Hospital warns against microwaving squishy toys after children suffer burns
A hospital reported six cases of children suffering burns from microwaving squishy toys, prompting a safety warning.
How it was covered
- Channel 5 was the only channel found covering it.
- BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
A hospital in Glasgow has issued a safety warning after six children suffered burns from microwaving squishy toys, with some requiring skin grafts. The warning follows an incident involving 11-year-old Scarlet Rose, whose toy exploded in her face after being heated in a microwave. Her mother described finding yellow slime smeared across her daughter's face and skin peeling from her eyelid. The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow reported that over the past eight months, six children have been treated for similar injuries. The burns occur when the gel inside the toy becomes extremely hot and builds up pressure; when squeezed after microwaving, the outer shell bursts and sprays hot gel onto the child. The hospital noted that social media sites are encouraging children to microwave the toys to make them 'more squishy'. Scarlet's mother, Gina, said her daughter was lucky not to have been more seriously hurt and urged parents to be aware of the danger. Scarlet has since been given the all-clear by doctors.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Children have been burned by microwaving squishy toys, with a hospital in Glasgow reporting six cases in eight months, some requiring skin grafts, and the trend being encouraged on social media. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focused on a specific victim story, 11-year-old Scarlet Rose, to illustrate the danger. It used emotional language from the mother and highlighted the hospital's warning about six cases and the role of social media trends. The tone was cautionary and aimed at parents.
- “At the start of May 11 year old scarlet rose suffered severe burns when a popular squishy toy Exploded in her face”
- “we seen the yellow slime smeared across her face I wiped it and I'd seen some of the skin coming off at the top of her eyelid”
- “unfortunately in some social media sites children are being encouraged to put them into the microwave to make them more squishy”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.