Safety experts warn parents never to buy hugely popular childrens toy that adults also love

Bubble burst.Experts are sounding the alarm about the deadly risks associated with this popular toy.Water beads, the bouncy, colorful orbs beloved by children and adults, have long been used as home decor or marketed as children’s toys or therapies for those with sensory processing or autism spectrum disorders.

However, experts maintain that their colorful, candy-esque visage makes them easy to mistake for a sweet treat, with devastating consequences.“I truly can’t emphasize enough how dangerous these water beads are to kids, babies, even pets,” Whitney Reese, an ICU nurse and mother of three, previously told Fox News Digital.

These objects, she went on, “should not be in a house or in any facility where children can be exposed.They are so dangerous and not worth the risk, even the slightest bit.”If ingested, water beads, which are made of superabsorbent polymers, can expand to the size of a tennis ball and cause intestinal blockage that can lead to severe pain, choking, vomiting, dehydration, bowel damage and, in some cases, emergency surgery, according to the National Capital Poison Center.Last February, an 8-year-old girl from Texas swallowed water beads, causing an intestinal blockage that shut off the blood supply to her brain, leading to permanent damage including speech delays, muscle weakness, and difficulty walking.Doctors say polyacrylamide and acrylamide, two chemicals used to manufacture the beads, are known neurotoxins that could have amplified the damage.In March of 2025, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and toy company Buffalo Games recalled more than 50,000 ‘Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kits’ amid reports of injury and death.

In 2023, Taylor Bethard, a Wisconsin mother, called for change after her 10-month-old daughter died after accidentally ingesting a water bead. “Water beads should be banned/recalled and no longer allowed to be marketed as a children’s toy,” said Bethard.Bethard, ...