Choking

Not to scare anyone, but let’s just put it out there: your kiddo is going to choke on something at some point. It’s going to happen. Most of the time, kids have a super strong gag reflex and cough to avoid serious trouble. But as a parent, you need to be prepared to help. Every parent should take a baby and child CPR class. Practice makes perfect when it comes to preventing tragedy from a choking episode. As infants are learning to eat, they will slowly lose that tongue thrust reflex and start learning how to swallow food. When they do this, they will accidentally try to get that food down the wrong tube. This will cause them to cough and gag like crazy. 

If a kiddo is coughing, then the airway is rather clear and just let the kid cough everything out. Sometimes this will result in vomiting. But if your kid is acting like they are choking and no sounds or coughs are coming from them, it’s time to step into action. If they have food in their mouth, swipe what you can see out of the front of their mouth. Do not go digging in the back of their mouth/throat as you may push the offending food farther down or make it more lodged into the airway. Use those CPR skills to turn the kid over on your arm at an angle (head lower than body) to start strikes between the shoulder blades. If they are big enough to do the Heimlich maneuver, then start the Heimlich.

And like with a lot of things, prevention plays a big part in kids and choking. Try to avoid foods that lead to more choking events. The more smooth and round a food is, the more easily a kiddo can suck it into their airway with an ill-timed laugh and inhale. No circle-cut hot dogs and no whole grapes until the kiddo’s airways are bigger than grapes. Avoid gum and hard candies when running around. And again, learn that Heimlich if you haven’t yet.