Give a toddler something small to hold and it will probably end up in their mouth.

New York mom Harley VanSlyke learned that lesson the hard way when her son swallowed a quarter.

According to Syracuse's WSTM, VanSlyke let 2-year-old Aiden hold the coin as the pair was leaving the grocery store. But when they got into their car, she noticed the quarter was gone.

"I was like, 'Aiden, where's the quarter?' He pointed to his neck," VanSlyke told WSTM.

She rushed Aiden to the local children's hospital, where he was prepped for surgery. But luckily he didn't end up needing surgery.

"As he was being prepped, the antesthesiologist was going to put a breathing tube in, and as he was doing that, he could see [the quarter]. So he grabbed it," she said.

VanSlyke kept the quarter as a souvenir — and possibly a reminder.

"I'm not sure why he did it but I never thought he would. Lesson learned," she said. "Never again," both Aiden and his mom told WSTM.

VanSlyke said Aiden is back to being his normal self after recovering from what she described as a nightmare.

Clint Davis covers entertainment and trending news topics for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.