Are Fountain Pens Dangerous For Children Under 14?

[JustWrite Pen Company]

According to an article in the UK Telegraph, the British Standards Institution has determined that fountain pens are too dangerous to be used by anyone under the age of 14 and now require a warning to be included with all fountain pens that do not have a breather hole in the cap.

 

I've spent the last 20 years or so actively encouraging children of all ages, as young as 8, to use a fountain pen and to be honest, the thought that they were dangerous, apart from the fairly sharp nib, never occurred to me.

 

I would be very interested to know other peoples thoughts on this. Is this another case of the Nanny State gone mad or a serious cause for concern?

 

The full article is HERE:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1502783/Fountain-pens-too-risky-for-under-14s.html

[laserlight]

What about Pilot Vanishing Point? No cap to swallow.

[kid31]

Well, if you ask me, the BS Institution is quite aptly named, and has too much time to spare... Trying to eliminate every potential danger from a child's environment is completely pointless from a certain point onward. There are plenty of other objects a child can choke on rather than pen caps! But I respect that it is a cultural issue.

[kid31]

What about Pilot Vanishing Point? No cap to swallow.

 

Excellent point!

[erpe]

Interesting. I think that most FP caps can physically not be swallowed by children, sizewise. For adults however, I see no problem. Maybe there should rather be a maximum age for the use of fountain pens?

[usk15]

My 4 year daughter use a Parker Vector without problems.

Dangerous? Only 4 idiots...no matter what age they are.

[Algester]

huh I used my first FP way below that age however I had limited knowledge on as to where to get inks... you know the internet wasnt born until I was 10+ in other words thats silly... I mean look at India... or at least major parts in India selling cheap FPs for students...

Edited July 3, 2014 by Algester

[martinbir]

From the age of about 9 we all had to use fountain pens at school. Strangely I have no recollection of frequent ambulance dashes to save the lives of suffocating children. I do recall an incident where someone was stabbed in the hand with a pen nib - the perpetrator's main punishment was having to pay for a new pen as the nib was ruined - the hand needed no more than a plaster.

 

We must always remember that any regulatory body exists to increase the scope of regulation. Otherwise that body would shrivel and die and think what that would do for the unemployment figures.

[Gaslight]

In Germany (where I grew up) you had to use a fountain pen at age 8 or 9. And I've talked with a teacher just a few weeks ago and she said that it's still common practise to use fountain pens in school...

 

So, it seems it's another case of overregulation by the bubblewrap society in search of 100% safety...

[twdpens]

That article dates from 2005. I think we can draw a sensible conclusion from this and carry on regardless.

 

Martin

[Algester]

that there will always be crazy delusional people running amok in the world... but thats fine I guess

[Kyburo]

14? So what, at the age of 13 you're still quite a high risk for just swallowing parts of your pen?

I guess I know people who still chew their (calm down, they're biros) caps and stuff, but fountainpen caps are hardly on the small side? It's almost as if the government makes the assumption that parents aren't explaining basic lessons like 'Don't swallow things that mean you'll choke' at any point, and it's only by surviving these harsh realities up to the age of 14 that suddenly you realise this fundamental truth.

Satire gone wild in this post but hey, I couldn't help it

[Gaslight]

What about those caps?

 

http://www.phaidon.com/resource/cvr-3-cristal-ind-black.jpg

 

They even have a convenient hook to ensure proper attachment to ones throat....

[NevynM]

They have a hole in the end so if (when) you swallow it, you can still breath while it's retrieved

[MBFan]

Those Bic pens had been redesigned with a little hole in the top to ensure the airway is not completely obstructed if swallowed. I think it's probably more to do with a company being liable if anything did happen, so a warning on their part is fair enough. Otherwise, common sense should be a guiding light.

[Namru]

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”

 

C.S. Lewis

[kid31]

OK, actually I take it back... Fountain pens are dangerous after all, not only for children but for adults too. We should ban them altogether!

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2678430/Doctors-discover-womans-stomach-aches-caused-four-inch-fountain-pen-swallowed-six-months-previously.html

[Cryptos]

Frankly, I'm surprised we aren't extinct already.

 

Personally I think the regulatory bodies should be labelled with a warning sign!

[de_pen_dent]

:facepalm:

 

I have decided - I am going to collaborate with the aliens from Zorg when they invade Earth to wipe out humanity. I think all I will have to do is use my F-tipped pen and poke a hole in the bubbles that we will be living in by then.

 

We started using fountain pens by the time we were 8 or 9, or maybe even earlier.

Edited July 3, 2014 by de_pen_dent

[napalm]

It would be interesting to know which interest group has lobbied for this regulation.