Eating alone

[noon_child]

What age is it OK to let a child eat alone? I mean basically anyone can choke at any age can't they...but what age is it reasonable to expect that choking would be a rare freakish accident rather than the inevitable consequence of leaving your child alone to eat?

My LO does a really loud hum when she eats so I can potter in the next room and know she's not choking but when she goes quiet I have to check on her. My DH on the other hand literally never thinks about this.

 

[moomin_troll]

How old is your lo? My youngest has been left to eat breakfast and snacks alone since he turned 2

 

[jd83]

I'm not sure what age I'd let them eat a whole entire meal alone...I do tend to leave the room sometimes if they are eating and I'm putting things away, etc. But I always come back to check on them still. Choking is a big fear of mine, though, so I may be a bit extreme with how long I go before letting them eat a whole meal without some checking on them.

 

[Scottish mum]

My lo is 18 months and I leave the room when he eats on occasion. If it's something new he's eating I tend to be more aware and watch him just incase. My house isn't big enough to leave lo x

 

[noon_child]

My LO is 3yrs 4months. I'm not really obsessive about it but wondering if I should be!! I mean if I'm emptying the dishwasher and she takes her snack in to the other room I'm not going to stop emptying it, but I do try and do it extra quick so I can check on her. The other day she stopped humming during her meal (while I was in the next room) for a few seconds then this massive strangulated cough. I went in to find a whole grape over the other end of the table. She had obviously coughed it out but I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't (the fear of the what if's).

 

[Mrs HM]

I don't let me Lo eat alone and he's almost 28months old. I worry about choking and although he's never even gagged on food, I'd prefer him to eat when he's sitting down and supervised by an adult.

 

[RaspberryK]

We did blw and I'm very confident in his ability to eat most things with aabsolutely no issue.
He knows he has to sit whilst eating and I'm happy to be out of the room whilst he eats snacks and meals and I have been for a year.
Xx

 

[ruby09]

I like to stay with ds (18mos) as I'm so afraid of him choking, however sometimes I will run to the bathroom quick or something like that. My husband thinks I'm over reacting and he leaves the room a lot longer than I ever would. Personal preference I guess. My son has had all his teeth since 13 months though, so he's very good with chewing.

One of the main reasons I'm scared to let ds eat alone was bc of a story my dad told me. Evidently when I was a toddler, I had this wooden high chair with just a lap belt, and he left the room one day and came back and found me hanging from the high chair belt by my neck. He said lesson learned there. Scary.

 

[jd83]

I like to stay with ds (18mos) as I'm so afraid of him choking, however sometimes I will run to the bathroom quick or something like that. My husband thinks I'm over reacting and he leaves the room a lot longer than I ever would. Personal preference I guess. My son has had all his teeth since 13 months though, so he's very good with chewing.

One of the main reasons I'm scared to let ds eat alone was bc of a story my dad told me. Evidently when I was a toddler, I had this wooden high chair with just a lap belt, and he left the room one day and came back and found me hanging from the high chair belt by my neck. He said lesson learned there. Scary.

WOw, that would be scary! Another reason to keep checking on them, you just never know what they can get into/do unsupervised.

 

[d_b]

DS2 is 2.5 and I will leave the room sometimes but only maybe for a minute and only if he's eating something that he is used to and is easy to eat. I'll also give him snacks (usually Cheerios) in the car on occasion and I can't totally see what he's up to but he is always talking and singing. I don't think the fear of choking will ever fully go away even when he's much older! Over the weekend someone gave him a dried apricot for the first time and I was watching in fear! He had a hard time chewing it, he spit it out. He also bit his finger yesterday while eating steak and started crying hysterically nearly inhaling a mouthful of meat!

 

[NoodleSnack]

The guide here says 4 or 5 years old. I wouldn't leave a child in a high chair alone, even just to get something, risk of falling is too high.

 

[Bevziibubble]

I usually stay with her but if I need to leave the room it's only for a moment. She doesn't use a high chair apart from if we are eating out at a restaurant, so she's never left alone in a high chair.

 

[RaspberryK]

We don't use a highchair either. Xx

 

[Kay_Baby]

We have left him alone to eat since before he was 2. We have an open plan house so he is generally always in site and hearing distance. He also not in a high chair and can get up and down from his chair himself.

 

[jd83]

Ours are in booster seats. The seats have straps on them though, so I guess there is always that risk that they could get caught in them. I don't use the straps, they just sit in the booster seats; but if they messed with the straps themselves, there's always that potential that they could hurt themselves.

 

[TryinFor1]

DS is sixteen months and I leave him alone sometimes to eat. The most I will be away from him is to shower, which I try to hurry up on. He talks a lot when he eats so if he goes quiet, I get out of the shower real fast and just peek at him. Other time, I will switch the laundry or unload the dishes, or clean the kitchen but I can see him during all that time. He eats in his high chair in the living room which basically connects to all of our rooms in the house, minus the bathroom so I usually always have him in my sight. I am not worried about him falling out of it at all, its sturdy and I can barely move it myself, let alone him tipping it. he has choked before, but it wasn't like an extreme choking episode, he just popped it back out. I am not overly worried about it, but I still keep a close eye on him.

 

[hattiehippo]

Mine's 4 1/2 and he will usually start eating lunch or a snack on his own but I will keep an eye on him.

I actually found he was worse for almost choking on food around 3 1/2 to 4 because he started stuffing much larger bits of food in his mouth and then not chewing properly. We had a couple of times when I had to fish food out of his mouth because it had got stuck. He was largely BLW and we never had a problem before this age.

 

[choc]

My LO is 3yrs 4months. I'm not really obsessive about it but wondering if I should be!! I mean if I'm emptying the dishwasher and she takes her snack in to the other room I'm not going to stop emptying it, but I do try and do it extra quick so I can check on her. The other day she stopped humming during her meal (while I was in the next room) for a few seconds then this massive strangulated cough. I went in to find a whole grape over the other end of the table. She had obviously coughed it out but I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't (the fear of the what if's).

I left Aidan alone at this age but would never give him whole grapes, they are a big choking risk. Cut them in half.

 

[MrsHedgehog]

It depends what she's eating. Things she's used to I don't worry about, anything new I'd pay a bit more attention. For meals we're always at the table together anyway although I might pop out to the bathroom or something. Her snacks she may have in a different room but I'm pottering about so always aware of what she's doing. We live in an apartment so I'm never very far away.

 

[HKateH]

I'm not sure I'll ever let my LO eat alone. I'm not sure exactly why but the thought of it makes me feel sad. Mealtimes should be a social occasion IMO. I'm not sure a child is ever old enough to appreciate sitting alone and enjoying food so I'll always stay with him/eat with him.

I don't worry about choking now at one (he was BLW) but I watch him just incase. As he gets older I'll continue to stay around with him - I tend to have him sit in the kitchen and I either have a cup of tea or wash dishes etc.

Not judging btw, I think I'm a bit odd for feeling the way I do!