“Mommy, where’d the money go?”
“What money, sweetie?”
“The money.”
“Hold on. There was a penny there on the table, wasn’t there.”
“Where did it go?”
“Wait…where did it go Thalia?”
“I eat it.”
“You what? You ate the penny? Are you just saying that?”
“I put it on my tongue. I eat it. I swallow it.”
“And you swallowed it? You swallowed that penny? Why?”
“Whyyyyyy?”
“Yes, why?”
“I would like some dinner mommy.”
“You ate the penny because you’re hungry?”
“I would like a sandwich mommy. And milk in a cup.”
“Don’t eat money any more Thalia. You could choke. You could get sick. Do you understand?”
“Okay mommy.”
“Or at least eat dimes. They’re smaller.”
—-
Update 10/3: The incident has passed. So to speak.
62 shards of brilliance… read them below or add one
Well, my 18 month old daughter apparantly swallowed a loonie (Canadian one dollar coin – not small, bigger than a quarter). I found out when I found it in her diaper – didn’t even know she had swallowed it. So I’m rather relieved to know that it seemingly passed through her system ok.
OttawaLegend here……so much for me putting money in my kid’s birthday cake. My 5 year old just swallowed a penny 10 minutes ago….and voila I found you here. But I have to admit I was looking for Ontario Health first. Man they need a new web-site. Thanks for calming my nerves most of you…..
i ate 5 pennies two days ago and havent seen any yet. my stomach was hurting this morning. i guess ill wait it out another day and see how i feel before getting an x ray or something like that. i guess if im pooing normally that would mean theres no blockage, right?
Anon, if you’re serious, go to the doctor now. Please. It’s not about blockage, it’s about the copper breaking down and eating your stomach lining.I won’t even ask why you ate 5 pennies if you’re old enough to be googling about it.
my daughter just swalled a penny do i need to take her to the er?
Aw, anon – no need. It should come out in the next 24 hours or so. If not, call your pediatrician. But don’t panic! The likelihood is it passes on its own.
I am a researcher on a television special about children who swallowed unusual objects. The stories can be recent or as much as 7 years old (we’ll still need access to the x-rays). If you have a unique or dramatic story to share, please email me and I will tell you more about the show: tvproduction2009@gmail.com
No need for a trip to the hospital. My 16 month old boy swallowed one on a Thursday night and after a long four days of searching diapers and feeding him prunes, bananas, bread, and all kind of fiber, it came out on Monday, a bit discolored. Yes it was a relief to see it out, keep searching, don't panic. Since then we call our kid 'penny boy'.
My four year old son just ate a dime about an hour ago and I found this blog while trying to search for answers as to what I should do. I suppose if a penny doesn't usually hurt kids, then a dime really won't, so I'm not as scared now as I was an hour ago! I called his doctors office and they wanted me to drag him in there right away for X-rays and exams, but I thought I should wait it out a little bit and see how he acts and feels. I gave him fish sticks, watermelon, pizza rolls, milk, and kiwi apple juice, and he ate and drank everything fine and is acting like his happy normal self. So I was just wondering if this seems ok to anyone else who reads this, or if I really should bring him in right away for a simple dime? Am I a horrible mom for telling the nurse on the phone that I wanted to wait a few hours to see how he seemed, before I drive all the way to the doctor and subject my kid to xrays and stuff!? Help!
Mamabear, from what my doctor told me and most of what I read here, you're pretty much okay. In all likelihood it will…come out tomorrow. Keep an eye out.
If not you can take further steps but I don't think you need to panic. Hopefully by tomorrow night you'll be having a good laugh about it like we did.
Ok so my 6 year old daughter was having her first sleep over at our house. Her friend, who is 7, and her were playing in my daughters room and I hear my daughter start to scream “Mommy!!” I look up the staircase and her friend is hunched over holding her throat and I freaked out. “What is wrong? what's going on?” The friend is able to choked up say “I …. got….to …. puke…!” I tell her its okay I will clean it up but what is wrong. “I …. quarter!” My daughter finally steps up and says “she was trying to hide my quarter from me, and she choked on it.” Very matter of fact and nonchalantly. So I look at the friend and say “Did you really put a quarter in your mouth? Where is it now?” All she can do is point at her throat. All the while I am holding her hands above her head and hitting her back trying to dislodge the quarter. She just shakes her head yes. “I'm gonna puke” she says again. “Its okay I will clean it up later. Get it out! Don't swallow! Just don't swallow, please. Puke it up it is okay!” Does she listen, heavens no she doesn't want to puke. She coughs so violently that she does puke a little but no quarter. Then I call her parents to tell them that I am taking her to the hospital and if see they want to meet me there. We get there and lo and behold they are closed!! can you imagine an emergency room that closes!! At 5:30 pm non the less…. Fortunately for us by this time she has swallowed it down and it is now sitting in her stomach. So after making sure she is ok her mom asks her do you want to go home and take a bath? “No I want to stay the night with my new friend mom!!” Gosh as if we all hadn't just been through the most terrifying experience. On the bright side my husband cleaned up all the puke while I was gone and I don't have to be on poop watch!! And if you can believe it this is my first coin to be swallowed. Had to deal with peas up the nose and eating a plant leaves but never swallowing coins.
I realize this post is very old but thanks for it being here my 4 year old ate a penny and I wasn't to worried but my wife was and this helped alleviate her worries. Now we know what to look for in the slim chance their is a problem.