Page 4 | Not cutting up DS’ grapes?

moryn · 2026-04-14T15:18:49+00:00

I was approached by a member of staff at pick up today, to tell me that the kitchen staff expressed concerns that DS’ grapes were whole and not cut up. He’s 7.5. He chews properly, sits still to eat etc. I was under the impression that the guidance is for children aged 5 and below. AIBU here?

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 14/04/2026 21:58

I think it would be safer to do this at nursery as they watch the kids so closely and are first aid trained than at 7. I always cut my 3 yo up if I give him a bowl but I’m also teaching him to practice biting if he has a whole one (when I watch him like a halk) so if he gets round good like that without me there I really hope he will remember to bite into it

Nottodaythankyou123 · 14/04/2026 21:58

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:41

Everyone saying it’s the size/texture that’s the issue - surely a good reason not to buy them!

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They’re delicious why wouldn’t you want them?! My kids would take a bowl of grapes and strawberries over sweets (weird as it sounds, if I hadn’t birthed them I’d wonder how were related!!) - cutting them in half is such a non event; it’s probably taken me longer to write this post than to just chop a couple of grapes in half (and if you want to be really scandalised by my commitment to following medical guidance I used to quarter them until they were about 3!)

Arlanymor · 14/04/2026 21:57

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:56

Ah now don’t knock it til you have tried it 🤣🤣

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It would dull the blades of my food processor and it cost some money!

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:57

Arlanymor · 14/04/2026 21:55

I wouldn't advocate liquidising children.

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Best comment ever.

If you liquidise your children they can’t choke.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:56

Arlanymor · 14/04/2026 21:55

I wouldn't advocate liquidising children.

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Ah now don’t knock it til you have tried it 🤣🤣

Arlanymor · 14/04/2026 21:55

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:55

Just liquidise them and remove the risk

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I wouldn't advocate liquidising children.

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:55

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:41

Everyone saying it’s the size/texture that’s the issue - surely a good reason not to buy them!

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The size, aye. When you cut them in half… you halve the size.

Nottodaythankyou123 · 14/04/2026 21:55

RawBloomers · 14/04/2026 21:26

Two reasons:

Making everyday things less convenient makes them less likely to be indulged in. It doesn't take 30 seconds to cut up grapes. It takes a few minutes if you are in your kitchen. And possibly a lot longer if you're out and about. You can't just bung cut up grapes in with other foods as they're wet and will squash more once cut so they need their own container. It increases faff and puts people off getting them at all.

And increasing anxiety over everyday things that are really not particularly dangerous is bad for mental health and puts people off doing all sorts of related things. For a small but significant group messages like this (not just grapes but general messaging about how dangerous foods can be) makes them wonder what else they're supposed to be cutting up/washing/chilling/etc. and pushes them towards UPFs and fewer fruits and vegetables.

We have both an obesity crisis and a mental health crisis and this sort of messaging over something that isn't actual a big risk is a part of creating and maintaining that.

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I have genuinely never taken more than a minute to cut grapes up and I’ve never had the soggy issue? If we’re out and about they don’t tend to have grapes anyway.

I entirely disagree with the second part, that’s an almost ridiculous leap. It doesn’t increase anxiety around food - it’s just one particular food that is a notorious choking issue that can very easily be resolved. I’ve never met anyone who feeds their child solely UPFs because they were told to cut some grapes up, but I have met someone whose child died in those circumstances. It happens, and it’s a risk you can almost entirely mitigate.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:55

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:42

My child is 15 months old so it’s irrelevant as I will be cutting his grapes for as long as I see fit. I also cut them into quarters

If you’re too lazy to spend a few seconds cutting grapes, that’s fine, but you don’t get to mock or belittle other parents for making the tiniest effort to keep their own children a little bit safer.

