are 'naners really a choking hazard? whadya' think?

[tzs]

i did blw with dd, she's always gotten bananas whole. i just really wasn't all that concerned. and i'm not totally cavalier about choking, i cut grapes in half, i held off on apples and raw carrots until she was a little older and i knew she'd be ok with them...

but here's the deal, i have a mother of a 2 yo toddler in my class who ate lunch with us the other day and insisted that i not only slice his banana down the middle but also once again to make them into really skinny strips. whatever, she's known to be a little...um...."that way," so i did it. she then told me to cut the rest of the classes' bananas the same way. i pretended not to hear her. they are great eaters. they can handle bananas. my 1 year old can handle bananas. this was a one-time thing so banana protocol will remain as always but it made me wonder if alot of people consider whole bananas dangerous and if so why? yes, they are round but  they are so mushy. or is the mushiness the dangerous part?

[pranava]

My DS has always been HORRIBLE about chewing, and will stuff food in his mouth till his cheeks puff out and his lips won't close - seriously that is not an overexageration.  He has choked on many foods doing this, but never a banana.  At 14 months, if I gave him a whole banana, he would bit off literally a 1/3 of it and managed to mush it up and swallow. 

I understand the mother's concern.  I am paranoid about DS choking at daycare, but that is why daycare providers are certified in CPR and such.  My opinion - you take the necessary precautions, but a kids got to learn to eat.  Bannanas are a good fruit to practice with.

[peainthepod]

I cut 2yo DS's bananas into rounds until a few months ago because he has a tendency to cram huge double fistfuls of food into his mouth at once. Now he gets whole bananas with no problems. I do still cut his meat, grapes, cherry tomatoes, etc. into smaller pieces just in case.

[sapphire_chan]

If there's a kid who does cramming, then, yeah, I'd cut the food up (and only give them a small amount at a time), but for most kids I wouldn't bother cutting up a banana unless there was a fun reason.

And if my own kid was inclined to stuff her mouth full in a dangerous way, I'd start off with trying to walk her through smaller bites, and I'd only go to cutting food if it was clear she just wasn't going to get it. I'd also tell anyone who watched her to keep an eye on food size.

Maybe watch out for the one kid just in case the example of all the other kids doesn't help?

[dejagerw]

I believe bananas are a gagging hazard, not necessarily a choking hazard.  (since you're doing BLW, you can probably appreciate the difference).  There is a risk if you give the baby a whole banana that they'll just shove it in there.  But it's not like a banana can get lodged in their throat (maybe like a hot dog, or nut or grape could).  One time my LO did gag pretty bad on a banana.  He shoved a ton in and started gagging.  I was pretty scared.  He ended up throwing up the banana and a tummy full of milk but he didn't really seem bothered by it.  He went on eating after.  I was very upset after this, and started slicing the banana lengthwise for awhile until I was more confident in his ability not to shove it in as much. 

[MrsBone]

I've been giving DS whole bananas since he was about 16 months. He's never had a problem with them. I also give him whole grapes and nuts. He's good with nuts, he chews them up into a pulp then swallows. I've never seen him try to swallow partially chewed nuts. He does tend to shove food in his mouth, but I make sure I'm watching him when he's eating. I never let him eat unattended, and he's never choked seriously. He's had gagging episodes but nothing serious.

[Marissamom]

I cut DD's bananas into rounds, because she has an easier time getting them into her mouth that way. otherwise she keeps dropping it, and one time she did try to take a bite of a whole banana that was too big for her mouth, but she just spit it back out. 

[shnitzel]

I am an obsessive food cutter upper despite having done BLW because a family friend's son choked on a grape when he was 3 years old and suffered severe brain damage and has been in a vegetative state for 15 years but I never thought of cutting up bananas. DD is a very careful slow and deliberate eater and has a sensitive gag reflex so I only really worry about things that could get easily lodged like grapes and if I ever give her a hot dog.

[LiLStar]

I hold onto the banana myself, and break off smallish pieces and hand him to him as he's ready for them... because I don't like cleaning up vomit! I have a crammer. Its more of a problem with bananas than any other food. Most foods I'll load up his high chair tray and let him go to town. I WISH he'd take reasonable sized bites, and not take the next bite until he's properly swallowed. It would make for such an easy snack/breakfast for him to be able to just hand him one! Stinker. Occasionally I'll get lazy and hold it out for him to take a bite, thinking he can handle it.. NOPE he bites like 3 inches off at once! Stinker.

eta: so gagging/vomiting.. yes.. choking.. not here

[Latte Mama]

Nope, never cut up bananas.  Well I mushed them up of course when DS was a baby but as a toddler he always eats them whole.

[crunchy_mommy]

Wow DS started eating whole bananas at 5mos old (well he grabbed them out of my hand & started gnawing away at that age, despite us trying to hold off on solids). It never even occurred to me to cut or mush them up, but my DS is a great gagger, maybe if I had a kid that didn't gag up difficult foods I might feel differently?

The only things I cut up are small firm round foods like grapes.

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

Wow DS started eating whole bananas at 5mos old (well he grabbed them out of my hand & started gnawing away at that age, despite us trying to hold off on solids). It never even occurred to me to cut or mush them up, but my DS is a great gagger, maybe if I had a kid that didn't gag up difficult foods I might feel differently?

The only things I cut up are small firm round foods like grapes.

Yeah, this... and we give DS1 (2.5) uncut grapes, but monitor him to remind him to bite/chew them right away. If he starts getting silly/wild or doing anything other than putting a grape in his mouth and immediately biting it, then it's bye-bye grapes.

Never occurred to me to do anything special with bananas. Then again, he was always a very productive gagger... even when he went through his cramming stage.

[pumpkin]

I am an obsessive food cutter and I thought nothing of handing a peeled banana to DD at 7 months. At around 15 she started wanting the peel left on. I had to redirect once or twice that the peel was not for chewing, but she handles them like a pro now.

[Chamomile Girl]

Cutting up bananas is not necessary IME.  My kid is one of those who will stuff as much banana into his mouth as he can fit without issues.  He has only ever choked on a couple of things...one was today actually.  He choked on a cheddar bunny.  Whoda thunk?

[AFWife]

I think it depends on the kid. Like some have said, there are kids that are "stuffers" and need the smaller pieces.

My DS did for a bit...now he won't eat banana if it's cut up. I think it's because it gets slippery and he doesn't like getting stuff on his hands. He likes to just have you peel it and then munch on it like an adult would.