Choking Hazard: What is a choking hazard?

A choking hazard is any object or food that is the right size and shape to block a child’s airway and make breathing difficult or impossible. Parents should remove any items within their baby’s reach that are small and round or disc-shaped such as a penny, or circular objects such as gumballs, marbles, grapes, etc. 
Choking can occur at any age, but a baby’s risk of choking increases when they become mobile (rolling, crawling, walking) and are eating solid foods. The food you offer your baby and how you prepare and serve that food matters.

CHOKING HAZARDS: NOT SAFE FOR 0 TO 3 YEARS MUST BE 4+ YEARS

ITEMS IN BOLD with * - see tips below for a way to serve this food safely

All other foods are unsafe until age 4 regardless of preparation

• Hard candy

• Gum

• Sticky candy

• Marshmallow

• Whole seeds

• Whole nuts

• Chopped nuts

• Spoonfuls of any peanut butter or nut butter 

• thickly spread peanut butter or nut butter*

• Bread with seeds

• Hard fruits and veggies* (apples, pears, carrots, celery, etc.)

• marble-sized fruits and veggies* (grapes, cherries, olives, etc.)

• Tortilla chips

• Potato chips

• Other hard chips

• Large chunks of cheese*

• Whole string cheese*

• Hard cheese* (parmesan)

• large or tough pieces of meat*

• Bones in fish or meat

• Hotdogs*
  

Note: This is not an exhaustive list, and any foods of similar size, shape, hardness, etc...…should be treated as choking hazards.