Thread by @FirstDoctor

7 ways to prevent your kid from choking

1. Keep seeds away
2. Don't feed when they cry or laugh
3. Cut foods in bite-sizes
4. Keep mouth clear
5. Sit in safe high chair
6. Cook foods before feeding
7. Mash or grate foods

A thread 🧵

{Share for awareness!}

1
Kids want to reach out for any objects in their surroundings.

When they pick up #seeds & whole nuts like groundnut or any seed-like objects, they tend to put them straight in their mouth to swallow.

Keep such objects far away from their reach.

2
A child's airway is open when they're crying or laughing.

If you #feed them at this time, part of the food may enter their windpipe & they'll start to choke.

What to do is wait until they stop laughing or calm them down from crying before feeding them.

3
Always #Cut foods like meat, cake, etc, into bite-sized pieces before feeding a child.

This will reduce the risk of choking.

The smaller the piece of food, the better a child could chew or swallow the food without choking.

4
You notice your kid has an object in their mouth or is chewing on something you don't know exactly what it is.

Quickly open their mouth & check what it is & remove it.

Keeping a baby's mouth #clear is a very important way of preventing choking.

5
When you're busy or need a toddler to sit alone for a while, sit them in a safe high #chair or in their baby seat.

Don't let them wander about in the room.

This will reduce their chances of picking up objects in the around & putting them into their mouths.

6
For some hard foods like vegetables, make sure you #cook (steam, roast or bake) them to soften before feeding your child.

A lot of time, kids choke on hard stuffs.

7
Once cooked, softer vegetables like sweet potatoes or plantain need only be #mashed with a masher (or just use a fork!), before feeding your child.

Babies have to choked to death on several objects like seeds, doritos, beads, peanuts, pebbles & even their own foods.

Statistically, a child chokes to death every 5 days & much of that occurs in kids under 3 years.

So let's take this seriously!

essentialbaby.com.au/news/current-a…

For what to do if your kid is already choking, read my previous thread here;

Nobody wants to experience the trauma of watching a child choke & die from worthless objects in their environment.

With these simple measures, you can prevent your child from choking. Kindly RT!

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