Choking warning urged for food labels

[Lisa loves Pooh]

While I didn't need a label to know if a food was a choking hazard, and you didn't need a label, that doesn't mean that there aren't parents/babysitters out there who just don't know the choking risks. It doesn't necessarily mean those people are neglectful, or clueless. They are just uninformed.

If labeling hotdogs, popcorn, hard candy and peanuts as "choking hazards" saves just one child's life, then it is worth it, don't you think?

Anything you put in your mouth is a choking hazard.

If it weren't and simply an issue related to age--then older folks would not choke.

While I obviously have not choked to death--I have choked on at least 2 food items. Simply accidents based on what was going on at the time.

Honestly, I think it may negatively impact sales when it isn't necessary to do that. It will now become scary food.

Then later, when the person chokes on an apple--as I have done in my 20s...then what?

 

[luvsJack]

I was a new parent once, I knew not to give my toddler a hotdog. In fact I still cut up my 6 year olds and his grapes too. I didn't need the info printed on a package of hotdogs to figure it out

But, YOU are not raising every child. That is great that you knew that, but not everyone does.

 

[monkeybug]

I was a new parent once, I knew not to give my toddler a hotdog. In fact I still cut up my 6 year olds and his grapes too. I didn't need the info printed on a package of hotdogs to figure it out

You knew, that doesn't mean everyone does!
How did you know? You read it somewhere? Heard it somewhere? Someone told you?
There ARE people who don't know, and they might read it in a parenting magazine, a poster at the dr's office....or a label on a hot dog wrapper while they wait for the microwave timer to go off.
The point is that you knew, because at some point you were educated in some way, shape or form. All a label does is broaden the amount of people exposed to that same education.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...Then later, when the person chokes on an apple--as I have done in my 20s...then what?

It's obvious - we force apple growers to recall their product until they can grow it in a shape that would be impossible to choke on...

 

[marcyinPA]

I do agree about the common sense. At lot of people just don't have it. My favorite warning label comes on strollers. It's something like "Do not fold stroller while child is in it". Wow.

This kind of reminds me of a time we were going through security at the airport (on our way to WDW), and the TSA worker told the people in front of us that the baby car seat had to go through the scanner. Well, they put the car seat on the belt....the TSA worker stopped the belt and told them to take the baby OUT of the car seat...

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

This kind of reminds me of a time we were going through security at the airport (on our way to WDW), and the TSA worker told the people in front of us that the baby car seat had to go through the scanner. Well, they put the car seat on the belt....the TSA worker stopped the belt and told them to take the baby OUT of the car seat...

Is this before or after they handed the baby a whole hot dog to munch on?

 

[monkeybug]

Anything you put in your mouth is a choking hazard.

If it weren't and simply an issue related to age--then older folks would not choke.

While I obviously have not choked to death--I have choked on at least 2 food items. Simply accidents based on what was going on at the time.

Honestly, I think it may negatively impact sales when it isn't necessary to do that. It will now become scary food.

Then later, when the person chokes on an apple--as I have done in my 20s...then what?

But there are certain foods that are more dangerous than others, proven child hood choking hazards because of their shape or texture.
It's kind of like when your pregnant. You can get listeria from all sorts of foods, but Dr.'s don't warn you about every single one, they warn you about the ones most likely to make you or your baby sick.
Pediatricians don't want to label every food that you could ever choke on. They just want to warn parents of the ones that pose the greatest risk in an effort to prevent more choking deaths.
I read that choking is the leading cause of death among children under 14 (in CNN's article about this subject). We warn parents of things that can put our kids at risk for cancer, lead poisoning, injury...why wouldn't we warn them about something that is one of the leading causes of pediatric death?

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...I read that choking is the leading cause of death among children under 14 (in CNN's article about this subject). We warn parents of things that can put our kids at risk for cancer, lead poisoning, injury...why wouldn't we warn them about something that is one of the leading causes of pediatric death?

This is not even close to true: link...

 

[luvmy3]

But, YOU are not raising every child. That is great that you knew that, but not everyone does.

The information is out there for every parent and does not need to be put on a label to be found.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

But if you simply do not know that something IS a danger how can you take responsiblity for it?