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Just liquidise them and remove the risk

canuckup · 14/04/2026 21:54

DD is 9, DS is 12

I do not send the kids into school with grapes, because I know the lunchroom is rock n roll and I bet they don't even stay sitting down to eat

Not worth it IMHO

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:42

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:39

So again, why risk giving them to your child in the first place

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My child is 15 months old so it’s irrelevant as I will be cutting his grapes for as long as I see fit. I also cut them into quarters

If you’re too lazy to spend a few seconds cutting grapes, that’s fine, but you don’t get to mock or belittle other parents for making the tiniest effort to keep their own children a little bit safer.

ShouldIJustKeepQuiet · 14/04/2026 21:42

monicagellerbing · 14/04/2026 16:30

My son is 13 and I’d still cut them 🤣 they are so easy to choke on!

Surely at 13 he can cut his own grapes.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:41

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:40

Because you can eliminate that risk by…. Cutting them in half!

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Everyone saying it’s the size/texture that’s the issue - surely a good reason not to buy them!

CBAwithallthethings · 14/04/2026 21:41

I cut them for my 7 year old. I remember that poor boy who died choking on one in Pizza Hut. They get stuck in the airway, something about the skin making them hard to get out.
I don’t cut them for my older child but I have told her to bite into them straight away.

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:40

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:39

So again, why risk giving them to your child in the first place

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Because you can eliminate that risk by…. Cutting them in half!

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:40

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:39

It’s scary that you have to explain this. Apparently everyone that has ever choked on food hasn’t learned how to eat properly 🤦‍♀️

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Other fruit is available

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:39

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:38

Fuck me.

7 year old child puts whole grape in mouth and hasn’t started to chew it yet. Child sneezes. Fire alarm goes off. Dog barks. Another child runs past and knocks into the grape-eating child’s seat. Any of these things could happen to distract the child, and the grape goes down.

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So again, why risk giving them to your child in the first place

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:39

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:38

Fuck me.

7 year old child puts whole grape in mouth and hasn’t started to chew it yet. Child sneezes. Fire alarm goes off. Dog barks. Another child runs past and knocks into the grape-eating child’s seat. Any of these things could happen to distract the child, and the grape goes down.

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It’s scary that you have to explain this. Apparently everyone that has ever choked on food hasn’t learned how to eat properly 🤦‍♀️

Arlanymor · 14/04/2026 21:38

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 14/04/2026 21:37

Seriously I’m sorry if a child has died from choking on a grape. That’s sad and I’ve honestly never heard of it happening. 😢

This in February, desperately sad: https://www.kbtx.com/2026/03/24/8-year-old-dies-after-choking-grape-school-well-never-forget-about-you/

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:38

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:35

No, I explained how it happened. I was chewing the meat (a perfectly normal-sized piece) and I sneezed before I had finished chewing the meat so it wasn’t ready to swallow at that point.

Not sure if you’re wilfully ignorant or just a bit dense.

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Neither.

You choked on a bit of meat - what does that have to do with scary grapes?

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:38

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 14/04/2026 21:35

I have never heard of cutting up grapes (apart from in recent years), I survived 54 years with uncut grapes.

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I’m pleased for you. Nobody has said that eating whole grapes will DEFINITELY result in death.

WetBandits · 14/04/2026 21:38

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:35

So is there a reason why children can’t bite the grape?

Stop giving them to your children if they can’t eat them.

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Fuck me.

7 year old child puts whole grape in mouth and hasn’t started to chew it yet. Child sneezes. Fire alarm goes off. Dog barks. Another child runs past and knocks into the grape-eating child’s seat. Any of these things could happen to distract the child, and the grape goes down.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 14/04/2026 21:37

Seriously I’m sorry if a child has died from choking on a grape. That’s sad and I’ve honestly never heard of it happening. 😢

TheGreatDownandOut · 14/04/2026 21:36

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:32

Don’t buy them then. Or it’s probably quicker to liquidise them,

OR how about buying fruit that doesn’t cause such anxiety 🙄

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It doesn’t cause anxiety. It’s just one step of prep. The same amount of effort as peeling a fucking banana.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 14/04/2026 21:36

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 14/04/2026 21:35

So is there a reason why children can’t bite the grape?

Stop giving them to your children if they can’t eat them.

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This is why kids have teeth yah?