To think this is WAY over the top

[CalypsoNow]

Newsletter from school:
Please can you ensure that grapes and cherry tomatoes are cut in half in packed lunches as they are a choke hazard.

Serioulsy, serioulsy, cherry tomatoes and grapes a hazard for Y5 and Y6? Even for R and Y1?
I mean yes for a toddler, I can understand but we are talking about all primary school children up to Y6. Some of these children will be 11yo....
Do they really need mummy and daddy to cut their grapes in half

Is it a standard letter sent out to all years? I can sort of understand it for 4 or 5yos. It's a small risk but worth the extra few seconds if it saves a life.

I bet they don't with the school dinners/puddings

I think a six year old died a few months ago from choking on a grape whilst running around the playground.

I am not the person to ask about this as I am paranoid about choking. I wonder if the school had a close call recently and this letter is the result? I don't think it is something most schools would ask for.

Yep we are talking about a letter sent to everyone in the school.

And tbh we are talking about packed lunches there. Something that children do NOT share.
So if a parent think it's dangerous for their dc, then surely they should cut them in half. If a parent think their dc copes very well indeed with eating a grape, then they should also be left alone. No?

Well I thought that packed lunches was eaten in the school hall only, with children sitting down?

Is this the same school that banned triangula flap jacks but squares are ok even though they can be broken into two triangles

lol they aren't... Normally quite reasonable tbh...

My two year old can cope with grapes if he is sitting down, he isn't allowed to eat anything running around, surely that would be a better rule to enforce?

I can't see anyone actually cutting tomatoes in half for their 10 yr olds tbh. What about mini scotch eggs and cocktail sausages. Or even normal sausages or meat balls etc

but surely if you cut tomatoes in half all the insides fall out not that's relevant

anything is a choking hazard if children, or adults for that matter, are running around while eating it.

Silly rule,
My dd10 doesn't need food cutting in half.

Another one for the 'letter? oh I expect DD left it in here draw again, heap'

Well, DD2 did leave most letters in her draw for weeks.

Whole grapes are only a choke risk for babies and very young toddlers. By the time they have all their teeth they should know and be able to chew food before swallowing. They should also know and be able to stay seated while eating and the school should enforce that if they don't want kids choking.

For those who haven't been taught to eat properly, they could have lessons on chewing before swallowing for their benefit. Those kids are doomed for a darwin award if they can't even eat a grape without killing themselves.

A 6yo died recently near us at an after school club through chocking on a grape.
At our school the children must remain seated until they have eaten all their grapes or tomatoes, just to be on the safe side.

I think it's over reaction and not properly investigating the reason for the choking.
A child running around whilst eating grapes isn't the same thing than a child sitting down and eating their lunch.
Of course if there is no grapes or if all of them are cut in half, you might solve the problem of someone choking whilst eating grapes. Except the problem isn't that. It's children running around with food in their mouth.

So so stupid but I bet a lot of parents will just accept it and cut the grapes and tomatoes in half whilst moaning about how stupid it is.
Very tempted to have a word with the HT about it.

having had a near miss with a cherry tomato i think the school is sensible.

I always cut grapes I in half for my three (2, 4 and 6), have heard horror stories from friends so am happy to do it. But I won't stop the older ones eating whole ones elsewhere and the smallest one has been known to help herself from the fridge.

It's not just that they can choke on them, they are the perfect shape to get lodged and completely block off a child's airway if they are inhaled.

At some point though you have to eat them whole.

bloody hell
we have whole grapes at toddler group and no one has ever had theirs chopped.
the key is sit down to eat!

I have always given DS his grapes cut in half since I was advised by a first aid officer at his baby group that grapes were a specific choking hazard due to the texture making it impossible to dislodge or 'slide' down if it gets stuck. I'm a bit anxious about choking anyway, so will probably carry on chopping them, even though he is now 5!

It's obviously well meaning, but it is way over the top except for very young ones.

You can always find more risks. We could probably make it safer if we passed a law that people under 18 had to have all their food liquidised, but it would be wrong.

I could understand it better if it were a parent saying it about their own child. I understand you carrying on cutting them up, basgetti. It's perfectly natural to be a bit anxious about your own child's safety. It's the nature of being a parent. The school though should be the source of calmer, more practical advice.