If a person is never around younger children, never around babies; how on earth would they know that a food item that is loved the world over, shown on ads being eaten by children can kill that child? There are many things that are thought to be common knowledge that really are not.

That's silly.

Anything you put in your mouth is a choking hazard.

Unless this woman birthed in the bushes as a nomad and had no prenatal or postnatal care and her child NEVER saw a pediatrician--there simply isn't an excuse.

 

[monkeybug]

It's obvious - we force apple growers to recall their product until they can grow it in a shape that would be impossible to choke on...

Maybe we shouldn't post signs on beaches warning people of sneaker waves? (common sense to me), or warning labels in parks about leaving food in cars or tents? (also common sense) Maybe we don't need to warn people about eating too much fish that is known to be high in mercury? Or take the warning off honey that tells you not to give it to infants?
I guess if things are natural, it's OK to let people die, even if something as simple as a warning could have saved them. Yet we haven't forced the ocean to recall the waves, or the bears to be to hibernate year round, or the fisherman to put the fish back in the sea, or the bee keepers to just sell the bees and not the dangerous honey.

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

This is a comment on the article from a poster on CNN.com. I did not write this, but it sums up my feelings quite well, particularly what I have bolded.

"Blame isn't the issue. Accidents can (and will) happen regardless of how closely you watch children or how much you try and educate them not to do things that can hurt them. The people citing Darwin and doing name-calling are ignorant in that respect.

Getting back to the article, the implication that warning labels will solve these problems is also ignorant. No matter how closely you watch Little Johnny, there's always a chance he's going to suck down a grape or marshmallow peep the first time you turn your head. A warning label isn't going to stop that from happening. (Some kids would probably just eat the label too.)

Somebody will chime in and say the parents will read the label, discover that the food item presents a choking hazard, and prepare accordingly. Two problems with this: 1) Warning labels are so common people are conditioned to ignore them. 2) Every food item presents a choking hazard. You can choke on a can of soup if you're just unlucky and a piece of meat gets caught wrong. You can't realistically label every potentially dangerous food item.

Labels are good at helping companies avoid legal liability and giving watchdog groups a good opportunity to say "Told ya so!" if something bad happens. They do not help people avoid problems."

 

[luvmy3]

You knew, that doesn't mean everyone does!
How did you know? You read it somewhere? Heard it somewhere? Someone told you?
There ARE people who don't know, and they might read it in a parenting magazine, a poster at the dr's office....or a label on a hot dog wrapper while they wait for the microwave timer to go off.
The point is that you knew, because at some point you were educated in some way, shape or form. All a label does is broaden the amount of people exposed to that same education.

Common sense, I'm a worrier and it really doesn't take a genius to know taht a hotdog is a huge choking risk, along with a ton of other foods. I also wouldn't give my toddler a superball, marble, or anything else that could get lodged in their throat.

Can I ask you if you read every word that is printed on the food labels you buy? I'm guessing not.
I read labels because my ds has a tree nut allergy so I know to read them, but most people don't and those who lack the common sense to think for themselves that hot dogs are a choking hazard probably aren't going to bother to read the label unless its flashing in bright lights in front of them.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I read that choking is the leading cause of death among children under 14 (in CNN's article about this subject). We warn parents of things that can put our kids at risk for cancer, lead poisoning, injury...why wouldn't we warn them about something that is one of the leading causes of pediatric death?

How could that *possibly* be true when the most of the reporting on the orginal story that I can Google includes something close to this: Choking kills more than 100 children every year in the nation. In 2006, 141 kids ages 14 and younger choked to death and 61 of those deaths were food related. 80 choking deaths were from objects like toys and coins.

I've also found this lovely statistic: 1,347 children ages 14 and younger died as occupants in car accidents in 2008. Of those deaths, 216 (approx 16%) were the direct result of drunk drivers. HERE.

 

[PeterPan09]

This is a comment on the article from a poster on CNN.com. I did not write this, but it sums up my feelings quite well, particularly what I have bolded.

"Blame isn't the issue. Accidents can (and will) happen regardless of how closely you watch children or how much you try and educate them not to do things that can hurt them. The people citing Darwin and doing name-calling are ignorant in that respect.

