Parents Giving Kids AirPods Despite Fires, Harmful Radiation, and Potential for Accidental Swallowing

By B.N. Frank

AirPods can and have caught fire. They also emit wireless radiation which American Academy of Pediatrics and other health experts say is more harmful to children because they are smaller and their skulls are thinner. Exposure can increase cancer risk, disrupt the blood-brain barrier and cause other significant health problems (see 1, 2) and undesirable symptoms. In fact, no safe level of exposure has been scientifically determined for kids or pregnant women.

Regardless, many parents are still buying AirPods for their kids.

From the Wall Street Journal:

All Jacob Mars wanted for Christmas was a pair of AirPods. Not the regular $159 model, but the AirPods Pro, which cost $90 more. He’s 11.

“I think they’re pretty cool,” Jacob said.

Cool? How about mind-blowing!

One 7-year-old boy choked and swallowed an AirPod he got for Christmas. From Radio.com:

Stroud told local ABC affiliate WSB-TV that the boy was holding the device in his mouth by the longer side when the incident occurred.

After receiving a call from her mother that the 7-year-old boy was “choking on an AirPod,” she rushed him to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egelston hospital.

Doctors took an X-Ray that revealed the AirPod was lodged under the boy’s rib cage.

“He was very nervous. He’s like, well, he thought he was gonna be in trouble. So, you know, we just kind of assured him that it’s ok,” Stroud told WGXA.

“Everything is fine. In a few days, it’ll pass through,” Stroud told the station adding that doctors decided the best course of action is to allow the AirPod to pass on its own.

Since the incident, she revealed that her son doesn’t want his phone near him out of fear that it’ll connect to the AirPod in his stomach and play some tunes.

She also admitted she’ll likely wait until her son is a little older to invest in electronic gadgets or will invest in old fashioned headsets that aren’t wireless.

“That’s what I would suggest. Because anything could happen,” Stroud said hoping her experience serves as a cautionary tale to other parents.

Good call, Mom. For parents concerned about their kids’ carbon footprint – AirPods also contribute to E-Waste too. How not cool is that?

Activist Post reports regularly about risks associated with digital, electronic, and wireless technology. For more information visit our archives and the following websites: