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But one popular chocolate snack has hidden dangers, a charity has warned.
The Child Accident Prevention Trust says Cadbury’s Mini Eggs are the ‘perfect size’ to get stuck in a small child’s throat and block their airways, making them a choking hazard.
And unlike similar sized food items, like grapes, these chocolate treats aren’t easy to slice into smaller pieces.
Young children have narrower airways compared to adults, and are still learning how to chew, breathe and swallow in the right order, making them more likely to choke on food.
The Trust recommends slicing grapes into halves or quarters lengthways, creating thin strips – but as Mini Eggs have hard sugar shells, this is much more difficult.
So the charity has shared three ways to make Mini Eggs safer for small children.
A spokesman said: ‘It’s that time of year again when mini eggs are lining the supermarket shelves.
‘But, did you know that, just like grapes, they are the perfect size to block a small child’s airway and choke them?
‘And, their hard shell can make it difficult to dislodge with standard first aid techniques.
‘With whole grapes we advise cutting them in half lengthways and ideally into quarters to create thin strips.
‘But chopping up mini eggs isn’t as easy. So, what can you do?’
Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
While it’s possible for a child to choke on anything, the The Child Accident Prevention Trust says some foods pose more of a risk than others and should be avoided.
These include:
- Popcorn – which can easily get stuck
- Marshmallows – they get sticky when wet so can seal the airway
- Round hard sweets – they’re slippery so can easily be swallowed and block the airway
- Jelly cubes – also get sticky when wet
- Peanut butter on its own – globs can seal the airway, so only use it as a spread
- Whole grapes – they can be difficult to dislodge from the airway because they’re flexible
- Lollipops – these essentially become a hard boiled sweet if it comes off the stick
The trust recommends cutting up any foods which are ‘hard, chunky, round, doughy or stodgy’ into strips.
The charity suggests:
- Hide them from the children and eat them yourself – good luck with that!
- Put the mini eggs into a sealable plastic bag and smash them into small pieces with a rolling pin, or crush them in a pestle and mortar.
- Opt for a different treat. Larger, hollow eggs are much safer for little ones.
They also recommend that, in any case, parents should stay with children at all times while they’re eating, and get them to sit as still as possible.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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