Choking Prevention

Choking is a common form of injury and death among children. The risk of choking is high among children under the age of five, with children under one being at the greatest risk. Here are several things parents can do to help prevent choking accidents from happening:

* Food is responsible for most choking accidents, so supervise your children during mealtime. Encourage your child to chew completely before swallowing, and never allow your child to run and play while eating.
* Cut food, especially hard or round food, into small, bite-size pieces no more than 1/2 inch in size. Hot dogs are the number-one choking culprit among children.
* Don't give your young child hard, smooth foods like raw vegetables. These foods must be chewed with a grinding motion, and children don't develop that skill until around the age of 4. As a result, young children will often attempt to swallow these foods whole, therefore increasing the risk of choking.
* Keep your home clean. Remember that young children will put anything they find in their mouth. Small objects found around the house are often responsible for choking accidents.
* Beware of items associated with choking accidents: balloons, safety pins, coins, marbles, pen/marker caps, buttons, hard or sticky candy, chewing gum.
* Look at manufacturers' guidelines when selecting toys for your children, but also use your own judgment. If there are small parts associated with a play item, it could be a choking hazard. Select toys with parts larger than 1 3/4 inches, which is about the diameter of a toilet paper roll.

And because accidents can happen to anyone at anytime, I recommend that all parents take an infant/child CPR class, which includes instructions on what to do if a choking accident does occur.