A mother is speaking out to warn others after her son suffered severe burns linked to a TikTok trend.
Loyola Hospital’s Burn Center has treated several injuries tied to the viral trend, which involves using a popular toy in a way it was never intended to be used.
The NeeDoh Nice Cube is a gel-filled sensory toy designed to be squeezed, not heated. The trend encourages users to microwave the toy to make it softer and more flexible.
NeeDoh Nice Cube
Nine-year-old Caleb Chabolla tried the trend two weeks ago. After microwaving the Nice Cube, it exploded in his face, leaving him with serious burns.
Caleb’s mother first took him to a hospital near Plainfield before he was transferred to Loyola’s Burn Center.
Doctors said Caleb was very lucky. Despite significant swelling to his face, he avoided permanent eye damage and is healing on his own.
“Whether it’s these toys that clearly have a label that say ‘don’t heat,’ but kids aren’t going to read labels. Or it’s ramen noodles coming out of the microwave that kids spill on themselves, or little kids pulling hot coffee off the counter. These are injuries we see every year at the burn center. Thirty percent of our patients are pediatric patients. I think it’s every day common things in the home that are burning these kids and we want to make sure that parents should be diligent about what’s in their house,” said Kelly McElligott, burn outreach coordinator at Loyola Medical Center Burn Center.
It’s important to note that Caleb did not personally see the trend on TikTok. He learned about it from friends who had seen it online.
WGN News has reached out to Schylling, the company that manufactures NeeDoh, for comment but has not yet received a response.
As always, parents and children are urged to follow manufacturer instructions and heed all safety warnings.