Choking Risks

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Q

Is it normal for an 11-month-old to swallow his food whole?

drgreene

It can take a while for kids to learn to chew (chewing and swallowing is quite complex), but swallowing food whole can be a choking risk. Cheerios can be nice for practice; a single Cheerio is crunchy and fun to chew. Soon it turns into mush and if they just inhale it, there is a hole in the middle to let air through.

You can also try thin slices of banana or small cubes of carrot, cooked until soft. Avoid whole things that he might choke on. He's unlikely to choke on a soft-cooked pea, for example, but popcorn, nuts, beans, tortilla chips, raw or undercooked vegetables, grapes, hard candy, hot dogs, and other meats are all common causes of choking incidents.

Alan Greene MD FAAP
January 28, 2003
Reviewed By: 
Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin M.D. & Liat Simkhay Snyder M.D.
Last Reviewed: 
July 14, 2010
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Comments

Anonymous's picture
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2010-05-11 05:54.

1 year old swallowing food whole.

I know a 18 month old that will swallow food whole. She knows how to chew, she acts like she is starving and just shoves food in her mouth and swallows. No matter what it is. We have tried everything. At night she rubs her stomach and cries almost like she has a bellyache. Is that due from swallowing food whole? She also has had air pockets in her stomach. What is that caused from