Part of our Baby Nutrition series, Unii has top tips for avoiding choking hazards while weaning.

Choking is a natural worry for parents of babies, especially those who are weaning children for the first time. As we’ve discussed elsewhere in this series, young babies attempting to put food in their mouths is a behavioural sign of readiness to begin complementary feeding. The recommended age to begin this is around six months, when babies are still at a higher risk of choking due to their smaller airways and less developed chewing and swallowing skills. Here are some tips for avoiding choking hazards and keeping your baby safe while exposing them to your family’s favourite dishes.

Let their age guide the menu.

Choose age-appropriate foods when you begin weaning. Think of things that would be extremely gentle on your teeth or require no chewing at all, like purees and soft, mashed foods that are easy to swallow (even to gulp) and digest. Remember that foods that are bland and tasteless to you will be brand new and exciting for your baby’s fresh palette. As your baby grows and develops, you can slowly introduce the more complex textures and flavours you love.

Avoid foods that are difficult to chew or swallow, particularly whole nuts, seeds, popcorn, and raw vegetables. Don’t offer whole grapes; slice them into quarters.

You should not expect a baby to swallow spoonfuls of anything you’d spread on toast, so take care with foods that are sticky or gooey, such as peanut butter or jam, as they can be difficult for young babies to swallow. As we’ve mentioned in other articles, honey is unsafe for children under a year old because it can contain bacteria that may cause infant botulism. There aren’t botulism spores in every jar, but refraining from giving any honey to toddlers is a known prevention method for infant botulism. Butter, while safe to introduce for six months, is a dairy product, and dairy is a common allergen, so similar care needs to be taken with this as with the other allergens mentioned previously in this series.

Cut food into small, bite-sized morsels.

Cut food into bite-size pieces that are easy to chew, swallow, and digest. Babies aged six to twelve months should eat purees, mashes, and similarly prepared foods.

Supervise your baby at every meal.

Your baby needs to be watched over while eating. Stay nearby while your baby has a meal or snack, and monitor them to make sure they are not choking or experiencing any difficulties.

Avoid distractions at meals.

You hopefully have a ‘no screen’ rule for family mealtimes anyway, but these should be special times for focus and calm for your baby while they are weaning. Make sure they’re kept away from other electronic devices and any toys that may distract them (and you!), as this can help you concentrate on developing their social skills at the table as well as fostering safe eating habits.

Learn paediatric first aid.

We here at Unii strongly recommend that parents learn paediatric first aid skills, especially infant CPR. This can help you or your partner respond quickly and effectively if your child begins choking.

Which foods are potential choking hazards to my weaning baby?