Potential choking hazards are lurking just about everywhere you turn, yet most parents give very little thought to choking…until their child actually chokes on something. When this happens, it can be one of the scariest ordeals you’ll ever go through, even if the incident does have a happy ending.

Human anatomy makes us especially susceptible to choking, in that the structure of the esophagus in relation to the windpipe, which aids in things like speech, also makes us more prone to choking on food. Kids are even more susceptible due to their tiny windpipes and the types of behavior they engage in (such as the tendency to put everything in their mouth).

“Most choking happens when kids are up and moving (or having a tantrum, another reason to have pleasant mealtimes),” says Dr. Alan Green. Certain foods like hot dogs and cherries make up a disproportionate number of choking deaths. Kids can also choke on everyday items like toys, coins, and packing peanuts.

*Click this link to learn how to protect your kids from choking hazards

Cases & stories of children choking

Choking on pennies
“We were playing house and I was trying to ‘feed’ my sister, Devon, but the only things around that resembled food were some pennies. Five seconds later, my mom was giving Devon the Heimlich because she choked on one. That was the last time we played house.” -Lauren Adhav (Cosmopolitan, Oct. 2020, p. 6)