grapes question

[BabyMamma93]

It was only a month or so ago i found out you should cut grapes length ways, i oly found out because of a post a mummy put on instagram, then there was the little boy who sadly died after choking on a grape cut the wrong way.

ive never cut grapes for M so cuple questions;
should they not have them whole at all?
at what age can u stop cutting them length ways?

i know that they can be a choking hazard anyway no matter how they are cut but obv im looking more at whats safer.
ive never cut grapes for M, but i think when he was younger i may have bitten one in half and given him the rest of the grape, which would have been bitten accross, not length ways..

 

[Button#]

The idea behind cutting grapes is that although children can choke on any food grapes are the perfect size and shape to get stuck in the throat and make a seal and they can can also be tough to dislodge. The same for hot dog sausages. The skin on both means they keep their shape if they get swallowed whole. I still chop DSs grapes and I will for a while yet.

 

[LoraLoo]

I still cut my 6 Yr olds, as Lo said they're the 'ideal' shape and size to get stuck in LO throats. It's not worth the risk for me, only takes 2 seconds to cut

 

[lau86]

I never used to cut them, I didn't even think about it even though when I was told it seemed blindingly obvious. I cut them lengthways in half but I've recently started doing them in quarters, the story about the poor little boy who choked has just made me paranoid. I cut both my boys they're nearly 2 and 4, I think this will be the case for a long time yet

 

[MindUtopia]

There is no official recommendation on them as far as I know. Like in the sense that the NHS specifically does have a recommendation against offering whole nuts to children under 5, I believe it is? It's just personal preference. In our case, I've never cut my daughter's grapes, nor similar foods like baby tomatoes. She's always had them whole from when she first started eating them, which was around 9 ish months. But that's what I'm comfortable with. We did BLW and I felt confident offering them as they were after watching how she handled them when she did eat them. She's 2.5 and never choked on anything. But I also have been offering her whole nuts as well for about 6 months now, under supervision (I'm much more careful about nuts than other things, but I don't feel the need to eliminate them completely, regardless of the recommendation). I think do what you're comfortable with. If you'd be more comfortable now offering them cut up, do it, and stop when you feel ready to stop. There's no advantage to eating them whole (other than it's less effort and they travel better not cut up), so no reason you can't cut them until you feel ready not to.

 

[BabyMamma93]

you know, its not something that ever crossed my mind, i felt so un educated when i saw the instagram post (the girl was just saying her daughter has grapes (always cut lengthways) that was the first i had heard, then i saw in the news about the little boy, it did make me feel a bit uneasy that all this time i had been giving them whole, with absolutely no worries and no problems! i guess it is what a individual feels comfortable with, i think i will start cutting them though now

 

[LoraLoo]

It is recommended that you halve them.
https://www.child-smile.org.uk/parents-and-carers/birth-to-3-years-old/healthy-snack-ideas.aspx

 

[Bevziibubble]

I slice them into really thin slices like a loaf of bread. I don't think I will stop slicing them for many years, the thought of choking is just too scary.

 

[k4th]

I cut them until dd turned four. Then I saw a Facebook post about the poor little bit who choked & now I'm back to cutting them. The thought is terrifying & I can be fairly anxious where my children are concerned anyway. It's worth it for peace of mind.

 

[staralfur]

I never cut them, had no idea it was a recommendation until my LO was nearly 3. I did cut them a few times after I read about it, but then my DH gave her a whole grape and I realized that she bit them in half naturally while she was eating them anyway. So I stopped cutting them. I do keep an eye on her when she eats them though and encourage her to bite it rather than shoving the whole thing in her mouth.

 

[minties]

We don't buy grapes, but I would cut for Thomas. I have to cut all his food, he just shovels it in, including small whole bananas!

My mum is 50 and choked on bacon this year to the point of turning blue.

 

[mum140381]

why would you not cut them when children have died because of it it only takes 2 min i still cut my 11 year olds and tell my 14 and 16 year old boys to be careful when eating them

 

[Tasha]

My older two don't like grapes but I'm still cutting my seven year olds.

She once choked on something and needed an ambulance. She was a good eater and it was something you'd never expect any one (even adults to choke on) but children are unpredictable. However she wasn't being silly or anything.

Any way myself and the paramedic chatted about how unusual it was for people to choke on it and he said the most choking call out he'd was sausages (normal not hot dogs) so to slice them in half and then into slices. Followed by grapes.

 

[bumpbear]

I cut them in half till DD was 2.5 then stopped as she handled them fine. Back to chopping them in half again now after that poor little boy's case was reported in the news...

Still chopping them for DS who just turned 1 and will for a long while yet because he is a bit of a buffoon! I cut his in to quarters and skin them too.

I don't think its a matter of what you're comfortable with. Anyone can choke at any time - its the same as when water goes down the wrong way by accident.Can happen to anybody just as a freak occurrence.

the other things not to give your kids are popcorn and marshmallows. Perfect size for choking and extremely hard to dislodge even with proper first aid methods.

 

[noon_child]

the other things not to give your kids are popcorn and marshmallows. Perfect size for choking and extremely hard to dislodge even with proper first aid methods.[/QUOTE]

Oh god yes I remember a horrifying story about that stupid chubby bunny game that uses marshmallows. That is about one thing I will never allow my child to do -that game is my zero tolerance!

 

[Tasha]

I know right? We were on holiday recently and my daughter (seven) was invited on stage and they made her do the chubby bunny thing. I was so angry.

 

[KatieB]

Alex loves red grapes and eats loads. They are always halved, sometimes quartered. Louis doesn't seem to like them. I wouldn't dream of giving them whole because I'm so scared of the choking risk.

 

[star1]

When my lo was 2.5 or so I stopped cutting them and instead make her bite them lengthways and show me after each bite! It's pretty time consuming so she doesn't have grapes very often but I prefer she knows the right way to eat them in case she gets given whole grapes somewhere where I am not there to supervise (eg if another child brings them into school in a packed lunchbox) x

 

[mummylove]

Wow i really never thought about this, Defo will be cutting my kids grapes up from now on