How long to cut up food.....specifically, Grapes?

[Anonymous]

My son is 15 months. I cut up grapes into 1/2 or 1/4s (depending upon the size of the grape). My husband thinks I'm paranoid and he can eat them whole. He's a good chewer but sometimes eats REALLY fast and I'm worried about them getting lodged in his throat and him choking.

What do you think? Am I being paranoid?

[Anonymous]

i still cut up my 2 year old's grapes! they're a huge choking hazard - exactly the same size as a pediatric airway. too scary for me.

[Anonymous]

The official advice is to cut grapes (and hotdogs) for a long time.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_foods-that-can-be-unsafe-for-your-toddler_1491465.bc

[Anonymous]

I waited until 3 with my oldest and will wait at least that long with my 2 year old. We had a close call the other day with a dum dum lollipop (stupid mommy moment) and at this point I may cut grapes and such up until she is 4. Even the 2 year old says "lollipops not for little girls" now.

[Anonymous]

my husband choked on a hot dog when he was NINE. fortunately his mother knew the heimlich. hot dogs freak us both out. however, my MIL (yes, the very same who had to save her son from choking on a hot dog), fed our son cut up hot dogs at the beach and now he loves them. fabulous.

[Anonymous]

I still cut up grapes for my 29 month old. I thought it was until age 3.

He sometimes seems to choke even on the 1/2 grapes. I think it's the peel that tends to get stuck.

[Anonymous]

My 5-yr old choked on a whole grape. He popped it into his mouth and it immediately lodged in his throat. It was terrifying. Fortunately when I yanked him out of his chair to and put my arms around him to start doing the heimlich, that dislodged it.

So based on my personal paranoia after that experience, and I freely admit it's paranoia, I kept cutting them for a long time, probably until he was 7 or 8. I know it was a fluke accident that, thank God, had no serious consequences, but it made me feel better to keep cutting up my kids' grapes after that. I don't care if it's overkill; for a long time I couldn't even look at a grape without remembering that incident and the look of panic on my son's face when he realized he couldn't breathe. I would never give whole grapes to child under age 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i still cut up my 2 year old's grapes! they're a huge choking hazard - exactly the same size as a pediatric airway. too scary for me.

agree, because of size and shape. I wouldn't be as freaked out about something less perfectly round that was the same size, but the shape makes it really risky.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for your feedback and making me feel like i'm doing the right thing. sometimes it seems like i'm the "police" around stuff for the baby but i'm sticking to my guns on this one.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on your kid. Mine always seems to know what she can chew and what she can't, and she spits those things out. We haven't cut up grapes in probably a year (she is almost 3).

[Anonymous]

Until they are 18. At least.

[Anonymous]

We never cut grapes (or blueberries for that matter) for our now 19 m/o. He's a good chewer, has almost a full mouth of teeth, prefers everything whole, and sometimes gets indignant if we try to cut up food for him.

[Anonymous]

My pediatrician told me to cut grapes until age 5? Based on these responses, he's a little conservative...

[Anonymous]

Our Ped told us grapes and hotdogs are the largest choking hazard. My parents went to a funeral not too long ago and in the same building there was a funeral being held for a boy (around 10 my parents heard) who had choked on a hotdog at a ballgame.

I think a lot of it depends on the child. As a kid I would woof food down. My DD (22 months) will shovel food in her mouth - sometimes she chews it, sometimes she doesn't very well. I cut grapes up in quarters. She's only had hotdogs a couple of times, but I cut them up into small bite-size portions as well - or else hold the hotdog while she takes a bite.

I plan to cut up the food for a while.

[Anonymous]

I was told grapes and hotdogs - until age four by my ped.