You may have heard the news of a two-year-old child who died due to popcorn choking that occurred in the United States. The reason, the size of popcorn that is not so big it can cause unexpected calamities. So, can children actually eat popcorn or not? Approximately what age can children eat popcorn? Find out the answer below.
When can a child eat popcorn?
Foods that are small but hard enough like popcorn, hard candy, grains, and nuts should not be offered to children before they reach the age of at least four or five years. Because the food like this can make children choke.
Even if you want to provide these foods when the child is old enough, make sure that the parents or caregivers really monitor them. Usually corn kernels are hard and cannot be bitten on the ends of popcorn. Well, make sure this part does not enter the child's mouth. Teach children to melt corn seeds that cannot be swallowed or other foods.
What happens when a child chokes?
Children under five years old (toddlers) are the group most at risk of choking. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in the US, choking is one of the most common causes of death for toddlers.
When a child chokes, it means that there are objects covering the trachea (airway) so that the air does not flow normally into or out of the lungs. This condition makes the child unable to breathe smoothly. The trachea is usually protected by a small valve made from cartilage, the epiglottis. Epiglottis will cover the trachea every time someone swallows. This allows food to eventually enter through the esophagus and not enter the trachea.
Infants and young children have a smaller size in the airways so they are prone to choking when eating popcorn when compared to adults. The risk of choking depends on the size, shape, or texture of the food. Foods that are round, hard, hard to chew, or slippery will easily slide into the throat and block the airway.
If it is not immediately treated, this can make the child unable to breathe and eventually may lead to death.
How to prevent children from choking
Actually children can choke not because they eat popcorn. Other foods or objects that the child enters into the mouth can also increase the chance of choking. Well, here are some things parents can do to prevent children from choking.
- Never leave a small child without being watched while eating, there must be direct supervision
- Children must sit upright when eating, must have enough teeth, and muscle abilities and development needed to chew and swallow selected foods
- Remember, not all children are at the same level of development, children with special care needs are very vulnerable to the risk of choking.
- Children must have a quiet and unhurried meal time, including when eating snacks.
- Avoid foods that pose a risk of small, hard-packed chokes such as raw carrots, nuts, popcorn, wine, etc.
- Cut the food into small pieces, remove the seeds or thorns if they are in the food.
- Don't let children chew food while playing, walking, or riding a car
Parents and child nurses should have a basis for doing first aid techniques such as CPR, Heimlich Maneuver, or Automated External Defibrillators (AED) to guard themselves if the child experiences choking can be handled immediately and note the important telephone number to ask for help.
- Signs of a child choking and need immediate help
- Children cannot breathe
- Children gasping for breath
- Children become speechless, but only cry
- Change to blue
- Looks panic
- Fainted
What should be done if the child chokes?
1. Take the object or food
If you can still see objects that make the airway blocked, try taking it. However, do not get pushed in and do not repeatedly insert your finger. You can actually make things worse to make the object more difficult to lift.
2. Ask the child to cough
If the child becomes coughing, leave it alone. Encourage them to continue coughing and do not leave their own children without parental supervision.
3. Look for help
If your child coughs is ineffective (not fit or can't breathe properly when coughing), seek medical help immediately or take the child to the nearest health service. However, when taking a child to the hospital, be careful not to shake the child so that the choking gets worse.