He pulls them out of the box while I am in the kitchen, I am not monitoring every second but am nearby.

[AbbieB]

I'm pretty paranoid about plastic wrappers and bags. But I would have no problem with my child pulling them out and handling them or experimenting with putting stuff in one while I was supervising. I would remove them if they were being mouthed.

[lookatreestar]

i just swap them with a paper bag.

[Sierra]

Wait a minute. Previous posts seem to imply an assumption that said child was running around playing with the bag unsupervised. But this is a bag that was tucked away in another bag, and it had stuff in it. I agree with you. Seems over the top, at least it would be with the degree to which we supervise the kidos in my house at that age.

[MissMaegie'sMama]

Originally Posted by AbbieB

I'm pretty paranoid about plastic wrappers and bags. But I would have no problem with my child pulling them out and handling them or experimenting with putting stuff in one while I was supervising. I would remove them if they were being mouthed.

I think this sounds reasonable!

[jeanine123]

Originally Posted by Sierra

Wait a minute. Previous posts seem to imply an assumption that said child was running around playing with the bag unsupervised. But this is a bag that was tucked away in another bag, and it had stuff in it. I agree with you. Seems over the top, at least it would be with the degree to which we supervise the kidos in my house at that age.

The post that began this discussion didn't mention the fact that this was a bag that held knitting. Nor did it say it was inside another bag at the time. People can only form responses based on the information given at the time. Based on what the OP said, yes I'd be concerned about my child taking a plastic bag and placing it over his head and playing. In light of the additional information that was shared a few hours later, my concern would lessen.

[mamalisa]

Can a one gallon ziploc even fit over a toddlers head? Maybe my kids had huge heads, but I don't think it would fit. Tearing it seems like it would be very difficult as well. It's not something I would freak about, but I admittedly don't freak about much. I wouldn't leave them in a room alone with them but overall it wouldn't hit my radar.

[One_Girl]

The updated situation seems completely different. I wouldn't worry that much about a bag inside another bag, especially since my knitting stuff was generally put up high so my dd didn't unravel the thread, once was enough. I think your husband made it easier to bite chunks out of by poking holes in it and that I would worry about if I was going to have the bag somewhere where a baby could get it and I wasn't going to be supervising the baby very closely.

[liliaceae]

Yeah I think it would actually be more dangerous with holes poked in it, since it would be easier to bite off a piece that way.

[rubidoux]

Originally Posted by jeanine123

The post that began this discussion didn't mention the fact that this was a bag that held knitting. Nor did it say it was inside another bag at the time. People can only form responses based on the information given at the time. Based on what the OP said, yes I'd be concerned about my child taking a plastic bag and placing it over his head and playing. In light of the additional information that was shared a few hours later, my concern would lessen.

Well, I actually think my OP was pretty straight forward. This is a zip lock bag that I keep my knitting in and it is often, though not always, in my diaper bag. I usually knit at night when baby is sleeping in my lap or after he's gone to bed. But there are certainly times that I leave my knitting next to the couch (almost always put it up where he can't get it as soon as I see it in the morning bc of the unraveling nightmare). But there are certainly times that baby has access to the bag, either with my knitting stuff in it or without. Now, he is not ever left alone in the house, of course. And he isn't left alone in one part of the house with me in another often or for long -- I do sometimes go to the bathroom or get a drink or grab something from another room while he's in the living room. So, while he wouldn't normally have a lot of access to this bag, it is not unreasonable to thing that he might at some point be alone in a room with it for, say, three minutes -- tops.

One thing I'm wondering about in these responses is if people are really thinking about a one gallon zip lock bag. I definately do see the danger in something like one of those plastic bags with the handles you get at the grocery store or a garbage bag or something. But I cannot wrap my mind around how a child this age would suffocate in a one gallon zip lock bag. If it fit over my head, I think I would have a super hard time zip locking it. I cannot believe for a second a baby could actually lock that zipper. So then what? Would they put it over their head and then hold the open edge closed aroung their neck? If so, wouldn't they let go before any real damage had been done? Gosh, I hope. I will not allow my little one to hang with a bag any more. He is, after all one of the two most important things in the world to me. But I am still feeling like I just cannot see how it would happen.

[rubidoux]

Originally Posted by mamalisa

Can a one gallon ziploc even fit over a toddlers head? Maybe my kids had huge heads, but I don't think it would fit. Tearing it seems like it would be very difficult as well. It's not something I would freak about, but I admittedly don't freak about much. I wouldn't leave them in a room alone with them but overall it wouldn't hit my radar.

I am feeling an urge to try it on over his head to see, but obviously I don't want to give him any ideas. My guess is that it could fit over his head, but I kinda doubt that he'd have the dexterity to actually do it. He plays at trying to put his own shirt on and he can't even get close to getting his head inside the shirt. I feel like he would have to overcome several different difficulties in order for the bag to become dangerous.

I do understand the theoretical risk, but like you, it just doesn't hit my radar. But my husband walks into a room and sees my knitting sitting on the table next to me in this zip lock and Augie on the other side of the room I swear he acts like Augie is standing right on the very edge of a plunging cliff. One time Augie actually picked up the bag, empty, while he was standing right next to me and my husband jumped up and swooped in and got the bag. It was like a scene out of some action adventure movie where the innocent young lady is saved at the last possible second. I felt completely fine about Aug holding the bag and investigating it. And I certainly didn't feel like there was some sort of dramatic dangerous thing going on.