Science Reviews

*Negative rating*

Magnetix Xtreme Combo Flashing Lights Castle
Magnetix Xtreme Combo Flying Saucer

A toddler named Kenneth Sweet, Jr. died on November 24, 2004. These two toys had been given as gifts to an older boy in the family's home just 10 days earlier. The Kroger Co., which owns Smith's Food & Drug, Fred Meyer and other stores across the United States, has voluntarily recalled Magnetix products from their shelves. In March, 2006 another boy, this time a pre-school child, almost died from swallowing magnets from a building set. The King County WA Medical Examiner has issued a warning about Magnetix - http://komo1000news.com/stories/42442.htm.

There are several tiny cylindrical magnets in each of the flat pieces of many toys in Rose Art's "Magnetix" line, including the flat pieces (triangles and squares) in "Magnetix X-Treme Combo 250 Piece Case: Triangles, Squares & Bars".

There may be a danger of these tiny magnets coming loose. Serious health risks are posed by "multiple magnet ingestion"*. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a statement saying that the agency is currently conducting a serious investigation.

* "Don't Swallow Your Magnets!
A recent article in Radiology alerts parents to the swallowing of magnets. "The problem is not the toxicity of the magnets, but rather the possibility that two or more magnets can attract each other through adjacent intestinal walls and become lodged there indefinitely. Over time, the magnets can perforate the intestinal walls." Check it out here http://www.magneticmicrosphere.com/no_swallow.htm.

My 8 year old daughter loves these! She is able to build more complex shapes and designs. I would not recommend them for someone younger unless they have a lot of patience as it takes quite a bit of time to get the pieces aligned to build something elaborate. The different shaped pieces have made building more interesting for my daughter.

I have triplet granddaughters - age 4 - and they love this! Add a cookie sheets and it can keep them occupied for quite awhile. Keeping the balls from getting lost is the only problem.

It's stores easily and with the case, keeping all of the little parts together is easy.

My wife bought this piece of junk for my kids room, and I can't believe she wasted so much money for a piece of uninteresting plastic.