Newly 6yo and grapes - would you cut them for school or be ok with them whole?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow I am shocked! I stopped cutting my kids grapes by age three.

Anxiety seems to be a bigger health threat than grapes based on this thread!

By age three is irresponsible. You got lucky.

A parent putting cut fruit in their kids' lunch boxes is not a "health threat". There are things we do to keep our kids safe that can hurt their development, but this isn't one of them.

[Anonymous]

I stopped cutting kids grapes well before 6 but also don't think I've ever sent them in a school lunch. I think I default to easy items for school just knowing that there can be a lot going on and you want the eating part to be really straightforward. Like even though my kid is fine peeling a banana I don't send bananas at lunch because I think even having to put any effort into opening the banana makes it less likely it gets eaten. Same with an unpeeled orange or whole strawberries-- my kid will use any excuse to avoid eating the healthiest parts of their lunch and will just eat the one snack item (even if the snack item is inconvenient).

So I send cut fruits and veggies that are totally ready to eat-- cut strawberries, raspberries, cut kiwi, bites size carrot sticks or green beans, peeled orange slices, cut bell peppers, etc. My goal is to provide zero excuses for why they didn't get eaten.

So I'd either cut them to make them as accessible as possible or skip them altogether, but it would be less about a choking hazard and more about wanting my kid to be able to eat the lunch with minimal effort or thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

+1 I haven't cut a grape since my kid was 2 or 3. This is something else.

[Anonymous]

I posted recently about why so many kids have anxiety these days. This is why. Unless your child has special needs, there is no need to cut their food for them at this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted recently about why so many kids have anxiety these days. This is why. Unless your child has special needs, there is no need to cut their food for them at this age.

Nope, this is not why.

[Anonymous]

Remember to cut them into quarters. In halves, the circumference is still enough to block an airway.

[Anonymous]

I don’t cut them at home but I also don’t pack them for the car or for school lunch because I can’t supervise. There was a 7 year old that died choking on a grape in my hometown, haven’t really gotten over that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted recently about why so many kids have anxiety these days. This is why. Unless your child has special needs, there is no need to cut their food for them at this age.

Nope, this is not why.

You don't think the message that "Food can kill you" would make kids anxious? I do.

[Anonymous]

I am adult and I cut my own grapes, I even cut them for my spouse when I make us bowls of fruit salad. What is so odd about cut grapes? Do some of you people not cut and pit your cherries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am adult and I cut my own grapes, I even cut them for my spouse when I make us bowls of fruit salad. What is so odd about cut grapes? Do some of you people not cut and pit your cherries?

Nope. I bite the cherry and throw away the pit and stem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted recently about why so many kids have anxiety these days. This is why. Unless your child has special needs, there is no need to cut their food for them at this age.

Well my kid does have special needs so I keep that grape slicer cranking.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think I cut grapes past 3

[Anonymous]

My kid wouldn’t eat them if they were cut because he didn’t like to touch the inside. Lol. So I also stopped at 3. And it was a very newly 3 …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am adult and I cut my own grapes, I even cut them for my spouse when I make us bowls of fruit salad. What is so odd about cut grapes? Do some of you people not cut and pit your cherries?

But grapes don't HAVE a pit. And no, I don't cut my cherries. I eat them and spit out the pits into a separate bowl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted recently about why so many kids have anxiety these days. This is why. Unless your child has special needs, there is no need to cut their food for them at this age.

Nope, this is not why.

You don't think the message that "Food can kill you" would make kids anxious? I do.

I think the message is "Here is some cut up fruit for you. Enjoy your lunch!"