Toddler choking warning

stardoman

A friend's son choked on some dried apricots. He had put too many in his mouth and tried to swallow. He went blue and made this horrible noise as he could not breathe. Luckily I had had some basic first aid. I put him over my knee and hit his back as I had been taught. The ball of apricots flew out of his mouth and he was fine.

Reading all these stories, it seems that there are too many things which can cause choking. Unless we are going to just feed puree to the next generation I think first aid classes are definitely the way to go.

Mandy.

bonnie_2

when i was little i choked on a extra strong mint my dad gave me, i was only 3, still remember, being hung upside down over the staircase and being hit on the back. last year, i managed to choke on a chip which went down the wrong way, i was 36 lol.
My daughter, once choked on a icecube which was in her drink.
so you have to be careful with any food really, not just the obvious ones.

Carmina_Piranha_3

they don't cut the grapes up at our toddler group, i'm going to ask about that now. at one group it's a sit down lunch with parents so parents can cut them up with their own knife but at the other they are just put out on a tray in the middle of the table and the children help themselves. some parents go to get a cup of tea etc. if their child is old enough to not fall off the chair, so they might not even notice in time if their child choked.

i don't cut up roo's grapes. it never occurred to me that i should, i feel like such an idiot! i will from now on, and his blackberries too.

Snaggles

Oh god, what a terrible thing to happen. DS choked on some bread when he was little, and although it only lasted probably a few seconds, they were the worst of my life, seeing the fear on his tiny face....I'll never forget it. I vaguely remembered about putting him over my knee and slapping his back, and luckily the bread shot out......don't really know how I knew what to do, but I presume I must have read it somewhere. Basic first aid should definitely be taught in antenatal classes.

red-chilli

I'm a Paramedic and it's quite worrying how many people don't know any basic first aid at all.
Baby and child first aid should be provided and taught for free to all parents and carers. As already mentioned it would be a fantastic addition to ante-natal courses!

maisy-mai

dont forget to cut up cherry tomatoes. sadly know a 5 yr old who choked and died because of this .

maisy-mai

Carmina_Piranha_3

we're given first aid information in the bounty book though aren't we?

astonsmummy

A bIT OT, can children choke on liquid?

Forreal

An update from the original post....

The chickpea was roasted so was hard and the parents did not know any first aid so although paramedics got there in minutes there was nothing they could do.

There is first aid info in the Red innoculation books - also take a look on line under a google search - it's must be bad enough loosing a little one without having to cope with the fact you were unable to at least try something.

Make sure you partners/grannies etc know about the risks and what to do too - the little ones are more likely to come into contact with risky things in their company.