Moms of young children are often terrified of choking -- and with good reason. It's one of the scariest and yet most realistic ways a parent could lose a child. But usually, by the age of 8, most parents think that fear has passed.
Now, a story out of Pennsylvania should have us all rethinking that confidence. Eight-year-old Aizeya Mattocks died on Tuesday after choking on a hot dog at school. As a parent, my heart goes out to her family in every way. But I am also terrified.
As a mom of a 5-year-old and a 3.5-year-old, I am well-versed in choking hazards. I don't ever feed my children (tofu) hot dogs without cutting them in half length wise and then slicing them to minimize choking risk. The same goes for carrots and just about any other food (like grapes) that feels scary to me. But I have become more lax with my older child. This adds a whole different layer of fear.
My number one fear with my kids, next to drowning, is choking. The idea that my child could eat something in front of me and get it lodged in her throat, and that somehow I might be powerless to save him or her.
But like SIDS and baby-proofing, I thought this kind of fear should start to dissipate as my kids get older. Now I am less sure. Obviously, I know this was a fluke. But if this could happen to one little girl, it could happen to another. And another. And another.
Sadly, this is the risk we run as parents. My daughter right now has never had a tofu hot dog that wasn't cut into pieces. In fact when her school served turkey dogs recently, she didn't even know what it was.
"I have never seen a whole one," she said. I laughed, but she is right. I have been cutting them for her since she was little and I will continue to do so. By the age of 8, I would assume we will have moved on, though. The fact is, one news story does not make a trend.
This story is tragic and moving and I feel for these parents more than I can even explain. But it isn't an example of a reason we need to make any changes. It's just a tragic and terrifying fluke. It could have happened to anyone, anywhere. Even an adult.
Does this story make you want to make any changes?
Image via dinnercraft/Flickr
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Comments 17
When I started school up to 5th grade they had an adult sit at every table. Do they still do that?
Someone knowing the heimlich manuver (even kids can do it) could have prevented this problem. This isn't a food issue as much as adults being unprepared for an emergency. Terrible fluke accident, but it was an isolated incident and shouldn't cause a frenzy.
Someone knowing the heimlich manuver (even kids can do it) could have prevented this problem. This isn't a food issue as much as adults being unprepared for an emergency. Terrible fluke accident, but it was an isolated incident and shouldn't cause a frenzy.
There was one story I heard as a child that stuck with me in my parenting years and that was about a balloon. My mother witnessed a friend choke to death on an uninflated balloon, which is one of those objects that usually cannot be expelled with the heimlich. Since hearing that, I'm scared to death of them and have never allowed either of my children to have them. But I digress, maybe the moral of the article is that lunchroom monitors should be required to be certified in CPR. It doesn't take much time or money especially if the school nurse is certified to teach the course.
It is so scary to think about. I always cut my 2 year olds hot dogs and grapes. I'm very paranoid about this. My 7 year old almost choked on a piece of bacon not too long ago. My heart froze.