A paediatric nurse practitioner has highlighted a choking hazard that many parents overlook, seeing the offending item as a nice healthy snack for their little ones.
Many foods have to be modified before they can be given to children under four or five, but it is worth doing as they are healthy additions to a child’s diet.
Grapes need to be sliced the correct way, blueberries need to be squashed and popcorn is best avoided but these are all choking hazards that many parents already know about.
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Overlooked choking hazard
Posting on Instagram, Cierra, a nurse practitioner and mum said that her daughter ‘had choked on a string cheese (with Cheesestring being the most well known brand here in Ireland) that her brother had given her.
‘Here’s your reminder because my toddler just choked on one of these because her brother gave it to her,’ said the mum.
‘Cheese sticks are actually a choking hazard because if your [child] bites off a big chunk, it can completely obstruct their airway.’
Cierra went on to urge parents to ‘always peel’ your child’s Cheesestring before giving it to a toddler or young child.
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Parents and experts in the comments agreed that string cheese is a hazard and one that is often overlooked.
‘As a pediatric feeding therapist, this is a fact I share with parents frequently- It seems like a safe snack because it’s marketed for kids, but always peel and teach kids up to age 4 to peel their own too!’ said one person.
‘Thank you for this. I didn’t even think about it and I give them to my toddlers all the time!!’ someone else added and a third chimed in: ‘Kids get so excited over cheese sticks they chomp right into them.’
