A mum has claimed that her toddler almost ‘suffocated to death’ after using a bowl from Primark.
Cheryl Drummond, 28, handed her 17-month-old baby Kaleah the bowl from Stacey Solomon’s Little Pickle line with a chocolate snack inside to keep her occupied whilst she put some food shopping away.
The mum-of-one heard then a thud and ran over to her daughter, who was struggling to pull the silicone dish off of her face.
At this point, her child was becoming stressed while Cheryl grappled with the bowl, which acted like a ‘plunger’ due to the material, which became tighter each time the baby took a breath, according to the mum’s claims.
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Cheryl, from Glasgow, Lanarkshire, stated that it was her acrylic nails which thankfully meant that the mum was able to break the vacuum seal and remove the bowl from her daughter’s face.
"I heard the bang and saw that she'd fallen back. She'd been trying to lick the bottom of the bowl like all kids do,” the mum said of how the ordeal had begun.
"She was sitting on the laminate floor. That's one of the reasons I heard - she hit her head when she fell backwards trying to pull the bowl off her face, and then she was banging her feet off the floor.
"Her mouth and nose were in that bowl, there was no room for her to breathe,” she said of the undoubtedly scary ordeal.
"I couldn't see her face, and she was panicking. She was trying to cry but her breaths were getting tighter every second that it was suctioned to her face.
"The bowl is made of silicone so it's like a plunger. Every breath she was creating, the bowl was getting tighter.”
"Thankfully I managed to get my nails under the bowl and pull it off her face. It was attached so strongly, it left a big red mark around her face.”
After she removed the bowl, Cheryl claimed that the ordeal had left her child in tears with a red mark on her face, with the child since being ‘petrified’ of the bowl.
Cheryl explained that the bowl was only stuck to her child “for between 45 seconds and a minute. It doesn't sound like a very long time but at the moment it feels like it.
"The worst-case scenario in my mind was that she could have suffocated to death.”
The mum-of-three is now urging Primark to launch an investigation into the product and to alter its size, as she believes its oval shape was too tight around Kaleah's face.
Cheryl said: "The bowl is still the exact same size which is my problem. It's an oval shape so it's the perfect size for her small face to get into.
"I also think the fact that it was a silicone material meant it was harder to get off her face.”
She added: "Primark should recall the bowl and launch an investigation, they need to change the size of the bowl. If it was smaller or bigger, it wouldn't be an issue.”
Primark has stated that the product range has been tested independently and met 'EN standards for children’s feeding items', however, they confirmed that they were investigating the incident.
A Primark spokesperson said: "We were very concerned to hear of this customer’s experience.
"Every Primark product range is tested independently to ensure the relevant safety standards are met including this which meets the EN standards for children’s feeding items.
"However, we take safety complaints very seriously, following up on every one and are in contact with the customer to fully investigate."
Gabriella Ferlita