Choking risk, whole grapes for young children. When is it safe to not cut them up?

[Meglet]

My dc's are 3.7 and 22mo. If they have grapes I cut them in half as I was under the impression whole grapes are a choking risk?

But my step-mum gives them whole grapes, which made me a bit . Then one day she said she was giving them frozen whole grapes to cool them down in the hot weather and I was . She doesn't have her own kids BTW, she's generally quite sensible.

Am I being neurotic (me, never ) or are whole grapes better for when they are a little older, or at least until little DD is bigger.

A good day. Our son spent a lot of the morning sleeping, ate a good lunch followed by some ice cream and then watched Peppa Pig and Shaun The Sheep for about three hours. He's slow to react to stimuli but his cognitive abilities seem to be good, all things considered. The thing that is noticeable is that he is not using his hands accurately and he has difficulty standing although, since he's on a bed, maybe that's not entirely a fair test. We have high hopes that they will let him come home as soon as the danger of pneumonia decreases. Until then, we celebrate every little improvement and thank everyone for their kind regards.

My dd is ten and embarrassed because I still cut her grapes up but I have no intention of stopping. Also cut them into two or four for my 6 year old and Nine month old.

I hope your ds makes a full recovery

When I was little, grapes were for adults, not for children. Perhaps not the answer you wanted, but it solves the problem.

My heart goes out to you OldDad and I hope your ds gets well soon. Thanks to mn I have been very careful with grapes ever since the dcs were little but perhaps you reviving this thread will help prevent other children choking on grapes.

The other huge choking hazard is deflated balloons which are involved in half of fatal choking incidents in children under 10.

Oh Olddad, your poor little boy.

You are great to post to warn others, mumsnet should really do a campaign or something on this as it's such a danger which people don't realise.

Hope your wee chap makes a good recovery. X

My two year old has been eating whole grapes for a couple of months now. That changes from now thanks tothis tthread. I really hope your little boy continues to make a good recovery OldDad

Yes, it is only thanks to mumsnet that I learned the danger with grapes is that the skins are very sticky, that combined with the shape of them can be fatal. Hence, it doesn't really matter which way you cut them as long as you cut them!

I've been lazy about cutting up grapes for quite a while since 2.8yo DS copes very well with them. I'd assumed that the danger had passed but I'll be cutting or tearing them up obsessively from now on after reading this thread. I had no idea they were so dangerous, even to school-age children! I think I'll be cutting them up until they're leaving home after reading your heartwrenching stories. Thank you for reviving this thread!

Hope your DS is better soon OldDad

I'm pretty laid back as a mum, but always cut grapes lengthways. I have friends who don't and it makes me cringe when I see their DC's eating whole grapes. DD is almost 3 but I can't see me allowing whole grapes for some time.

Mine are 9,7 and 3. As I cut up the grapes for my little one, I still cut up grapes for the big ones as well. It gives me peace of mind to be honest especially as it can get quite noisy at our table with everyone chatting at once and wriggling around on their chairs, despite my nagging.

And listening to stories of friends of friends over the years, I've been aware of children dying from either choking or drowning. Hence those are MY two paranoia's.

I cut up grapes for my 8yo. Otherwise I'm not pfb but I can't bring myself to stop. I will do so at secondary :)

Hope that your DS is improving day by day OldDad and that you will soon be able to have him back home.

A tribute to the fantastic resilience of the (young) human body!

Our son seems to be 90% recovered today although keeping the complication of pneumonia at bay is still at the forefront of the doctor's mind and he is given medication via an IV twice daily. So far, his cognitive abilities seem to be as before and some awkwardness with his hands and less than perfect balance are the only noticeable after effects - I'd never have believed that just 5 days ago we almost lost him forever. What started out as the worst week of our lives is now to some extent tempered by some of our most joyous moments as we witnessed his recovery thus far.

I wouldn't wish to tempt fate by saying it's all over, but the outlook is better than we could have ever expected at this point. I'm going to suspend the daily updates unless there is anything major to report and, once again, thank all those who have followed his story and spared him their thoughts.

I cut them until dd was 4. She's 5 and I still remind her to bite straight into them. I a, always horrified when I see bowls of whole grapes at pre school aged kids parties.