Feeding kids can sometimes feel like a total minefield, given just how many things they can’t eat... and all the things they won’t eat.
Some people like to prefer to keep young children away from too much salt or sugar, while it’s also usually a good idea to chop food up into bite-sized pieces to avoid any choking hazards at meal times.
But there are sometimes hazards that none of us had thought about – and while it’s important not to instil fear among parents, it’s often helpful to raise awareness of unsuspecting dangers.
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That’s exactly what Nikki Jurcutz, CEO of Tiny Hearts Education, aims to do with her company, which provides quality baby, infant and child first aid, CPR and birthing courses to parents around Australia while also sharing helpful information online.
In a recent post, the former paramedic issued a warning about a store cupboard staple that could easily become a choking hazard if not served in the right way – with many others saying in the comments that they’d found out the hard way.
And just so it’s not all doom and gloom, she also suggested a number of ways you can serve it to make it a safer treat.
“Nut butters can plug the airway,” Jurcutz said in the post, which was all about ‘making nut butters safer’.
She continued: “The consistency of nut butters can essentially make it a plug to the airway.
“That’s why prevention and preparation is key for serving nut butters.”
Jurcutz said the reason why nut butters in particular can block the airway is because they're both 'thick' and 'sticky', making it hard to use traditional first aid practices to help.
However, there are a number of things you can do to reduce the risks.
Jurcutz’s top tips for serving nut butters:
- Use smooth peanut butter
- Thin it down with either breastmilk/formula or water
- You can then mix this with other purees or other soft foods
- Or apply a thin layer onto toast
Many people thanked the expert for her advice, with one commenting: “Wow! Thank you for this! My little one and I eat it out the jar but will not be doing that again!!”
Someone else said: “Found my 3yo eating pb from the jar, took it away from him next minute he’s choking and starts to vomit but we couldn’t get his airways clear.
“I ended up having to scoop the back of his throat to which a projectile vomit cleared it.
“Pb is kept far out of reach now!”
A third admitted: “I’m 33 and I still find peanut butter hard to swallow!”
Similarly, a fourth also added: "This actually happened to me… when I was 32! I ate a spoonful of peanut butter straight … ok ate 3 spoonfuls, and on the third I couldn’t swallow!!
"The peanut butter was stuck! I could still breathe but it was really hard and luckily I had just poured a hot tea, and the hot water moved the peanut butter along!"
Topics: Parenting, Health, Food and Drink
Jess Hardiman