AN EX-PARAMEDIC has issued a stark warning about five foods she’d never advise giving to kids under five.
Nikki Jurcutz, a parent educator behind Tiny Hearts, has urged parents to never give young kids several popular sweet treats because they can pose a serious choking hazard.
Nikki Jurcutz shared five foods she’d never advise giving to kids under five[/caption]
The ex paramedic noted that parents should steer clear of chewing gum and popcorn[/caption]
In a clip shared to TikTok (@tinyheartseducation), she begins: “As a former paramedic, these are food I won’t give my kids under 5.”
First on the list are much-loved sweets including Skittles and lollipops.
In a previous video, the former paramedic explained: “Sweets are the cause of nearly 30% of food related choking for children under 14.
“What makes sweets such a high risk choking food?
“Sweets that are round is the perfect shape for creating an effective plug for blocking a child’s airway.
“When hard sweets are put in the mouth, they can become slippery and can “slip” into a child’s airway if they aren’t careful.”
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She added: “Lollipops are essentially hard candies on a stick.
“They are round and slippery, if they break off from the stick they could put your child at risk of choking.”
Nikki goes onto say that parents should also never give their children under 5 popcorn, nuts or chewing gum.
And last but not least, she also warns that marshmallows could be a dangerous choking hazard.
In a previous video, she explained: “When they’re wet, they become more sticky and more difficult to swallow.
“And can be more difficult to remove from the airway.
“You can modify marshmallows to make them safer by cutting them into smaller pieces or swap out for mini marshmallows instead.
“Modifying foods is a great way to make foods safer for your little one.”
Alongside the post, she penned: “During my time as a paramedic, I went to far more choking cases than I would have liked.
“Many of these were little ones no older than 3 or 4.
“Not all foods are the same.
“Some foods because of their shape, texture and size make them a higher choking + aspiration risk than others, which is why…”
Nikki added: “This is on my list of foods that I won’t be giving to my kids until they’re over 5, when they have their full set of teeth and are developmentally able to chew and swallow these foods.”
September 09, 2023 at 01:32PM
from The Sun