“My son choked on a steamed carrot when he was 6 months old. My mother-in-law (who still looks after my kids) was feeding him steamed carrots cut up into discs and I had just walked in the door from a much-needed coffee break with friends.
As I hugged my mother in law I looked over at my son who was facing away from me and I noticed he was doing some funny head bobbing motion with his head and wasn’t being as loud as he usually is when he furiously eats his food I wandered over to say hello and when I saw his face his eyes looked really panicked, his face was red, his mouth was wide open and drool pouring out and he was not making a sound.
I picked him up and thought maybe this wasn’t as bad as it looked (all whilst my mother-in-law was chatting about their tea party in the garden) and lowered him down and gave him 1 very light back blow.
When I lifted his face up I noticed that his lips had turned blue
As my mother-in-law was approaching him with a tissue to wipe the drool that was continuing to pour out of his mouth.
At this point, I knew I had to do something before it got worse and before she could wipe his mouth I yelled at her ‘stand back, I think he is choking’ and gave him 1 very hard back blow and he immediately coughed out a perfectly round piece of carrot!!
To my horror, my mother-in-law had no idea what had happened, and when I explained to her what I saw and what that meant she was equally as horrified.
She said ‘how did my kids ever survive’.
The thing is, they do because they are built to survive; little ones have protective reflexes such as gagging which is a normal developmental phase of learning to eat – but what we want to avoid is choking.”
This is why this story is so important to share.
This was the experience of one of our superstar educators – and it is an important reminder of how easily choking incidents can occur, as well as why knowing how to prevent and respond to choking, is vital;
- ‘Prevention’ is an important part of avoiding choking incidents. Carrots (and all cylindrical foods like cherry tomatoes, grapes, sausages, bananas. etc) should be cut lengthways into age-appropriate shapes – these are much safer for little ones.
- ‘Supervision’ is also important in preventing choking incidents, so that we are able to see when a little one may be choking and act straight away – choking is silent!
- It is vital that everyone knows what to do – this is why we recommend every carer and parent attend a baby and child CPR & First Aid class. Our classes are grandparent friendly.
It doesn’t have to be a CPR Kids class – if we are not in your area, we can absolutely help you to find a provider near you!
Check out our blog on the 4 S’s of choking prevention for more, as well as our choking first aid video.
