Am I choking paranoid?

Jaylea

DD is almost 27 mos. old. I still cut up most of her food, but she eats things like waffles, chicken nuggets, bananas, etc on her own (ie I don't cut them all up).

she's never had a fruit snack or gummy, b/c aren't they hard to chew? I don't give her raw veggies like carrots or celery still -  I will give her thing slices of green pepper and of course cucumber and tomatoes...

Am I nuts?

monchichi

I cut up a lot of DS's food and he's older than your DD. ?He's had fruit snacks, though, with no problem. ?

DD is another story. ?I think I will be cutting that girl's food up until she's 10! ?Some kids are better at chewing than others and you know your DD best. ?Better safe than sorry, right?

ilovemygirls

From another choking paranoid mom, I think you're probably cutting up more than you need to still.  Obviously you are thinking smart about things- ie. don't give her a whole round carrot- but you can cut carrots into sticks for her.  My 21mo has been eating fruit snacks/gummys for months now because her older sister has them.  She has never been one to gag on stuff though, so I felt pretty confident giving them to her.  It's time to let her explore a little more, I think!

amiamish

Nuts? No... but I give Jake fruit snacks-they are not hard to chew and he eats raw veggies and I give him corn dogs and hot dogs and such... I'm pretty relaxed about it but Jake is a really good 'small bite taker and chewer"

AnnapolisLari

I don't know... maybe a little?

DS still gets his food cut up some of the time, but it's more because we only give him a couple at a time so he doesn't throw them on the floor. He loves to gnaw on whole apples, celery and baby carrots. He hasn't come close to choking on them. I just hand him sandwiches and he takes bites.

I don't give him fruit snacks because they are bad for his teeth.

It actually seems to annoy him if his food is cut up too small. MH does that, and it gets dumped pretty fast.

DaiLyght

My son is almost 3.5. He just ate his first gummies about a month ago (to my knowledge - and I would only let him eat one at a time), I freak when my MIL tries to give him peanuts, and I refuse to let him eat popcorn. I won't leave his side when he's eating things like raisins. I need to loosen up, but I get very very scared about choking.

MarchMom06

I wouldn't go so far as to call you nuts, but I do think you could ease up on the cutting. I also think fruit snacks would be fine. I have a 23 month old & we don't cut up his chicken nuggets, etc. The one thing I do cut is a hot dog, because the shape makes me nervous.

gracendantho26

You are not nuts. My son actually did choke on something back in mid-October at 3 years old and it was hands down the scariest experience of my life. We were right with him but if we had not been we never would have known he was choking because obviously he couldn't make any sound at all.

I was choking paranoid before that and this incident amped it up a ton more.

Jaylea

I will add that she is not a good small bite taker - she crams as much in her mouth as she can, and eats quickly. I've had to give her the heimlich over a sweet potato fry before.

mlm1128

No one is more choking paranoid than me.  My dd is over 3 and I still watch her like a hawk when she eats certain things.  I actually used to break her fruit snacks in half. Then my dh calmly explained that she had a mouth full of teeth and was probably OK with chewing her own food.

amiamish

Jaylea:

I will add that she is not a good small bite taker - she crams as much in her mouth as she can, and eats quickly. I've had to give her the heimlich over a sweet potato fry before.

Well, now we know why you cut up everything. If Jake was the same way, I'd cut up everything he has too.

cbidt*sgirl

I consider fruit snacks a choke hazard too and don't let my 2.5 son eat them.  I cut up carrot sticks into 1/4 (lengthwise) and still cut grapes and grape tomatoes too.  Recommendations for licensed childcare centers ban popcorn, nuts, gummies, candies, whole grapes and carrots until preschool age which is 2.9.  I follow those recommendations.