One dad experienced a very scary situation this week–he had to stop his baby from choking. While incredibly common, it’s also incredibly frightening–especially as one child dies every five days from choking in the U.S.
Justin Morrice gave his baby little crunchies snacks that his child ended up choking on. Apparently, the snacks had gone stale, which made them harder to chew. In his now viral post on Facebook (now at 26,000 shares), he wrote:
“After scanning the can my mom found this ‘warning’ in tiny letters on their side to throw contents out after 5 days of breaking the seal. I opened a new container and I could not believe the difference.
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The ones in the can she choked on I can only describe to be like a foam ear plug. I could squish it but it would expand back out and would not break apart. The ones in the new can crumbled with ease.”
Of course, there is a warning on the back of the box of Gerber treats to use them within five days, or if the treats are not stored correctly, they become hard. There are also instructions on the packaging of these foods regarding what stage your child should be before they eat the snacks. That being said, mistakes happen.
The fact that the post is going viral is so significant, because it serves to educate parents as to what not to do–for instance, you should not stick your finger into a child’s mouth or throat, as it can cause the obstruction to move further down the throat.
It also reminds us that choking can happen in a matter of seconds–it doesn’t take negligence for an accident to happen. Morrice was thankfully very lucky, as he was able to get the food from his child’s throat quickly.
At the end of the day, this serves as a guide to parents to check the labels of the snacks we give our kids, too, as Morrice points out: “So again this is just a warning to all parents…read the labels!”
Just in case you want to read more about how to prevent your child from choking, The American Red Cross offers online and in-person training, which you can sign up for here. In addition, Babycenter offers a step-by-step guide for how to handle choking that has been approved by The American Red Cross.
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Joanna Valente is the former Staff Writer at Kveller. Joanna is the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Xenos, and Marys of the Sea, and received an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. You can follow @joannasaid on Twitter and @joannacvalente on Instagram.
