Baldwin County Toddler Suffers Serious Burns From Light-Up Halloween Costume’s Battery Pack; Grandmother Warns Parents
A 2-year-old Baldwin County girl suffered second-degree and possibly third-degree burns when a light-up princess costume’s battery pack apparently pressed against her leg in a car seat. Her grandmother wants other parents to know.
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — A light-up princess dress that seemed like the perfect Halloween costume left a Baldwin County toddler with serious burns, and her grandmother is now urging other families to take a closer look at anything with a battery pack that their children wear.
“It was terrifying,” Sheila Alberstadt said.
Alberstadt said she and her 2-year-old granddaughter were shopping for a costume when the little girl spotted a dress with lights on it.
“We saw the one with the lights on it, and she wanted that. I thought, ‘oh, that’ll be perfect for Halloween,’” she said.
A nap in the car seat
When the dress arrived, the toddler was excited to put it on. The family noticed that the lights weren’t very bright, but she wanted to keep wearing it anyway.
Later, the girl’s mother picked her up and drove with her to get the other children from school. The toddler fell asleep in her car seat while wearing the dress.
“She just woke up screaming,” Alberstadt said.
Alberstadt said her daughter jumped out of the car and ran to the back seat to find out what was wrong.
“She kept screaming ‘my leg,’” Alberstadt said. The little girl had scraped her knee a few days earlier, she explained, so the family’s first thought did not go to the costume. The mother checked her legs, the crying stopped, and everything appeared to be fine.
A burn in the shape of the problem
It was not until they got home and took off the dress that they understood what had happened.
“When she pulled her dress up, she saw the burn, and I mean it was really bad,” Alberstadt said.
The family rushed the child to an urgent care clinic, where a doctor told them she had second-degree, and possibly third-degree, burns. The doctor said her young skin was part of the reason the injury was so severe, according to Alberstadt.
The burn was located where the battery pack sat inside the dress.
“You could see the whole box and the cord that goes into this little pocket, and that’s where the battery pack was,” she said.
Alberstadt believes that when the toddler was buckled into the car seat, the pack was pressed against her leg. She said it never crossed her mind that the pack could be dangerous.
“I do not think that I would have ever thought, ‘oh, let’s turn your battery pack off,’” she said.
Guilt, and a warning
Alberstadt said she and her daughter both feel guilty about what happened, and that is why they decided to tell their story.
“Never in a million years would I have thought that this would happen,” she said. “I just want other people to watch out for battery packs in children’s costumes.”
The family’s account has not been independently tested, and the report did not identify the costume’s brand or seller, or establish exactly why the pack became hot. No recall connected to this specific costume has been identified in connection with this report.
What parents can do
Halloween may be over, but light-up costumes, shoes, toys and accessories are common year-round, particularly with the holidays approaching. The family’s experience suggests a few simple precautions:
- Find the battery pack. Know where it sits on the garment, and check whether it rests against the child’s skin.
- Turn it off and take it out when the lights aren’t needed, particularly before a child sits in a car seat, naps or goes to bed.
- Check for heat. Touch the pack periodically, and stop using any item that feels warm, swells, smells odd or looks damaged.
- Watch small children closely. Toddlers may not be able to explain what hurts or where a pain is coming from.
- Look beneath the clothing if a child suddenly cries out about pain in a spot where a device or battery sits.
- Get medical care for a burn on a young child. Blistering, or a burn that looks deep or covers more than a small area, should be seen promptly.
How to report a product problem
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks injuries and hazards tied to consumer products, and it regularly issues warnings and recalls involving battery-powered items and children’s products. Consumers who believe they have found an unsafe product can report it to the commission at SaferProducts.gov. The agency also publishes current recalls and warnings at cpsc.gov/Recalls.
Families can also keep the product and its packaging, take photos and contact the seller or manufacturer about what happened.
For Alberstadt, the point is simple: if her family’s experience leads another parent to check a costume’s battery pack, telling the story will have been worthwhile.
