5 common choking foods and how to safely feed them to your baby
Starting solids is such a fun time for your baby but let’s be honest, it can be nerve wracking as well! We always stress the importance of knowing how to perform infant and child choking skills along with infant/child cpr but knowing how to safely feed hazardous foods to your baby and which foods to avoid completely is equally as important! These foods are considered choking hazards for children between the ages of 0-4 years.
Top 5 choking foods for Babies/Toddlers:
- Round or coin shaped foods: hot dogs, carrots, blueberries, grapes
- Foods with skins or seeds: grapes, hot dogs, raspberries, apples, oranges, popcorn
- Raw nuts
- Hard or raw foods- apples, carrots
- Sticky foods- candy, peanut butter, marshmallows, gum, honey
Just because these foods are labeled as “choking hazards” does not mean you can’t feed them to your baby/toddler. Most of these foods (with some exceptions) can be safely fed to your baby if you cook and prepare them appropriately for your baby’s age and feeding experience level.
Hot dogs: Remove skin for infants/small toddlers and slice lengthwise into 2 strips and then quarter
Carrots: Steam carrots in the microwave, instapot or roast in the oven until they are soft enough to be mashed easily between your fingers. Then cut them lengthwise and quarter.
Grape or blueberries (skins): Cut in half, and then in half again (quarter) If your baby is a new eater and you are worried about the skins, try offering these foods in a mesh or silicone feeder so your baby can still taste the flavor and receive some of the nutrients without the skins being an issue.
Apples: Remove skins (I love this peeler), steam or sauté on the stove with coconut oil (or another type of oil) until soft enough to easily mash between your fingers. Dice into pea sized pieces or serve as a strip if following BLW feeding techniques. Shredding or grating a peeled apple is also a great option for more experienced eaters!
Peanut butter: Never serve by the spoonful! Use a very thin layer if spreading on a piece of toast or other type of soft bread, try mixing it into yogurt, smoothies, baby oatmeal or a fruit/veggie purée.
PRO TIP: Another great option is to serve any of these foods (or any foods you’re cautious of!) in a mesh or silicone feeder! (We prefer silicone because it’s easier to clean!) Your child can still get the flavors and nutrients without actually eating them. This is a great option if you’re a little nervous about offering these foods to them for the first time. Let them practice chewing and trying the new flavors through the mesh or silicone feeders before offering it by themselves.
** Try using these scissors to cut up food to prepare for your baby and toddler! They’re so easy to use!
Foods to completely avoid:
**Popcorn, raw nuts, hard candy: These foods are the exceptions and should be avoided until your child has reached the age of 4 or based upon your pediatricians specific age recommendations.
**Honey: Honey should be avoided not only due to it being a choking hazard because of its stickiness but also due to the risk of infant botulism. Read more about infant botulism here.
Do you want more information?
If you want more information on starting purées, checkout our purées calendar and our purées for beginners e-guide.
If you’re wanting to combine purées and baby-led weaning, checkout our Baby Led Weaning Basics and Tips E-Guide and BLW calendar in our store!
We also have a new solids bundle – which includes the BLW e-guide, BLW calendar, purées calendar + our favorite mess-free bib! (only $40 for all of this which values over $54!)
Do you need more help? Schedule a text or video chat consult with Kate, Lauren or Natalie (NICU RNs) and they can help answer any questions that you have!
It’s important to know CPR: At Bumblebaby, we cannot stress enough the importance of knowing hands-on infant CPR and choking skills, especially when starting solids. Please brush up on your skills by booking Kate’s online infant and child CPR + choking skills refresher course(use code BUMBLE15 for discount) or book an in-home CPR session today (Chicagoland area)!
Want an easy way to introduce allergens to your baby? Try Ready, Set, Food! They’re daily supplements that gently introduce your baby to the most common allergens. Simply add a packet to breastmilk/formula/solids of your choice starting between 4-11 months and continue for 6 months or until your baby is eating these foods regularly in their diet. Deema did this with her daughter and highly recommends it! Use code Bumble40 for discount.
Other helpful blog posts:
- Simple purees for beginners
- Baby led weaning for beginners
- Why learn CPR
- 10 snack ideas for babies and toddlers
- 5 easy finger foods for beginners
**This post is educational and not meant to take the place of your provider. Bumblebaby makes a small commission on some of the items listed above
