🍼 YummyYucky
🔪 How to Cut Food Safely
Most choking risks are about shape, not the food. Fix the shape.
| Food | The risk | Cut it this way |
|---|---|---|
| 🍇 Grapes, cherry tomatoes, large blueberries, cherries | Round and airway-sized | Quarter lengthwise (halve tiny ones). Never serve whole or in circles. |
| 🌭 Sausage, hot dog | Coin shapes plug the airway | Cut into long thin strips lengthwise, never coins. Hot dogs are best skipped for babies. |
| 🍌 Banana, cooked carrot, cucumber | Coins and round chunks | Serve as long sticks or strips, not coins. |
| 🥜 Nut butter | A sticky glob can block the throat | Spread a thin layer on soft food. Never a spoonful or a blob. |
| 🧀 Cheese, meat | Firm chunks | Grate cheese or offer thin soft strips. Finely mince or shred meat and keep it moist. |
| 🍎 Raw hard fruit and veg (apple, carrot) | Hard pieces do not squish | Cook soft until it squishes, or grate it raw. No hard raw chunks. |
📏 Size it by age. Around 6 months, offer soft finger-length strips a baby can palm and gnaw. Around 9 months, once the pincer grasp appears, move to soft pea-sized pieces. Always cook soft enough to squish between your fingers, keep baby seated and upright, and never leave them alone with food.
General information, not medical advice, and not a substitute for an infant CPR and choking class. See the gagging vs choking sheet. In an emergency, call 911.