Choking has always been something that has freaked me out. I remember my teenage days of babysitting and would panic when the baby I was feeding would start to choke on their bottle and gasp for air. My own experiences of choking on food and not being able to breath – is such a horrible experience. I think we’ve all felt that.
* Always supervise young children while they are eating.
* Do not allow children under age 3 to each small, round or hard foods, including hot dogs, hard candy, nuts, grapes, or popcorn.
* Keep small objects of their reach. Get on the floor on your hands and knees, so that you are at your child’s eye level. Look for and remove small items such as jewelry, coins, buttons, pins, nails, and stones.
* Keep all plastic bags out of reach.
* Never hang anything on or above a crib with string or ribbon longer than 7 inches.
* Never put a long cord like a necklace, ribbon or bib with ties on an infant.
* Clip pacifiers to clothing with short leashes, not long cords.
* Remove hood and neck drawstrings from all children’s clothing.
* Tie up all window blind and drapery cords, or cut the ends and retrofit with safety tassels. The inner cords of blinds should be fitted with cord stops.
* Make sure that children play with age-appropriate toys, as indicated by choking hazard safety labels. Inspect old and new toys regularly for damage that my cause small pieces to break off.
* Don’t let children under age 8 blow up balloons. Store balloons out of the reach of children.
As a parent, I’ve tried to be cautious – but things still happen. I remember my daughter, about 8 or 9 years old at the time, wanting to make Kool Aid. She opened the package and a whiff of powder poofed up at her and into her mouth and nose. She instantly felt like she was strangling on the powder. It was scary! In fact, I still can’t remember what I did to help her.
I do know that the biggest part of parenting to to always be on guard. Watch your children – get down and play with them. Be observant! Learn all you can and try your best. Things are going to happen, but if you are prepared, then hopefully you’ll respond instead of panic.
-Jenny