'Found out the hard way': Mum's warning over Kmart's foam plane glider

A mother has warned about a dangerous feature hidden in a popular $3.50 toy at Kmart.

A mother has taken to social media to warn about a choking hazard inside an innocent-looking Kmart toy plane.

Taking to Facebook the concerned Queensland mum posted a picture of the $3.50 foam glider with a warning about what her son discovered inside the plane.

Her cautionary story attracted more than 130 comments as parents debated the safety of the toy.

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Mum on Facebook shares warning about Kmart plane. Source: Facebook.

Kmart toy has hidden ball bearings

Posting in the Kmart Hacks and Decor Facebook page, the mum wrote, “as much fun as these planes are, be very careful with little ones".

She added, “found out yesterday (they) have ball bearings in them”.

The mum shared two photos of the popular foam glider, one with the nose of the plane intact, and a second revealing two small metal ball bearings in the nose.

When another mum commented that the balls would only be exposed, "if you deliberately break the plane", the original poster replied, "it wasn’t deliberately broken . It came unstuck on its own."

The Kmart product comes in two colours, and includes a warning on the online listing, which states, “Warning: Choking Hazard. Small parts.”

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The mum showed a picture of how easily the ball bearings were exposed. Source: Facebook.

"I stopped my 2yr old from swallowing one"

After sharing her story, parents commented on the post with similar experiences.

"Yes I found this out the hard way! My son chewed the tip. The ball is in the tip of the nose," one parent wrote.

A second person said, “This where those little sh*ts came from. I had no idea until I stopped my almost 2yr old from swallowing one". 

While another said, “Yesss!! Just discovered this yesterday. Had no idea where it came from then my 4 year old showed me where he got it from."

Other parents suggested  that the product should have better warnings.

"Ours is broken in the cupboard (and) had no idea they had ball bearings in them. Should have a proper label on it," one mum said.

A second person stated, “bit dangerous as it's advertised for 3-9yr olds, all it would take is for an older child to be too rough, and a young baby to be near where it lands”.

While a third believed, "If they have ball bearings in them they aren't suitable for children under 8 years, and should have an age warning on them, if not they should be recalled and consumer watchdog contacted.”

Kmart warns the plane has small parts on its website. Source: Kmart.

Other parents suggested that children should always be supervised and taught not to put toys in their mouths.

But another parent said this was not so easy, all the time.

"Toys also break, revealing the ball bearings that parents might not be aware are there, posing an unexpected risk to little ones.”

Kidspot has contacted Kmart for comment.

Originally published as 'Found out the hard way': Mum's warning over Kmart's foam plane glider