Potential New Client

[Oneluckymom]

So I met with a new family this morning. They seemed nice and the 2 (just turned 2) year old girl seemed very excited to play and check out the daycare.

What worries me is that the parents mentioned that the girl has a habit of choking often. So I tried to inquire more about it and they just said she will put too much food in her mouth at once. They don't give her white bread because it gets doughy and she chokes, she chokes on chocolate because it sticks to her palate, etc.

I also mentioned that if she has a special sippy cup she would like to bring in she's welcome too....mom says oh well she still uses the bottle

Any thoughts...the choking scares me the most.

[Heidi]

I'd just give her smaller portions of food, but smaller, and remind her "little bites". As for choking, I had one here that did that too, but he figured it out after a while.

As for the bottle, I wouldn't even let one in the door. My 15 mo dcb drinks from and OPEN cup. He's just learning, and I only put a little bit in. Most of my dck's don't even get a bottle from me at all once they can drink from a cup with a lid.

[Oneluckymom]

I'd just give her smaller portions of food, but smaller, and remind her "little bites". As for choking, I had one here that did that too, but he figured it out after a while.

As for the bottle, I wouldn't even let one in the door. My 15 mo dcb drinks from and OPEN cup. He's just learning, and I only put a little bit in. Most of my dck's don't even get a bottle from me at all once they can drink from a cup with a lid.

I hope she will "get it" eventually. It REALLY makes me nervous.

As for the bottle...yeah I'm not entertaining that one.

[Heidi]

Hey, I just thought about it. If you give her only food she can eat with a small fork (like cut up everything, including sandwiches) for a while, and then INSIST she use her fork, it should limit how much she can cram in at once...

worth a try...

Boy, that kiddo is in for a suprise. Botttle? ha! Eating with your fingers? HA! Time to grow up, baby...::::::

PS: I mean that sweetly, not meanly

[cheerfuldom]

you need to communicate what you are and are not comfortable working with. put in a two weeks trial period so that you see if its a good fit. that way you can see the choking issues first hand. some parents consider the tiniest gag 6 months ago as a major issue....or some parents down play it and choking is actually vomiting at every meal. you need to see for yourself what the deal is and what you can do to address it. as for the bottle, if you dont allow bottles at your daycare, then just say that. i wouldnt allow a 2 year old a bottle, period. let the parents know that you require 2 year olds to self feed, at the table, with the rest of the kids. that means that bottles are not a good fit for your program. either they provide a sippy for daycare use or they continue looking for other care. It wouldnt bother me if the parents gave a bottle at home so I wouldnt even get into that discussion. as long as this child can eat with the group at daycare, thats all i would care about. really, neither of these issues seem like huge red flags.

[Oneluckymom]

I am beginning to think that MAYBE her choking issues are related to her using a bottle. Could it be possible that they have MOSTLY relied on her using a bottle instead of introducing table foods at an appropriate age? So she is just recently learning to chew and swallow foods?

[Starburst]

Strange but true...

The home daycare I used to work for every time a kid would start coughing while chewing food we would just say "no choking" and they would stop coughing almost instantly! We didn't say it like a command or angrly like "NO CHOKING!"- that would probably cause them to choke! We would just say it calmly, in kind of an almost musically/ sing-songy with mini inflections in the voice like "no CHO-king". The provider says she has done this for about the whole 30 years in her program and never once had a single severe choking incident during meal times (or any other time for that matter). It must be a 'power of suggestion' thing.

I am beginning to think that MAYBE her choking issues are related to her using a bottle. Could it be possible that they have MOSTLY relied on her using a bottle instead of introducing table foods at an appropriate age? So she is just recently learning to chew and swallow foods?

Some of the issue could be that she could have salivation issues (not enough saliva) so her mouth could be dry which is making it difficult to moisten/soften the food enough to swallow it; and if she is still drinking from a bottle if they are using slow flow top this could make it difficult as well. There are some sippy cups that have that rubber top that is similar to a bottle nipple but is better for their teeth and helps them get used to a sippy.

Also did you ask if they make sure she takes a sip before she eats? Some doctors recommend waiting a 1/2 hour after meals before drinking for digestion; but some kids need to take a drink before a bite or with every bite to prevent choking.

Does she only choke with certain foods? If she chokes mostly with bread there is a possibility that she could have a gluten or wheat allergy. Or if she drinks milk with her meals it could be a milk allergy. I have a minor milk allergy (lactose intolerence) and sometimes have an itchy/sore throat if I drink too much milk.

[cheerfuldom]

you better check that they are not spoon feeding her still. perhaps she is choking because she is still eating mostly puree

[Hunni Bee]

The home daycare I used to work for every time a kid would start coughing while chewing food we would just say "no choking" and they would stop coughing almost instantly! We didn't say it like a command or angrly like "NO CHOKING!"- that would probably cause them to choke! We would just say it calmly, in kind of an almost musically/ sing-songy with mini inflections in the voice like "no CHO-king". The provider says she has done this for about the whole 30 years in her program and never once had a single severe choking incident during meal times (or any other time for that matter). It must be a 'power of suggestion thing

Lol...my three year old nephew does this....to try and get more juice, or get attention when the adults are talking. We also say "no coughing" and ignore. It used to be scary though.

[Oneluckymom]

Lol...my three year old nephew does this....to try and get more juice, or get attention when the adults are talking. We also say "no coughing" and ignore. It used to be scary though.

I wonder if she is doing for attention too? Although parents said they actually put their fingers down her throat

If I get the call that they want to start next week Im nervous. I will definitely explain to mom about my trial period in detail.