Energizer Debuts New Button Battery Features to Keep Kids Safe

Between babyproofing and keeping a watchful eye, parents are doing all they can to keep their children safe. But still sometimes things go awry or slip through the cracks. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see companies looking out for baby too.

Earlier this week Energizer debuted three new features to deter kids from accessing and swallowing its coin lithium batteries, more commonly known as button batteries. From toys to remote controls and more, as more devices come to rely on these high-powered, thin batteries more kids are getting their hands on them and the risk is high. If swallowed button batteries can cause severe burns, tissue damage and death within hours. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), over 70 children have died and tens of thousands have been hospitalized due to the batteries in recent decades.

So in a potentially life-saving effort Energizer has introduced its new 3-in-1 child shield features to keep button batteries out of the hands and mouths of children.

1. Childproof packaging New packaging places batteries inside of a hard plastic seal only able to be broken with scissors.
2. A bitter tasting coating If your little one gets their hands on a button battery a non-toxic bitter-tasting coating will hopefully prompt them to spit out the battery.
3. Color Alert technology A third line of defense, once salivia touches the battery it will visibly dye the mouth blue so parents can see and get care quickly.

The new features come almost a year after the CPSC introduced new safety standards for button batteries. To learn how you can safeguard your child by taking control of button batteries and what to do in the event of an emergency, visit CPSC.gov.