Choking Hazard Foods For Babies and Toddlers 6-24 Months

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Choking Hazard Foods For 6-24 Months

Introducing solids to your little one is one of the most exciting times of their lives. There are so many textures, smells, tastes, and sounds they can experience through food! 

However, there are a few choking hazard foods that you should be aware of.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), choking is a leading cause of injury among children ages 3 and younger. The most common cause of nonfatal choking is from food, with the top choking hazards for toddlers generally being hard candies, hot dogs, meats, nuts, and bones. 

First, let’s talk about how to position your child as they prepare to enjoy a meal. According to the CDC, you can prevent your child from choking or food-related injury by having your child: 

• Sit up while eating (do not allow them to lie down).
  
• Sit in a high chair or a safe and stable place.
  
• Avoid eating in the car, stroller, or when your child is in motion.
  
• Cook and prepare food in ways that align with your child’s development. 

Different age groups require different guidelines to avoid choking and injury. It is important to understand what to do to keep your child safe that aligns with your child’s development. This post will touch on choking hazards for babies and for toddlers.

Choking Hazards for Babies and Toddlers (6 to 12 Months Old)

At this age, your baby is still very new to chewing and swallowing food, so their risk of choking is high. It is important to keep an eye on what they are putting into their mouths when they are playing around the house. 

Generally, foods that are hard, slippery, sticky, chewy, or circular are considered choking hazard foods since they can easily get stuck in the esophagus and windpipe. An infant’s windpipes are about the size of a straw in diameter. If anything gets stuck in their throats, it blocks their ability to breathe and can be lethal. 

Foods that are left uncooked or in certain shapes may increase the chance of choking, so mashing or cutting them up is highly recommended. Children in this age group should also avoid foods that do not dissolve in their mouths, or foods that cannot be easily mashed with their gums.

Choking Hazards For Toddlers (12 to 24 Months Old)

At this point, your child may be able to feed themselves and eat most foods, but there are still safety guidelines to follow to avoid choking. 

Here are some top choking hazards divided into food categories and by age group:

Choking Hazard Foods: Fruits & Vegetables

Certain fruits and vegetables can be hard, round, slippery, and juicy. They can easily slip down the esophagus and be lodged in the throat.

6-12 months	12-24 months	Safer Food Alternatives
Round pieces of fruit or vegetables: – whole cherry or grape tomatoes – whole grapes – berries – cherries – melon balls	Round pieces of fruit or vegetables: – whole cherry or grape tomatoes – whole grapes – berries – cherries – melon balls	– cut in half or into smaller pieces – offer big slices of tomatoes – avoid round shapes
Small & large pieces of hard raw fruit or vegetables: – carrot sticks – celery sticks	Large pieces of raw fruit or vegetables: – carrot sticks – celery sticks	– for 6-12 months: cook until tender and puree – for 12-24 months: cook until tender and chop into small pieces – shredded vegetables and fruit are safe as long as they are no more than an inch long
Whole pieces of canned fruit	Most canned fruits cut into wedges are safe with supervision	Cut into small pieces
Uncooked dry fruits: – raisins – apricots – prunes	Uncooked dry fruits: – raisins – apricots – prunes	Cut into small pieces (be sure to brush their teeth after!)

Choking Hazard Foods: Proteins

Proteins come in different sizes and shapes, like beans, tofu, nut butter, and meats.

Globs of nut butter are considered choking hazard foods because they can clog up openings of the windpipe and esophagus by sticking to the mouth and back of the throat. Whole and chopped nuts can also block their airways. The small pieces can get inhaled, and irregular-shaped whole nuts can slip down the throat. 

Large chunks of meat can be hard to chew and break down, there may be a chance your baby will swallow before it is small enough to go down their esophagus, again, resulting in choking. 

Another top choking hazard food is hot dogs, their slippery nature can slip down their throat easily and cause a blockage. 

