Button Batteries
“It turns out this is one of the most damaging and dangerous things that my beautiful boy could have ever swallowed. It does not get much worse than this.” – Mother of an 8 month-old baby boy.
A treasure hunt for grown-ups #BatteryHunt
Why a Button Battery Treasure Hunt?
Button batteries power so many things in our homes, from remote controls and gaming headsets to digital scales and thermometers, not to mention cheap toys and musical cards.
But big, powerful lithium coin cell batteries, the ones like a 5p piece, can badly hurt or kill a small child within two hours, if they get stuck in the food pipe.
While some battery compartments are secured, many batteries are easy for children to get to. And then there are all the spares, plus the flat batteries we’re saving to recycle.
Most parents don’t know about the dangers or where batteries are in their homes, so they can’t keep their children safe. That’s why we’re launching a Button Battery Treasure Hunt.
We want to highlight how many batteries you can find in your home – in products as well as spare and flat batteries – and encourage parents to keep them out of reach of small fingers.
What we’d like you to do
We’d like you to:
- Record a short video of your button battery treasure hunt on your phone.
- Post the video on social media on the week starting Monday 27 July.
- Tag the post with #BatteryHunt and we will like and share it.
To help you get started:
- You can choose to film yourself hunting round your house, hunting round a room or talking about all the things you found on your treasure hunt, it’s up to you.
- If you’re going on a hunt, we suggest having a quick scout round before you film the process, so you know where the lithium coin cell batteries are. (This poster gives you some ideas about what to look for: Button batteries: Where are yours?)
- If the idea of hunting round your home doesn’t appeal to you, then put the collection of products and batteries you’ve found on a table and talk about where you found them.
- We’re particularly interested in accessible batteries. Some are so well-secured that even the most determined three-year-old can’t get at them. But others are easy to get to.
- As well as batteries in products, don’t forget the spare batteries in drawers and the used batteries you keep meaning to take to the supermarket for recycling.
- We’re most worried about lithium coin cell batteries, the flat ones, the size of a 5p piece. Other smaller button batteries can be harmful if they get stuck in a child’s nose or ear. But they’re unlikely to get stuck in the food pipe and burn through tissue to an artery.
- It doesn’t matter whether you have children at home or not. The message is about how many lithium coin cell batteries there are in our homes or how easy it is to access the batteries, to get families thinking about their own homes.
Video messaging made easy
Here’s a link to some example videos made by members of our team. Hopefully it will give you some ideas of what we’re looking for.
- We’re not looking for perfectly made professional videos! What we do want is handheld and homemade on your mobile.
- You can hold the phone in your hand, briefly spin it to show your face and then hold it out in front of you to show what you find. Or prop it up so you can film yourself talking about what you’ve found. Or ask a family member to film you as you go.
- You don’t need to write a script or read from anything. Just be yourself and chat to the viewer. We’ve put some key reminders below but please make it your own.
- Short is sweet for social. Aim for somewhere around two and a half minutes. That means being prepared – either look around beforehand so you know where to find them or do the hunt off-camera and film the collection you’ve found.
- The first go might feel a bit muddled. But it will give you a better idea of what you want to do and say. It may take a few takes to get it how you want it.
- If the cat joins in or the doorbell rings, don’t worry – it makes it more real. Just mention it and keep going.
- Smile – if you can! You want to look as relaxed and friendly as possible.
Some reminders of what to include
- Introduce yourself and your job.
- Explain that you are supporting the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s Button Battery Treasure Hunt to highlight the dangers of lithium cell batteries in the home.
- Tell people it is lithium coin cell batteries that are really dangerous (show one or explain that they are about the size of a 5p piece) and explain why (if a small child swallows one and it gets stuck in their food pipe, it can burn through and kill them very quickly).
- Explain that you’re about to do a Treasure Hunt around your home to find out where they are hiding, or that you’ve done one and this is what you’ve found.
- Help the viewer to experience your sense of surprise at just how many lithium cell batteries you are finding around your home, or how accessible they were.
- Say what you will do with the batteries or products now you’ve found them e.g. take flat batteries to recycling straight away, put spare batteries in a high cupboard, put products well out of small children’s reach if the battery compartment isn’t secured etc.
Once you’ve recorded your video
- Post your Treasure Hunt video on social media on the week starting Monday 27 July.
- Tag the post with #BatteryHunt and we will like and share it.
- Use your post to encourage your followers to conduct their own Button Battery Treasure Hunts and share their films.
- Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. You can email Henrietta Bond at capt@henriettabond.com.
