Baby Led Weaning Choking Concerns

A common concern when parents start giving their baby solid foods, is the fear of choking. It’s a real worry and can make you scared to start giving your baby finger foods.

A study carried out in 2016 found that there is no greater risk of babies choking if they do baby led weaning compared to babies who start with purees.

That said, all babies should be closely supervised when they start weaning and never left alone while eating, even for a minute.

There are some more guidelines which can help reduce the risk of choking:

Start with Soft Finger Foods

It’s best to start with soft finger foods that can melt in baby’s mouth. This is so that they can mash them with gums.

Peel and chop the fruit and vegetables and cook them until they are soft and chewable.

The softness test

To test it to see if your baby’s food is soft enough, place the food in your mouth and see if you can easily mash it. You can only use your tongue to push the food onto the roof of your mouth (no teeth!).

Avoid Foods that are Choking Hazards for Toddlers and Babies

Never serve foods that are round and could get stuck in your baby’s air pipe.

So avoid foods like whole grapes, whole cherry tomatoes, whole cherries and whole nuts.

Hard foods like raw carrot and apple are also a choking risk. Always peel, chop and cook until soft before serving.

Foods that can swell in the throat after chewing are a relatively new choking risk that we are becoming aware of.

So take care with foods like banana and melon. Make sure you cut them into small pieces before giving them to your baby, so that they don’t have too much of them in their mouth at one time.

Other foods that are best to avoid for small babies and toddlers due to the risk of choking include hot dog sausages, popcorn and marshmallows.