Viral Facebook Post Has Parents Terrified That Sophie The Giraffe Is A Choking Hazard

51BnShDWcUL._SL1024_We all know Sophie the Giraffe, the accessible/aspirational organic rubber French baby teether that all fancy babies seem to have and adore. At $25, Sophie is expensive, but inexpensive enough that she is an “affordable luxury.” Everyone recognizes her cute little face and her whimsical European pedigree, and that makes her one of the most desirable baby toys on the market today, but now thanks to a viral Facebook post, people are freaking out over the possibility that sweet little Sophie the Giraffe could be a choking hazard.

According to a Facebook post by a mother named Katie Jones, disaster was narrowly averted recently when she found her six-month-old daughter, Paige, choking on one of Sophie’s legs.

“On the 8th July 2015 Paige was happily munching on Sophie,” she wrote. “I walked to the kitchen to grab something. On my return I realised she had become quiet and lifeless. When I checked on Paige she was turning blue. Paige had got the whole of one of Sophies legs lodged down her throat. I had to unhook it free and pull out the leg from the back of her throat. I was absolutely terrified. I gave some firm pats on my daughters back and this made her throw up and take a breath.”

Paige is OK now, but Jones points out that Sophie’s legs are long enough to get lodged in the back of a baby’s throat, and a baby too young to get it out could choke on it.

According to Yahoo Parenting, parents should be careful with any toy that extends more than an inch into a baby’s mouth.

”Kids have different depths to their throats, and parents likely wouldn’t know that, so a guideline should be to make sure all pieces of the toy are less than an inch long and that a child can’t bite any of them off,” said Dr. Deborah Gilboa.

Sophie’s legs are two to three inches long. And while Sophie is very popular and babies all over the world–including mine–have used Sophie without incident, this story is pretty frightening. It really drives home the necessity of watching a baby at all times. We know not to leave small babies with blankets or stuffed animals, but even something as popular and innocuous as Sophie can apparently be dangerous. Ugh, I don’t know about you, but I’ not going to be able to sleep for the next 23 years.

People do love Sophie, but commenters on Jones’ Facebook post indicated that they would be less likely to want to use her after hearing about Paige’s near tragedy. Vulli, which makes Sophie the Giraffe, also makes a Sophie teething ring that is made from the same organic rubber and has the same cute Sophie style, but has no long narrow pieces.

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(Via Amazon)

It might not be the iconic Sophie teether, but it’s probably a good option for any Sophie-loving parent who has been terrified by this particular viral Facebook post.

(Photo: Amazon)

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