Top Food Choking Hazards for Toddlers- Shocking!

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(Note: I am not claiming to be any sort of medical expert in this post. I am a parent sharing some research I have done.)

As a parent there are so many things to worry about. Worry just seems to come with the territory. But, every parent has their own special set of things they particularly worry over. For me, one of those is choking.

When I was first introducing Athena to solids, I was constantly watching her, constantly worried about her shoving too much in her mouth. She gagged. A lot. But I don't think there was truly any reason to worry, because she was mostly eating minuscule size pieces of avocado and banana... 

Now that Athena is older, I started to wonder what the risks were with food and choking, since she seems pretty good at feeding herself. What I discovered in my research shocked me. In fact the age Athena is it is right now is the age when choking can be MOST an issue. I am sharing my findings with you in hopes that together we can educate ourselves to prevent horrible as well as minor accidents. 

A Few Facts about Choking and Children

According to one study from the Nationwide Children's Hospital of Columbus, Ohio approximately 34 kids a day went to the emergency room between 2001 and 2009 because of choking accidents. 

Choking is one of the leading causes of injuries for children. The average choking age for children is 4.5 and boys are more likely than girls to choke. Choking is a leading cause of death in kids 3 and under. 

Choking is no joke. And one thing these statistics made me realize that I hadn't before, is that choking doesn't become a non-issue once you've past the introducing solids stage- in fact it becomes MORE of an issue. 

But that wasn't where my surprise ended. I looked up the top choking hazards for kids and I was floored. Half the stuff on the list I had never thought of as choking hazards. At all. Some of them were obvious, like hard candy, but some of them weren't. So I want to share this list with you in hopes that, together, we can educate ourselves, our families, our friends, and save lives. 

Top Ten Food Choking Hazards

1. Hard candy
2. Candy and gum
3. Meat (other meat, not inducing hot dogs)
4. Bones
5. Fruits and vegetables (including grapes) 
6. Formula, milk, or breastmilk (peak age for this one is 4 months)
7. Seeds, nuts, shells
8. Chips, pretzels, popcorn
9. Crackers
10. Hot dogs

A few simple things to keep in mind to help prevent choking- supervise children when they are eating, cut foods into small pieces, avoid giving candy, gum or hard candy to children under the age of 5 at least. For more on choking prevention read this post. And learn how to respond to a choking emergency here. 

Sources: 1, 2, 3 Photo source

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