Shelby Esses: A mother's intuition exposes a toy hazard

When 20-month old Jacob Esses ended up in an inexplicable coma last October, one person was sure she knew the answers that the doctors couldn’t find—his mom. Shelby Esses was certain her son’s frightening state was due to the Aqua Dots beads he had swallowed earlier that day. Esses was so confident that as she waited for news about her son’s condition, she asked her mother and mother-in-law to scour store shelves for Aqua Dots looking for the ingredients on the package. 

Fortunately, six hours after falling into a coma, Jacob woke up.  Determined to find out what had caused her son to become so severely ill, Esses didn't give up her search until she found the answer. And after she did, she took a number of steps that illustrate what one person can do to make a difference.

When her son became sick, Esses did all of the right things: She contacted the company that manufactured Aqua Dots to inform them of her son’s condition. She asked for the toy’s ingredient list and even submitted this list to the toxicology lab at her son’s hospital. The lab results showed that the toy was indeed toxic—it contained ingredients that when ingested metabolized into GHB, also known as the date-rape drug. Her information helped lead to a recall of Aqua Dots on November 7, 2007. The recall of 4.2 million sets was one of the fastest toy recalls in U.S. history.

But Esses didn’t stop at the recall. In the following months, she and several other parents of children who also suffered injuries from toys, played a critical role in lobbying Congress to enact tougher safety rules. She was an articulate spokeswoman who helped to put a human face on the issue.  As she told her story in Congress: “I was angry.  I am still angry. I think that there needs to be a few changes made for toys and other children's products that are sold in the United States.”

Among other things, Esses believes that products should be tested by independent labs to ensure that they do not contain lead or other harmful ingredients and that companies should post phone numbers on their Web sites for parents to call with questions about products.

The good news for all parents, families and caregivers is that both the Senate and the House of Representatives have just passed new legislation governing the safety of toys. The language of the two measures needs to be reconciled so we end up with one powerful bill. We are hopeful that Congress will get to work and do just that in the days ahead. When that happens, we will have Esses, among others, to thank.

For her efforts, we are naming Esses one of our safety crusaders. If you know someone who should be a safety crusader please let us know.

Comments

[Andrea]

Perhaps she has another child who the toy actually belonged to and the 20 - month old got his hands on it by accident. Regardless, toys this harmfull should not be on the market. Wouldn't it do the same thing to a 10 year old if accidentally ingested?

[adele]

Why is a 20 month old playing with that toy? It is recommended for 10 year olds.