6-12 months	12-24 months	Safer Food Alternatives
– nut butter	– chunks of nut butter	– for 6-12 months: smooth nut butter mixed with water, breast milk, or formula – for 12-24 months: mix with pureed or mashed fruit, vegetable, yogurt
– seeds – whole or chopped nuts	– seeds – whole nuts	– ground nuts into a powder form – peanut butter powder – bake with nut flour – mix nut powder with yogurt or applesauce
– tough chunks of meat	– tough meats	– cut into smaller pieces – moisten with soup, gravy, or breast milk
– hot dogs – sausage links	– round slices of hot dogs and sausage links	– cut into smaller pieces (eg. half moon shape) – supervise when eating
– fish with bones	– fish with bones	– flake fish into small pieces and pick out any bones – mash with a fork into a soft consistency and pick out bones
– string cheese – large chunks of cheese	– most string and cubed cheeses are safe under supervision	– shredded cheese – thin sandwich cheese slices – allow them to bite on string cheese as a whole and watch to avoid your baby from biting off more than they can chew

Choking Hazard Foods: Grains

Crunchy grains and whole kernels of grains can also be choking hazard foods. Snacks like chips and pretzels require good motor control over the tongue to safely move them down from the mouth to the throat. 

Babies are not fully developed to control their tongues and understand how fine their foods need to be before they swallow. Large, sharp pieces can cause pain as they swallow, or even cause choking. 

Be aware of crumbs of crunchy foods which can also be inhaled and cause choking. Whole kernels of grain, like corn and barley, can also get stuck in throats and airways.

6-12 months	12-24 months	Safer Food Alternatives
– cookies – granola bars	– cookies – granola bars	– banana bread or muffins cut into small pieces
– corn kernels of any form	– corn kernels of any form	– puree corn into porridge or congee – corn on the cob (the constant gnawing can help smash the corn into pieces)
– crunchy foods – popcorn – chips – crackers or bread with nuts and seeds	– popcorn – chips	– teething biscuits – soft pancakes cut into small pieces – oven-roasted potato slices – avocados covered in hemp seeds
– whole kernels of cooked rice, barley, wheat, or other grains	– most cooked grain kernels are generally safe under supervision	– soft, overcooked penne or elbow macaroni pasta – rice porridge or congee – soft cooked rice – oatmeal

Choking Hazard Foods: Sweetened Foods

Candies, such as small hard candies, gummies, and jelly beans are small enough to be swallowed and cause major blockages in the small esophagus of babies. 

Babies do not have the motor control to hold candies in their mouths and wait until hard candies dissolve, nor do they have strong muscles at the back of their mouth and throat to swallow sticky candies like marshmallows. 

The risk of premature swallowing of candies is high for babies!

6-12 months	12-24 months	Safer Food Alternatives
Chewing gum	Chewing gum	Chopped fruit
Hard candies	Hard candies	Smoothies
Gum drops	Gum drops	Applesauce
Gummies		For something fun and sweet, try pureeing frozen bananas and berries together, tastes just like ice cream!
Jelly beans
Caramels
Marshmallows

As your baby learns to participate in a meal with the family, it is important to teach your child the importance of sitting still while eating and chewing food slowly and thoroughly. 

Children can get very playful during meal times as they become excited to experience these new senses. Teach your child to avoid talking or laughing with a mouth full, and only put as much food into their mouths as they can comfortably chew!

Does this mean I can’t offer any of these Choking Hazard foods?

You can still offer these foods! Feel free to offer foods and allow them to explore, just in safer ways. Make sure to keep an eye out on how much your little one is biting off or placing into their mouths to avoid taking in too much of what they can chew. Additionally, if the food offered is dry or tough, moisten it by mixing the food with breastmilk or formula to make it easier for them to smash and break up using their gums.

Check out this post for ideas for homemade baby food: Baby Food: Store-Bought vs Homemade

At the end of the day, allowing your children to explore the joys of eating is a great way to stimulate their senses and help build a foundation for a healthy relationship with food. Take this time to instill the importance of sharing a meal with loved ones and enjoying the connection sharing the same food brings. 

I hope this helped you learn how to look out for choking hazard foods as your baby or toddler begins to try new foods!

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References

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/foods-and-drinks/choking-hazards.html

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Choking-Hazards-Parents-of-Young-Children-Should-Know-About.aspx

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safety-resources/education-store/choking-hazard-safety

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