Not cutting up DS’ grapes?

[moryn]

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?

Jesus Christ…

Distracted? Bloody hell. I despair

It takes such a short amount of time to do, just do it. Am sure your child won’t choke but who knows?
All these people saying it’s pathetic, how so? They’re the perfect shape and size to get stuck in a child’s wind pipe.

Wow do they not have teeth?

Small child yes but people saying adults can choke if they are distracted.

Why buy grapes at all if they are so evil? 🤣🤣

I looked after a little boy who choked on a grape, and had his life support turned off a few days later. I will never forget his face, or the faces of his devastated family.

People can scoff at me all they like, no fucks given, but any grapes served in my house are cut up. Not because I can’t trust my children to sit nicely and behave, not because they haven’t been taught to chew properly, but because absolutely anybody can choke on anything, and if that thing happens to be a whole grape than the outcome has a high chance of being catastrophic. I cut up my own grapes and will continue to cut up my children’s grapes. Those that think it’s ridiculous are clearly lucky enough not to have experienced what I and many others have. I doubt very much you will find a medical professional with experience of choking who will agree with you.

I am an ex AE nurse and grapes were my biggest fear with my children and now grandchildren. I also choked on a grape aged 23 and my work colleagues had to do the chest thrust on me ! Grapes are never given to any children on my watch .
Iam generally a very relaxed person but grapes are a massive no !

This 👆👆👆👆👆👆

So every child who has ever choked on a grape doesn't know how to bite? They've just gummed their food from birth and/or eaten every single piece of food in one go? Nonsense.

I hope you never experience the horror of dealing with someone who has choked …

Apparently adults can get so distracted by eating them that they choke too 🙄🙄

Anyone can choke. But we can take measures to reduce that risk. We tend to reduce risk more for children who act first and think later.

Why are you all buying grapes in the first place if they are so lethal? What if a passing child takes a grape from the fruit bowl without alerting a responsible adult?

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.

This thread is wild! Someone explain to me what the down side is of cutting a fucking grape in half?? Do we think our children won’t be able to grow to be responsible and resilient adults because they didn’t eat whole grapes?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

I choked on my food once, as an adult. I sneezed whilst eating and involuntarily inhaled the piece of meat I had been chewing. I truly felt like I was going to die until DP managed to slap it out of me.

It’s that easy to choke, even as an adult with a full set of teeth who knows how to chew and swallow food.

But this isn’t about choking in general. It’s about being terrified of grapes and yet still buying them. It’s about cutting them up for grown arse adults.

Agree,it’s crazy isn’t it ! Obviously there are some people who are very ignorant or they are too ‘cool’ to spend seconds cutting grapes up !

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

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

So did I!

Right, and if a child sneezed whilst eating a whole grape, the exact same thing could happen to them. The difference is that the grape would stay lodged and the child would probably die because it is almost impossible to remove a stuck grape from a child’s airway due to the size, shape and texture.

Even the most perfectly-behaved children sneeze.

I wonder if Roman children choked on grapes? Anyone know?

You choked on meat - so would you chop that meat into tiny tiny pieces in future)

13?!!!

Nobody is terrified of grapes. Theres no anxiety here, anymore than I wouldn’t feel anxious about putting my seatbelt on in the car. It’s just something you do because there is literally no downside to it but on the small, tiny chance it goes down the wrong way it could mean the difference between life and death.
Anyone ever made you laugh really hard while you’re chewing your food? Have you ever had a rogue hiccup while eating or sneeze? All other food, if it goes down the wrong way it’s likely you can bring it back out again but not a grape. Nobody here is suggesting cutting up all food in to tiny bite sized pieces. Just half the bloody grapes! Many medical professionals on this thread have said the same!