Getting back to the article, the implication that warning labels will solve these problems is also ignorant. No matter how closely you watch Little Johnny, there's always a chance he's going to suck down a grape or marshmallow peep the first time you turn your head. A warning label isn't going to stop that from happening. (Some kids would probably just eat the label too.)

Somebody will chime in and say the parents will read the label, discover that the food item presents a choking hazard, and prepare accordingly. Two problems with this: 1) Warning labels are so common people are conditioned to ignore them. 2) Every food item presents a choking hazard. You can choke on a can of soup if you're just unlucky and a piece of meat gets caught wrong. You can't realistically label every potentially dangerous food item.

Labels are good at helping companies avoid legal liability and giving watchdog groups a good opportunity to say "Told ya so!" if something bad happens. They do not help people avoid problems."

That sums it up quite nicely.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

But there are certain foods that are more dangerous than others, proven child hood choking hazards because of their shape or texture.
It's kind of like when your pregnant. You can get listeria from all sorts of foods, but Dr.'s don't warn you about every single one, they warn you about the ones most likely to make you or your baby sick.
Pediatricians don't want to label every food that you could ever choke on. They just want to warn parents of the ones that pose the greatest risk in an effort to prevent more choking deaths.
I read that choking is the leading cause of death among children under 14 (in CNN's article about this subject). We warn parents of things that can put our kids at risk for cancer, lead poisoning, injury...why wouldn't we warn them about something that is one of the leading causes of pediatric death?

True--you are right--but the food industry doesn't go out and label everything as dangerous for a pregnant woman.

As for leading cause of death--say WHAT?

Methinks CNN did not do their research.


(Click link for a more organized tablehttp://publicsafety.com/article/article.jsp?id=1767&siteSection=10, but #1 is MVA and #2 is DROWNING and I can take you to town on what parents can do to prevent that but dont' b/c it is too expensive.)---

Table II: Six Most Prevalent Causes of Accidental Death in Children & Young Adults

Age Groups <1 1&#150;4 5&#150;9 10&#150;14 15&#150;24
Rank
1 Suffocation Motor vehicle accident Motor vehicle accident Motor vehicle accident Motor vehicle accident
2 Motor vehicle accident Drowning Drowning Drowning Firearm suicide
3 Drowning Fire burns Fire burns Firearm suicide Accidental ingestion
4 Fire burns Suffocation Other causes Suffocation, suicide Drowning
5 Falls Pedestrian Suffocation Fire burns Other causes
6 Other causes Falls Pedestrian Suffocation Intentional ingestion
Compiled from data available from CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)



Choking does not appear on that chart anywhere to be given the "honor" of leading cause of death in children under 15.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Maybe we shouldn't post signs on beaches warning people of sneaker waves? (common sense to me), or warning labels in parks about leaving food in cars or tents? (also common sense) Maybe we don't need to warn people about eating too much fish that is known to be high in mercury? Or take the warning off honey that tells you not to give it to infants?
I guess if things are natural, it's OK to let people die, even if something as simple as a warning could have saved them. Yet we haven't forced the ocean to recall the waves, or the bears to be to hibernate year round, or the fisherman to put the fish back in the sea, or the bee keepers to just sell the bees and not the dangerous honey.

Wow, you have really come over to the dark side now...

 

[monkeybug]

This is not even close to true: link...

Then I guess the American academy of pediatrics is wrong.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/22/children.choking/index.html?iref=allsearch

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates at least one child in the United States dies every five days from choking on food. The academy rates choking as the leading cause of death among children 14 and younger.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This kind of reminds me of a time we were going through security at the airport (on our way to WDW), and the TSA worker told the people in front of us that the baby car seat had to go through the scanner. Well, they put the car seat on the belt....the TSA worker stopped the belt and told them to take the baby OUT of the car seat...

 

[Darsa]

And truly, it SHOULD be common sense. How could anyone look at a hotdog and not realize it could choke a child; or a grape?? I cut up this kind of thing for my daughter for a looong time; she's 14 now and still remembers me cutting up her dogs n grapes for her. I don't understand parents who can't see the possibility, and the easy-as-pie way to counteract the hazard!