MANILA- This coming New Year, parents should look after children playing with a torotot (hornpipe) to ensure their safety, an advocacy group reminded Tuesday.

The EcoWaste Coalition urged parents to supervise their children while playing the torotot, a common noisemaker during New Year festivities, to avoid possible hazards such as choking.

“If a torotot is the preferred noisemaker, parents should select a well-made torotot and supervise a child while she or he plays with it," said Thony Dizon, chemical safety campaigner from the EcoWaste Coalition.

“While a torotot will not blow off a child’s fingers or give off toxic fumes, it may cause injuries requiring medical care as well as add to the revelry garbage,” he warned.

Children, according to Dizon, may suffer from choking due to the accidental ingestion of the horn’s mouthpiece or whistle; have cuts due to the sharp edges of the horn’s bell, and suffer from noise-induced hearing loss due to loud sounds.

“Some cone-shaped plastic horns have sharp edges that can cut a child’s sensitive skin,” he said.

For a cheaper and more eco-friendly New Year celebration, the group instead suggested the banging of pots and pans as noisemakers.