-CC Your Sitter: Pantry Perils
Being a sitter often means you're responsible for feeding your charges. If you don't have kids yourself, and you're NOT a medical professional like the people you babysit for (um, that would be me), then you might not know about all of the potential dangers hidden in the kitchen pantry. The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates at least one child in the United States dies every five days from choking on food. The academy rates choking as the leading cause of death among children 14 and younger (keep in mind for every choking-related death, there are more than 100 visits to U.S. emergency departments for choking episodes). How's that for scary statistics? It's facts like these that have me cutting up Oliver's grapes into sixteenths. (Kidding, kind of.) Now I know the top food choking hazards for kids, and it's a good idea to make sure your sitter does too.
- Hot dogs (especially cut into a coin shape), meats, sausages, and fish with bones
- Popcorn, chips, pretzel nuggets, and snack foods
- Candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cough drops, gum, lollipops, marshmallows, caramels, hard candies, and jelly beans
- Whole grapes, raw vegetables, raw peas, fruits, fruits with skins, seeds, carrots, celery, and cherries
- Raisins, dried fruits, sunflower seeds, all nuts, including peanuts
- Peanut butter, especially in spoonfuls or soft white bread
- Ice cubes and cheese cubes
- Foods that clump, are sticky or slippery, or dry and hard textured
- Food size and shape, especially round or a shape that could conform to the shape and size of the trachea (windpipe). A small child's trachea is approximately 1.25 inches in diameter.
Does this mean that you can never give your toddler a raisin again? Of course not, but use common sense and a lot of caution. Meal and snack-times should be calm, seated, and relaxing, not rushed and on-the-go. Make sure to supervise children when eating, and cut up food into small pieces. Remember, even if you know this already, don't assume your sitter does! Reminders never hurt.
~Zoey, sitter to Nicholas, Oliver, and Vivienne
P.S., Check out this article from CNN Health...
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