If you had to make a list of the ten foods young kids most commonly choke on, what would they be?
OK, now see how well you did. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under four years of age avoid:
- hot dogs
- nuts and seeds
- chunks of meat or cheese
- whole grapes
- hard, gooey, or sticky candy
- popcorn
- chunks of peanut butter
- raw vegetables
- raisins
- chewing gum
Now I have to admit, I knew about the grapes (I still cut them, and my kids are 4), the veggies, the nuts, the popcorn, and the hot dogs (I still cut them, too). Gum and candy for toddlers is pointless to begin with, and my son is allergic to peanut butter, so we don’t even have that in the house. But I have to admit that it never occurred to me that chunks of meat or cheese could be problematic (we usually eat string cheese or sliced anyway, but we have bought those packages with cubed cheese on occasion), and my kids are addicted to raisins. I figured they were small enough to not be a problem.
My point is that things you may never expect can be choking hazards for kids. Though people of any 
age can choke, kids under six are at particular risk because they don’t yet have their molars, the teeth responsible for grinding the food. They also have smaller airways, are less adept at chewing, and put anything and everything in their mouths. Kids may also be at risk of inhaling food if they laugh and talk when they eat, or if they are up and down out of their seats or running around while eating. Round, firm food is at particular risk of getting lodged in kids throats, or even in their lungs.
One way to cut down the risk is to make sure kids aren’t wolfing down any huge chunks of food that could get lodged in their throat or windpipe. The AAP and the USFDA recommend that food fed to kids under four be cut into pieces smaller than ½ inch in any direction. But what does ½ inch really look like? Most parents would probably overestimate the size, possibly putting their child at risk.
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Midwest Monkeys has solved this problem. They make this cool Safe Sizer choking prevention plate that actually has a ½ inch diameter raised ring molded right into the plate to give parents a visual cue that they can use to measure food pieces as they cut. Naturally, you wouldn’t sit there and put every single piece into the ring as they cut, but having the ring right there on the plate is enough to do a quick visual spot check, and to give any questionable pieces the full ring test.
The plates come in three cute styles (space, monkey, and fish), are .jpg)
bright and colorful, and are made of fairly unbreakable melamine. Its dishwasher safe and meets all Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act testing for Lead and Phtalates. Believe it or not, the plates are only $5.99 each, and if you buy three or more, you get free shipping. Sweet!
What a smart, fun, yet unobtrusive way to remind parents about choking hazards.
Check back tomorrow for more info on how to prevent choking!
(Source: Parenting Corner Q & A, Choking Prevention, AAP website.)
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