{"id":4369,"date":"2019-04-18T11:44:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T11:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dechoker.com\/uncategorized\/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-choking-prevention\/"},"modified":"2019-04-18T11:44:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T11:44:00","slug":"how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-choking-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dechoker.com\/uk\/news\/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-choking-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Talk to Your Kids about Choking Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

No family wants to think about the risk of a child choking, but that risk is unfortunately persistent.\u00a0About every five days<\/a> in the U.S. alone, a child dies from choking. We believe that the best way to cut that risk is to prepare for it.<\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019ll discuss strategies for getting your whole family involved to learn to prevent choking and what to do if an emergency does occur.<\/p>\n

Start the Conversation:\u00a0What Is Choking?<\/h2>\n

Talking to children about emergencies such as choking can be tricky, because we want them to understand the seriousness of the situation, but we don\u2019t want to scare them. As for so many things in life, we believe when it comes to choking, honesty is the best policy.<\/p>\n

Start your conversation with your kids simply, by asking them if they know what choking is. Work from that starting point, depending on how they answer and how old they are. The most important concept they need to understand is that the things we put in our mouths can sometimes get stuck, and that can be very dangerous.<\/p>\n

If you think it\u2019s appropriate, you may ask your kids to take a few deep breaths or to hold their breath for a moment. Point out how they can\u2019t hold their breath for long, because breathing is very important, and our bodies need to keep breathing. Then ask them to try to swallow and to notice how that feels. Do they feel it in their throats? Explain that when someone chokes on a piece of food or another object, it gets stuck there, in the throat, which is also where we breathe. \u201cIf you couldn\u2019t take a breath, that wouldn\u2019t feel good, would it?\u201d<\/p>\n

These concepts may seem rudimentary, but we believe it\u2019s important for kids to understand what choking is so they will feel motivated to prevent it.<\/p>\n

The Next Steps: Preventing Choking Together<\/h2>\n

Once your kids understand what choking is and why it\u2019s dangerous, you should work together as a family team to prevent it. Talk about the kinds of things kids can choke on, such as toys and other small household hazards. Instead of just saying, \u201cdon\u2019t put that in your mouth,\u201d try adding, \u201cthat might cause choking. Remember what we learned about choking?\u201d Get older siblings involved by teaching them why it\u2019s so important to pick up little toys.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also very important to talk about\u00a0foods that cause choking<\/a>, which are more of a risk than household objects. Work on developing good eating habits and explain them to kids using the following phrases, tying each back to what you learned together about choking:<\/p>\n