Mum & ex-paramedic issues urgent warning about popular sweet treat that’s a choking hazard for children under 14
LET’S face it, every child enjoys tucking into sweet treats.
But an ex-paramedic named Nikki Jurcutz, a parent educator behind Tiny Hearts, has warned against giving kids under 14 certain sugary treats because they pose a serious choking hazard – including lollipops and Skittles.
In a clip shared to TikTok (@tinyheartseducation), she explains: “Sweets are the cause of nearly 30% of food related choking for children under 14.
“What makes sweets such a high risk choking food?
“Sweets that are round is the perfect shape for creating an effective plug for blocking a child’s airway.
“When hard sweets are put in the mouth, they can become slippery and can “slip” into a child’s airway if they aren’t careful.”
Nikki captioned the post: “Lollipops are essentially hard candies on a stick.
“They are round and slippery, if they break off from the stick they could put your child at risk of choking.”
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The video has since gone viral, racking up thousands of views and several comments.
“Honestly I was sucking on a sweet in work and sucked to hard….lucky it just about flew down my throat whole – lucky escape!” wrote one.
A second penned; “Why do they make things aimed at kids choking hazards?”
A third commented: “I always chew on the skittle before I put it in my daughters mouth, so it’s less of a choking hazard.”
The first aider has previously shared other foods that could pose serious choking hazards to children – including marshmallows.
She explained how the little sweet treats are sticky and harder for children under five to break down.
If a marshmallow gets stuck in a child’s airways, it is near impossible to remove it with back blows.
Nikki shared a visual of this in a TikTok video, showcasing how a stuck grape can be dislodged from the airway but a marshmallow can’t.
“When they’re wet, they become more sticky and more difficult to swallow,” she said.
“And can be more difficult to remove from the airway.
“You can modify marshmallows to make them safer by cutting them into smaller pieces or swap out for mini marshmallows instead.
“Modifying foods is a great way to make foods safer for your little one.”