How can I help prevent my baby choking?

To reduce your baby's risk of choking:

• Always make sure babies and toddlers are sitting when they eat and that an adult is with them while they are eating and drinking.
• Offer food that matches their chewing and grinding ability.

Be aware of (or avoid) foods that are more likely to cause choking – here's a list of examples of foods to best avoid:

• Small hard foods that are difficult for children to bite or chew (eg, nuts, large seeds, unpopped popcorn, raw pieces of apple, carrot or celery).
• Small round foods that can get stuck in children’s throats (eg, grapes, berries, raisins/sultanas, peas, watermelon seeds, lollies).
• Foods with skins or leaves that are difficult to chew (eg, sausages, chicken with skin on, unchopped lettuce, nectarines).
• Compressible food (or food that can squash into the shape of the child’s throat and get stuck there). This includes hot dogs, sausages, pieces of cooked meat, and popcorn.
• Thick pastes that can get stuck in children’s throats (eg, chocolate spreads, peanut butter).
• Fibrous or stringy foods that are difficult for children to chew (eg, celery, raw pineapple).

To reduce the risk of choking on these foods, you can:

• Change the food texture – grate, cook, finely chop or mash the food.
• Remove the harmful or risky parts of the food. Peel the skin or remove the strong fibres.
• Avoid giving small hard foods such as whole nuts or large seeds (such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds) until children are at least 5 years old.