Button batteries, in particular big, powerful lithium coin cell batteries, can badly hurt or kill a small child if they swallow one and it gets stuck in their food pipe.

Here are our top tips for keeping children safe:

• Hunt around your home for button batteries.
• Keep products well out of your child’s reach if the battery compartment isn’t secured.
• Store spare and ‘flat’ batteries well out of reach too.
• Beware of bargains from online marketplaces or local discount shops. They may have button batteries your child can get to easily.
• Teach older children that button batteries are dangerous and not to play with them or give them to younger brothers and sisters.
• If you can afford it, invest in a pack of button batteries that’s impossible for a child to open without scissors or that has batteries coated with a bitter taste to discourage swallowing.
• If you think your child has swallowed a button battery, don’t delay, take them to A&E straight away or call 999 for an ambulance. Don’t let them eat or drink and don’t make them sick.

Download and share our top tips for keeping children safe, learn where you can find button batteries in your home, understand why ‘flat’ batteries are still dangerous and find out what to do in an emergency if you suspect your child has swallowed one.