Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Sydney Levin: 'Teen Mom 2' Recap: Cheaters Never Prosper
Larry Magid: Internet Reflects, Magnifies the Opportunities and…
American Academy of Pediatrics: Label Foods as Choking Hazards
Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News
Remember putting away all the small, choking-sized toys when your second child was born? Avoiding playthings with labels on their boxes that warned they weren't suitable for children under the age of 3? Turns out, that wasn't doing nearly far enough.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now turning its attention to the choking dangers of food and has proposed new, comprehensive reforms for the labeling and packaging of food products.
Choking remains one of the leading causes of death for children under the age of 3, and every five days a child chokes to death on food, the statement says. Hot dogs alone account for 17 percent of food-related choking incidents, one study shows.
"If you were to design the perfect plug for a child's airway, you couldn't do much better than a hot dog," says Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital and author of the AAP's new policy statement on choking. "It will wedge itself in tightly and completely block the airway, causing the child to die within minutes because of lack of oxygen."
There are measures the food industry can take to improve food safety, the AAP asserts, noting that many of the most dangerous foods are man-made. The AAP statement urges food companies to alter the shapes, sizes and textures of high-risk foods -- including, yes, the iconic hot dog -- to make them less likely to get caught in a child's throat. The group also calls upon government agencies to adopt regulations to require such change.
In addition to labels on food similar to those on toys, the AAP says the government should establish a surveillance system that would identify and investigate incidents of food-related choking incidents.
But regulation isn't enough, the AAP warns. It calls on pediatricians and other health professionals to intensify anti-choking education. Misapprehensions remain, and many of the foods thought of as kid-friendly, such as grapes and popcorn, pose serious choking hazards because their size means they can easily become lodged in a child's throat. Nuts, seeds and raw carrots are also particularly dangerous.
The group says toys are better regulated now, but there is still more to be done. The AAP calls upon the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make sure toys sold in bins, vending machines and online also have appropriate warning labels. Finally, the group recommends that all parents and caregivers learn CPR and first aid for choking.
Related: Preventing Young Children From Choking on Food
YourVoice
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
How to Give First Aid to a Choking Child
Mona Khanna talks about what to do when a child is choking. She gives a practical demonstration on how you can help.
-
What to do With a Choking Child
In this video, learn what steps to take if your child starts choking.
-
How to Deal with a Choking Baby
Paramedic, Steve Furnell from the London Ambulance Service demonstrates to a new mother what to do if her child is choking. His first piece of advice is to stay calm, then he shows how to do back slaps and chest thrusts to clear baby's airways.
-
When Your Toddler Chokes and Gags on Food
Dr. Jim Sears explains whether it is normal for your child to choke or gag when eating solid foods, also stating that parents should be aware of the Heimlich maneuver or CPR to handle such an emergency.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-13-2010 @ 9:16AM
David Zak said...Choking has always been something my wife and I worried about, so when the first of our kids starting eating solids I went to the AAP website looking for advice.
So while hotdogs may not get redesigned any time soon, the AAP already has some great recommendations on how to reduce the risk of choking.
Included in their recommendations is a 1/2 inch size guideline for how small to cut up those harder foods you do give your child. This size guideline struck me when I saw it as (a) something I’d never heard about before and (b) much smaller than I’d thought.
So we created a simple way to inform others such as new parents like ourselves, babysitters, grandparents, and daycare providers about this guideline and give them a way to measure it all on the place where you need it most.....on a plate.
The Safe Sizer plates are colorful, durable melamine plastic plates with a molded in one-half inch inner diameter raised ring. The purpose of the Safe Sizer™ ring is to:
a) Inform those who don’t know about the one-half inch size recommendation
b) Remind those who do to follow it at the exact place and time when they need the reminder
c) Measure bite sizes to one-half inch or less. It’s smaller than you think. Simply Cut, Size, and Serve right on the plate.
If you’d like to learn more, please see our website (midwestmonkeys.com).
David Zak
Reply
3-14-2010 @ 12:53PM
Heather said...If parents paid more attention when their kids are eating, have them sit down at the table, and learn what to do in the instance of choking, more kids would be saved from this horrific way of dying than changing the shape of a hot dog.
Education on the parents part is key. Take infant/child cpr courses and learn the Heimlich maneuver and DONT PANIC if you see a child choking. More time is wasted if you panic and have to find someone else who knows what to do.
Common sense in my opinion...but seems like this world is lacking in that area anymore.
Reply