Button batteries can badly hurt or kill a small child if they swallow one and it gets stuck in their food pipe.

Typically, small children:

• find batteries that have dropped out of products with loose backs
• find spare batteries in a drawer or on the floor after a packet spills open
• get hold of ‘flat’ batteries left on a worktop or table or stored for recycling.

But with a few simple checks you can keep your children safe.

1. Check around your home

Do you know which of your products contain button batteries? Our poster makes it easy to spot where button batteries might be in your home. Take a room at a time and have a search. Check the products’ backs are secure.

Check your spare button batteries are in a safe place, up high and out of your child’s reach. Do you dispose of your used button batteries right away? If not check they’re stored safely out of reach until you can recycle them.

2. Check any new products that come into your home

New products may have loose spare batteries in the packaging or loose backs where button batteries can fall out. So, check all products that come into your home to make sure the battery compartment is secure with a screw or similar fastener.

If the back is not secured or the button battery is easily accessible, the product needs to be kept out of reach of children.

3. Keep checking when you tidy

While tidying up and throwing everything back in the toy box, check for any toys with loose backs and button batteries that have dropped out. If any battery compartment isn’t properly secured, remove the toy. It’s no longer safe to play with. And, check other products when you do your cleaning and tidying.