Step 7

Choking Hazards

Safety is of utmost importance when feeding your baby, and many common foods
are considered choking hazards for children younger than 4 years of age.

To make this list comprehensive, we have referenced the American

Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and emergency room choking data. All
of these references have slightly different recommendations, so we have
condensed them into one resource.

Choking hazard foods are considered choking hazards because

of their certain shape, size, hardness or slipperiness. In general,
we are concerned about foods that are:

Very hard: popcorn, whole nuts, or raw carrots

Very round and slippery: the shape and smoothness of a grape or cherry
Very sticky or difficult to chew: taffy, gum, gummy bears

In the end, you are the parent – if you are concerned about the safety of any
given food, modify it or do not give it to your baby.

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 Step 7

Choking hazard = an object that can block a child’s airway

and make it difficult or impossible to breathe.

Foods that must be modified

Hot dogs – cut into small pieces
Whole nuts – offer as thinly spread (not spoonful of) nut butter or as ground nuts
Whole grapes, cherries, or cherry tomatoes – cut into quarters lengthwise
Large hard carrots or celery* – soften by cooking, grate or finely cut
Whole apples* – soften by cooking, grate or finely cut
Hard pears – soften by cooking, grate or finely cut
Hard dried fruit – soften by cooking (put in oatmeal, baked goods)
Whole olives – cut into quarters
Marshmallows – bake into foods
Large chunks of hard meat or hard cheese – cut into smaller pieces

Foods that should be avoided completely until age 4

Whole large seeds
Popcorn
Hard candy
Gummy bear candy
Sticky candy – taffy, fruit leather
Gum
Hard chips (potato chips, tortilla chips)*

*Note: guidance varies on the safety of whole raw carrots, celery, apples and chips
between ages 2 and 4. Judy and Megan have noticed a higher probability of choking
with raw carrots and apples specifically in kids ages 1-3, even though they’re not on
every choking hazard list. Please use caution when serving these foods, especially if they
are not modified by softening or shredding.

Other safety tips:

Do not allow your child to crawl or walk around while eating

Keep snacks out of the car unless an adult is in the backseat
Always supervise children when eating
Ensure your child is sitting upright when eating
Arm yourself with resuscitation and CPR skills – choking can happen any time, with
any object (including pureed foods and liquids!)

Copyright ©2022. Feeding Littles, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

DO NOT DISTRIBUTE. www.feedinglittles.com