A children's first aid expert has warned parents of the "high risk" of giving little ones under four a particular sweet treat, as it could pose a dangerous choking hazard.
Former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz, who runs baby first aid course Tiny Hearts with her sister Rach, explained that she never gives marshmallows to young children because of the way they can quickly become lodged in the airways. Taking to her Instagram page @tinyheartseducation, Nikki demonstrated in a frightening clip how difficult it can be to remove a piece of marshmallow from a child's airway, The Mirror reports.
"This is why I don't give marshmallows to kids under four," she explained in the video. "Their round shape means they could completely block off the entire airway."
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Nikki added: "When they're wet, they become sticky and more difficult to swallow, and more difficult to clear from the airway." She then demonstrated what could happen if a piece of marshmallow became lodged in a young child's throat using a clear plastic tube.
Putting a sticky piece of marshmallow into the tube, the first-aider showed that it refused to budge even after hitting the tube several times, compared to a grape which was dislodged much more easily. "This is why marshmallows are such a high risk choking food," Nikki explained in the caption.
She advised parents and caregivers: "You can modify marshmallows to make them safer by cutting them into smaller pieces or swap out for mini marshmallows instead." And many people echoed the advice in the comments section.
"So glad you posted this," one parent said. "I feel like I get looked at weird when I'm hesitant to feeding my my 2.5-year-old marshmallows. 'But they are soft, they melt in their mouth' is response I get. I can't explain it better than this video."
Someone else added: "I feel like so many people don't know this, often at cafes I say no thank you to the offer of the marshmallow for my daughter and am given strange looks. As always great to inform and share."
"I've witnessed this first hand as a mum turned her back to her toddler eating one and he went down hill very fast," another follower shared. "Had to act fast. He was ok."
