National Button Battery Awareness Day
June 12
About National Button Battery Awareness Day
National Button Battery Awareness Day takes place on 12 June 2026. The campaign warns parents, carers and the public about the serious harm that button and coin cell batteries can cause when swallowed by young children, and explains the simple steps that prevent injuries and save lives. In the United Kingdom the message is championed by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) alongside safety bodies such as RoSPA and the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
What is National Button Battery Awareness Day?
National Button Battery Awareness Day is a child safety campaign that raises awareness of the dangers posed by small, coin-shaped lithium batteries found in everyday household items. These batteries power toys, remote controls, car key fobs, fitness trackers, flameless candles, kitchen scales, hearing aids, musical greetings cards and slim light-up gadgets. The day is aimed primarily at parents and carers of babies and toddlers, the group most at risk, and at the wider public who may have these batteries loose at home. It encourages people to identify where button batteries are kept, store them safely, and know exactly what to do if a child swallows one.
When is National Button Battery Awareness Day?
National Button Battery Awareness Day falls on 12 June each year, so in 2026 it is marked on Friday 12 June. The date is fixed, which makes it easy to plan activities and reminders around it. It sits close to CAPT’s annual Child Safety Week, which in 2026 ran from 1 to 7 June, meaning button battery safety often features prominently across the whole early-June period.
Why National Button Battery Awareness Day Matters
A swallowed button battery is a medical emergency. When a coin cell lodges in a child’s food pipe, saliva completes an electrical circuit that produces caustic soda, and this chemical reaction can burn through soft tissue in as little as two hours. The injury can be catastrophic, with batteries capable of eroding through the oesophagus into the windpipe or a major blood vessel. In 2018 the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch published a report into the death of a child following button battery ingestion and called for better packaging, clearer labelling and far greater public awareness of both the risks and the correct treatment. Larger, more powerful lithium coin cells, typically 20mm or more across, carry the greatest danger because they are more likely to become stuck. Many parents simply do not realise how quickly harm can occur, which is exactly why a dedicated awareness day continues to matter.
How to Get Involved in National Button Battery Awareness Day
You do not need to be a safety professional to make a difference. Small actions taken at home, and shared with others, are what this day is all about.
- Audit your home – Walk through every room and note which items contain button batteries, paying special attention to anything a young child can reach. Remote controls, key fobs and novelty gadgets are easy to overlook.
- Check battery compartments are secure – Make sure the compartment on each device is screwed shut or held by a locking mechanism. Tape over any that pop open easily and replace items that cannot be secured.
- Store spare and used batteries safely – Keep spare batteries in their sealed packaging and lock them away high up, out of sight and reach. Used batteries still hold enough charge to injure a child, so dispose of them promptly through battery recycling.
- Learn the emergency response – Memorise what to do if you suspect a child has swallowed a battery so you can act without hesitation. Speed is the single most important factor in the outcome.
- Share the warning signs – Tell other parents, grandparents and childminders what symptoms to watch for, such as drooling, gagging, refusing food, chest or tummy pain, coughing or a change in voice.
- Download free CAPT resources – The Child Accident Prevention Trust offers free posters, flyers, session plans and a picture book, available in many community languages, ideal for nurseries, health visitors and community groups.
- Spread the message online – Post on social media using the campaign hashtags and link to trusted guidance so the warning reaches families who may never have heard of the risk.
- Choose safer products – When buying toys and gadgets, look for child-resistant battery compartments and consider whether a button-battery item is necessary at all for a household with young children.
What to Do if a Child Swallows a Button Battery
If you think a child has swallowed a button battery, treat it as an emergency and act immediately. Go straight to your nearest accident and emergency department or call 999 for an ambulance, and tell staff clearly that you suspect a button battery has been swallowed so they can prioritise treatment. Do not wait for symptoms to appear and do not try to make the child sick. Do not give the child anything to eat or drink unless a medical professional advises otherwise. UK guidance notes that giving honey may help slow the damage in children over the age of one while you get to hospital, but honey must never be given to a baby under one year old. If a battery is confirmed in the oesophagus it usually needs to be removed urgently under general anaesthetic, so every minute counts.
History of National Button Battery Awareness Day
The push to raise awareness of button battery dangers grew out of a series of tragic child deaths and serious injuries reported across the UK and internationally during the 2010s. As lithium coin cells became cheaper and more widespread, powering an ever-growing range of slim consumer gadgets, paediatricians and emergency departments began seeing more cases of severe internal burns in very young children.
A turning point came in 2018, when the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch examined the death of a child and made formal recommendations about battery packaging, product design and public education. The following year, on 27 June 2019, the UK government launched a national button battery safety campaign through GOV.UK, with safety charities RoSPA and the Child Accident Prevention Trust hosting the materials and amplifying the message to parents. The campaign popularised hashtags such as #ButtonBatteries and #BeBatteryAware, which together reached more than 190,000 social media accounts within weeks.
National Button Battery Awareness Day, observed on 12 June, has since become an annual anchor point for these efforts, giving charities, retailers, manufacturers and health professionals a shared moment each year to repeat the life-saving message. CAPT continues to lead much of the UK activity, integrating button battery safety into its broader injury-prevention work and its annual Child Safety Week. If you care about preventing avoidable harm to children, you may also want to look at Drowning Prevention Week, another early-summer campaign focused on keeping young children safe.
Noteworthy Facts About National Button Battery Awareness Day
- A swallowed button battery can begin burning through a child’s oesophagus in as little as two hours.
- The chemical reaction that causes the injury is not the battery leaking, but an electrical current that generates caustic soda from the child’s own saliva.
- Larger lithium coin cells of 20mm or more are considered the most dangerous because they can become lodged in a young child’s food pipe.
- The 2019 UK government campaign was launched on 27 June 2019 and was supported by both RoSPA and CAPT.
- CAPT’s free button battery safety resources are produced in multiple community languages and funded with support from the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is National Button Battery Awareness Day?
It is an annual child safety campaign that highlights the serious harm button and coin cell batteries can cause if swallowed by young children. It promotes safe storage, secure battery compartments and rapid emergency action.
When is National Button Battery Awareness Day in 2026?
It takes place on Friday 12 June 2026. The date is fixed and falls on 12 June every year.
Who runs National Button Battery Awareness Day in the UK?
In the UK the message is led by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), working alongside RoSPA and the Office for Product Safety and Standards. They provide free safety resources for families and community groups.
Spread the Word
Help raise awareness by sharing National Button Battery Awareness Day with your friends, family, and followers. Use the hashtags #ButtonBatteries and #BeBatteryAware on social media, and remind the parents and grandparents in your life to store batteries safely. The more people who know about the dangers, the more children we can keep safe.
Related Awareness Days
- Drowning Prevention Week – A UK campaign in mid-June focused on preventing accidental drowning, another leading cause of injury in young children.
- Childhood Day – A day celebrating childhood and supporting children’s safety and wellbeing across communities.
- World Drowning Prevention Day – A global day highlighting practical steps families and communities can take to keep children safe from drowning.
Links
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