Things your toddler can choke on

No one is as adventurous like a toddler. They move around the house exploring and, in the process, pick up objects while playing. It’s easy for them to put items in their mouth without you being aware. They can choke and a choking child is any parent’s worst nightmare. While the gag reflex often protects little ones from choking, there are objects and foods that are difficult for their tiny bodies to handle, besides children under the age of five have an airway the size of their pinky finger. Like with things safety related, when it comes to choking, prevention is key – and knowing which foods and objects most often cause choking can reduce the risk.

Here are nine foods and objects to label as choking hazards:

1. Grapes

Toddlers enjoy sharing food with parents and can take a full grape and shove it down their throats. It can get lodged in your child’s windpipe if served whole. To be on the safe side, rather cut them in halves or quarters before offering them to your little one. Allow them enough time to chew and shallow before giving them more.

2. Balloons

Children love seeing different coloured balloons floating around the home. But if it pops and you don’t pick up the pieces, it may be a hazard if your toddler. A piece of burst balloon can completely seal your child’s airway. Keep balloons out of reach completely.

3. Plastic bottle caps

Plastic bottles can easily keep your child busy as you run errands. It doesn’t help that children love them for the sound. While a bottle may not look like a threat, it is if your toddler removes the cap. Toys and objects that can fit through an empty toilet paper roll are not safe to give to babies and toddlers

4. Batteries

Babies and toddlers love playing with toys and remote controls that use batteries. When they drop them, the batteries may be released and their curious minds may see them putting the battery in their mouth. Besides being a choking hazard, lithium (button) batteries can do serious and severe damage in as little as two hours if ingested. If the back of battery-operated household objects can’t be screwed in, then tape them closed with a Sellotape.

5. Peanut butter

If you didn’t know but peanut butter can be of danger to your tot. Not only does peanut butter stick to your palate, it can create a seal around your child’s airway, so be sure to spread it thinly on sandwich and be present when your child eats.

6. Pet food

Kids don’t know difference between pet and human food and can easily snack on hard round dog pellets, which are a choking hazard. So, be sure to keep the pet food out of reach, and pick up any food bowls when not in use by your furry friends.

7. Popcorn

What makes popcorn such a hazard, is the fact that kids usually eat it by the handful rather than one piece at a time – making it easy to choke on. Save the salty snack for when they are a bit older. Experts say five years is a good age to start giving them popcorn.

8. Small toys

Do you ever take note of the age restriction on toys? It is there for a reason and manufacturers always warn of hazards on the boxes and you should take note. Toys that are small enough to fit through an empty toilet paper roll, are small enough to get stuck in your toddler’s windpipe. Sweep through the area in which your baby or toddler plays in and pick up and remove any small objects. Don’t forget to check under couches and beds! Go one step further and encourage older siblings to pack away their toys with small parts, once they have finished playing.

9. Marshmallows

Marshmallows may seem like the perfect sweet to give to a toddler because it is soft but no it is actually hazardous. It’s the texture that makes this sweet treat a threat, and the fact that little ones often bite off more than they can chew, literally, makes it a nightmare.