What age did you stop cutting cherry toms and grapes up for your children?

[albatros]

I still do it for my dd's 3 & 5 am I being to cautious with dd1?

On a long boring journey to cornwall last saturday I became an object of ridicule when I choked on a grape.
So now I've started cutting them up again for ds (3), who has never, thankfully, had any problems with them. It's just his mother who can't chew.

rabbitrabbit ... hope cornwall was better than the journey!

interesting stuff 'cjinsussex', starting to wonder whether I should do some first aid classes as I would not have a clue how to cope in that situation!

I've basically had to wean myself off the long-ingrained habit of cutting them up for dd over the past year (well she's only 9 )

I'm a doc and totally paroniod re;choking. DS (2.5) although has grapes cherry toms etc cut up has started putting conkers in his mouth to wind me up ! also kiddie came in to A&E with a choking episode on a Hula Hoop she was 5 ! Just think you can't win maybe most important teach kids to chew and not to run about with food in their mouths.,also if i could stop DS from putting conkers in his mouth would be good.

ds 16mo and i halve grapes. probably will continue to do so for some time. was advised to do so at a first aid for children course.

Easy for me as ds1 and 2 hate grapes and tomatoes. Happy with most other fruit and veg but not those two (unless it's cooked tomato).

I cut grapes and tomatoes for dd (2.4), and when I go to a friends house and see grapes on the side (uncut and within reach of dd and co) I do kindly ask for them to be moved out of reach (or cut - if they are to be eaten etc, which I will helpfully do myself). I don't care if I sound paranoid, it's my prerogative.

I nearly choked on a malteser when I was about 13 (was lying on my back at school, friend dropped one into my open mouth and it went straight down and stuck ) so like with rabbitrabbit's grape it's not about size.

I would definitely keep cutting them up pre-school.

Choking is the 3rd biggest cause of death in children under 5. I'm carrying on cutting grapes until DD is 5 even if I do look over-protective.

She is also regularly lectured about not putting things in her mouth (coins are the biggest killer apparently).

From the safekids website:

• Nearly 5000 children in the UK are taken to hospital every year after choking, over half the children treated are under five years old and most of these accidents occur at home.

• Toys account for only a small proportion of choking cases - Non-food choking accidents are most often caused by coins in children age 3 and under.

• Almost half of all choking accidents in young children involve food - sweets and fishbones are the most common causes.

• Asphyxia (choking, strangulation and suffocation) is the third most common cause of death in UK children.

• Reconstituted meat such as hotdogs or burgers can be difficult for young children to swallow.

• Raw vegetables can be a choking hazard, so cutting them into small strips is always a good policy.

• Fruits with skins such as grapes, plums and apples be difficult for babies and toddlers to chew, cut them into small pieces and consider peeling them.

• Chewing gum don't give this to children.

• Sweets such as hard or chewy toffee and boiled sweets are a definite no-go area for children under five and should be avoided by older children too - they're bad for the teeth anyway.

• Fishbones - ask your fishmonger, most supermarkets have their own, to fillet the fish and tell them it's for a child. Check ready packaged fish for bones before and after cooking and ask older children to be on the alert while eating fish.

Non-food

• Any small objects such as coins, which are the most common cause of choking in the under fives, toy parts, marbles, pen tops etc, can become lodged in a child's throat so keep them out of reach.
• Deflated or uninflated balloons can take the shape of a child's windpipe or airway, so supervise children closely.
• Other substances such as plastic wrappings may also pose a hazard.

I don't think I ever cut grapes up... never crossed my mind to do it tbh. Mine are both teens now, so it's a long time ago, but I remember DD throwing up black grapes in her cot (ate too many), so she must have been pretty young.

Mind you, I never bothered with stairgates and cooker guards either. Just told em 'cooker is dangerous so don't touch and, if you do, don't say I didn't warn you'. Stairgates were not needed as I taught them to go up and down as soon as they could physically manage it.

Custado school of thought here

My dd has been having grapes n tomatoes since 6months old and i have never cut them up

I still cut grapes in half for ds (22 months old) and will continue to do so until he starts school . I think I am pretty laid back about choking (ds did a lot of gagging in the early days and I wasn't too worried) but too many children (usually toddlers rather than babies) die from choking so grapes/cherries/cherry tomatoes etc will be cut up for him for a long time yet.

I also worry when ds laughs too much with a mouth full of food as this is classic choking territory.