Children learn through exploration. One of the ways to discover new things is through the mouth. For this reason, babies always want to put everything they find into their mouth, be it toys, food or other small objects that could obstruct their airways. Therefore, it is necessary to have daily prevention methods that do not hinder the baby’s insatiable curiosity and its sources of knowledge. In this article we will explain what elements can cause choking in babies and how to avoid choking in babies.
What foods or objects can cause choking?
Statistically, it is evidenced that about 50% of cases of asphyxia are caused by food. However, there are also numerous times when it is produced by the ingestion of other objects. Therefore, to avoid choking in babies, it is necessary to know how to see and determine what objects can produce it and, thus, keep it out of the reach of children. We refer, then, to buttons, coins, marbles, batteries, magnets, etc., in short, small objects.
Regarding food, it is necessary to monitor, above all, with four groups:
- Fruits and vegetables, such as raw carrots, raw peas or celery, and apples, pears, or watermelon seeds
- Regarding food of animal origin, which tends to produce the “ball” effect when chewing and, thus, making it difficult to eat, we find cheese cubes, hot dogs or sausages.
- Another food group that should be taken into account is that of nuts, such as peanuts or walnuts.
- And, finally, so that eating does not become a risky sport, we must be careful with sweets, since both “soft” and “hard” candies, due to their characteristics, can lead to choking.
Necessary precautions to avoid choking in babies.
If you choose to let the baby experiment and satisfy their curiosity with small objects and food, a number of factors must be taken into account so that choking does not occur in babies, such as:
- The size and cut of the food. For example, in the case of babies and children under 4 years of age, it is advisable that the food be cut into pieces and that these do not exceed half an inch (1.27 centimeters).
- Supervise and watch children while they eat, especially when they are babies.
- Get the children used to sitting in the high chair or in any space that allows good posture and position of the baby’s body. And encourage them to eat calmly and without eagerness, motivating them to chew food well.
- Prevent children from running, walking, playing …, in short, from being in motion, while chewing or ingesting anything.
- In relation to the previous ones (that they maintain their posture and that they are not moving when they are eating), one more must be added: that they are not lying down or lying down, since ingesting can be somewhat complex and difficult due to the position of the body , thus facilitating choking.
- Raise awareness among older siblings, if they have, to assimilate the same care, since most choking occurs when older children share toys or food of a dangerous size with the baby.
- And, is that, many times, older siblings, ignore and forget that the toys are designed and are according to the age of the children, especially in relation to safety guidelines (among them, the possible risk of suffocation) . With this, it should also be avoided, as far as possible, that babies are entertained with toys not designed or intended for them, and, especially, with objects such as latex balloons or plastic bags.
- Adapt the rooms and rooms in which the child spends most of the time, paying special attention to the environment around him and paying attention to objects that may be dangerous.
In conclusion, it is necessary to monitor with everything that babies manipulate, both in food and in their leisure time, when they are with toys, ensuring, as far as possible, that everything manipulated does not end up causing suffocation due to choking in babies.
