How to minimise the risk of choking

Advice to support safe mealtimes and minimise the risk of choking.

At Nursery Kitchen, we are committed to providing meals and snacks that are safe, nutritious, and enjoyable for young children. We take great care to source ingredients of a size and shape that minimises safety risks and aligns with tight specifications for safety as well as nutrition and quality. These specifications are monitored closely at every stage of production to ensure compliance.

It is important to remember that while our efforts greatly reduce the risk, it is still possible for children to choke on any food regardless of size, shape or texture. For this reason, nursery staff play a crucial role in creating a safe mealtime environment and presenting the food in age-appropriate ways. Below are some recommendations to help reduce the risk of choking in your setting:

Tips to Reduce Choking Risk

1. Assess Developmental Needs:
   • Consider each baby or child's developmental stage and oral motor skills when serving food or carrying out food related activities. Adjust how the food is served based on the individuals’ feeding skills. This might mean cutting, slicing, mashing or blending the food to suit the needs of individual infants/children.
   Although every care has been taken to avoid bones in our dishes, some may remain. As boning fish is a hand process, nurseries should ‘flake’ the cooked fish with a fork prior to serving, this will help identify any bones that may not have been visible in the raw fish. If feeding very young children, this should also be checked again when spoon-feeding portions.
   
   
2. Supervise Closely:
   • Never leave babies or children unattended with food. Ensure they are closely supervised during all meals and snacks. Where possible, practitioners should sit facing babies/children whilst they eat.
3. Encourage Safe Eating Posture:
   • Ensure babies and children are seated in a stable, upright position with feet supported during mealtimes. Proper posture helps with safe chewing and swallowing. Children should not walk around whilst eating.
4. Teach Safe Eating Habits:
   • Encourage babies and children to eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and avoid putting too much food in their mouths. Allow them to eat at their own pace and ensure wait until their mouth is empty before taking the next mouthful of food. Encouraging babies and children to feed themselves allows them to have more control over what goes into their mouth.
5. Be Prepared:

• Staff should be trained to recognise and respond to choking incidents effectively.
• You must maintain minimum statutory staff ratios and training requirements during mealtimes, including those for Paediatric First Aid.
  
  

For further information about how to prepare and present food safely for young children please see the links below:

Help for Early Years Providers - Food Safety

Early Years Choking Hazards Table_English.pdf

Thank you for your continued partnership in prioritising the health and safety of young children during mealtimes.