![]() ![]() ![]() Foods that could get stuck in a straw or form a sticky plug over it are choking risks. ![]() The size of a baby or child’s windpipe is about that of a drinking straw in diameter. You can also download our free Infant Rescue Guide or Toddler Rescue Guide that will help you learn how to identify choking and understand which rescue maneuvers to use. Nervous about starting solids? Our Starting Solids Bundle has all the resources you will need to build confidence and create a safe eating environment for your baby. For example, blueberries (small, round, and potentially firm) can be smashed or quartered raw vegetables (firm and potentially round) can be steamed and sliced lengthwise and mango (slippery) can be rolled in ground coconut flakes to add texture. To lower the choking risk, prepare food to negate the characteristics above. However, small, round, firm, and slippery items that accidentally make their way into the airway can be more difficult to expel, leading to a true choking emergency. However, most of the time, babies (and adults) can safely gag the food forward well before it gets into the breathing tube or cough those items back out if swallowing fails. Any food could make its way into the breathing tube, especially when not fully chewed. These foods are more likely to enter and get lodged in the breathing tube and be difficult to expel or cough out if swallowing fails.įoods like seeds, whole nuts, baby carrots, apples, pomegranate arils, and grapes top the choking hazard lists-they are challenging to manage in the mouth and could slip into the airway, become lodged, and are challenging to expel without assistance. The more small, round, hard, and slippery a food, the higher the choking risk. What makes certain foods a choking hazard? In general, there are four characteristics of food that increase the risk of choking: Preparing food for age appropriateness makes foods easier to self-feed, move around the mouth, and break down, which decreases the risk of choking. You can reduce the risk dramatically by avoiding high-risk foods with little nutritional benefit (such as hard candy) and appropriately preparing high-risk foods that are nutritionally important. Introducing finger foods to baby between 6-9 months is important, but certain foods and food characteristics are riskier than others. To develop efficient and safe chewing skills, baby must gain exposure to and repetitive practice chewing a wide variety of food textures and sizes. There appears to be a critical window where introducing chewable finger foods is essential to developing oral motor skills and preventing picky eating from developing as the child ages.Ĭhewing skills do not automatically appear as baby ages. Regardless of how they start solids, all babies should be introduced to finger foods by 9 months old. It’s tempting to consider avoiding all chewable finger foods for baby in favor of serving purees, but research does not show an increased risk of choking for 6-12-month-old babies when starting solids with finger foods compared to purees when parents are advised on strategies to minimize choking risk. The primary way to reduce choking risk in infants, toddlers, and children is ensuring they are seated in a supported seat with full adult supervision while eating.Īllowing baby to self-feed rather than placing food in baby’s mouth appears to reduce the risk of choking.īuilding well-coordinated chewing skills will further decrease the risk of choking as a child grows. Reducing choking risk when baby starts solidsīefore identifying which foods and food sizes are most risky and how to modify those for baby, it’s essential to understand the steps you can take to reduce baby’s risk of choking regardless of what you serve. You may also want to check out our Infant Rescue Guide, Toddler Rescue Guide or our guides on 25 Foods Never to Feed Baby and our First 100 Days Plan. If you want to learn more, see our video course on starting solids. Reference our free First Foods® database to find out how to make your favorite foods safe for baby. Keep in mind that these suggestions mitigate but do not eliminate the risk of choking. ![]() Still, you can take steps to reduce the risk of choking by setting up a safe eating environment, learning what not to do when baby is eating, and carefully choosing which foods to serve. Babies have both reflexes and anatomical protections to reduce the risk of choking as they learn to eat a variety of food textures, shapes, and sizes. While there is no way to completely eradicate the risk of choking during this exciting and challenging time, the human body is designed to protect itself. ![]()
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