Tara Murray
Allison Rees continues her fight to raise awareness of the dangers of button batteries, so no parents ever have to go through what she did.
Her daughter, Isabella, was 14 months old when she died after a small round battery became lodged in her oesophagus.
More than six years have passed, but Ms Rees’ quest raise the awareness about the dangers of button batteries is as strong as ever.
Bella’s Footprints, a Facebook group she formed, is dedicated to ensuring parents understand the potentially devastating effects of button batteries and how to implement button battery safety practices.
“When Bella passed away, about four children per week were estimated to enter hospital due to the ingestion of button batteries,” she said.
“Now that is 20 a week in Australia which is frightening. There are more and more products with button batteries in them. They are cheaper and smaller.
“We’ve worked so hard to change that. It’s about regulations and manufacturers making changes, it’s about raising awareness for parents and grandparents.”
The Taylors Hill mother has worked with a number of groups to try and enact change.
She travelled to Canberra to speak at Parliament house as she sought changes to the law to stop more preventable deaths.
New laws, which will come in place into place next year, will require products to have secure battery compartments to prevent children from gaining access to the batteries.
Ms Rees welcomes the new laws, but she said she was still worried that many households had items with unsecured batteries.
“Parents don’t buy new things until they break down or need replacing,” she said.
“There will still be so many unsafe products in homes.”
Ms Rees is currently raising money for billboards to put up across Melbourne to help increase awareness of the dangers of button batteries.
St Albans Football Club has got in touch about having a billboard at their home ground, while Ms Rees’ local club Burnside Heights is set to have one too.
“I realised the message is not filtering down to the community, they need to be aware what dangers are in their homes,” she said.
“Our remotes, car keys and other things have button batteries and are not secured. We are trying to make people aware these things are dangerous.
“We know how things work, but we’re not thinking about how they operate.”
“It’s not just about children’s toys. they touch everything.”
As well as the billboard campaign, Ms Rees is working with Kids Safe and maternal health nurses to provide families with more information, and on another campaign with doctors and medical clinics about information videos. She is also working with Playground Australia.
Details: www.facebook.com/bellasfootprints
