A List of Foods that Children Under 5 Should Not Have

When it comes to feeding small children great judgment should be used. A meal favored by an 8 year old may not be a meal that is suitable for a four year old. For precautionary reasons, there are foods that children under the age of five should avoid. Younger children do not posses mature mastication and for that reason need to be given foods that they will not easily choke on. The list of foods that should be avoided by children under the age of five is below.

Small circular fruits such as grapes, small cherry tomatoes, cherries, and blueberries should be avoided. Fruits with seeds in them such as grapes with seeds and watermelon should also be avoided. Small children can easily choke on seeds. You can however purchase the seedless grape and you can scoop the seeds out of watermelon or serve them sliced watermelon.

Fish and meat with bones can be very dangerous to young children because they can choke on the bones. Some fish contain very fine, sharp, bones inside of them which can be hard to see. Some meats contain bones and are very tough which makes it difficult for young children to chew and swallow. If you want to give your children fish opt for boneless baked or grilled fish or even fish sticks. Boneless baked chicken contains no bones which make it safer for children to chew and swallow.

Vegetables such as raw baby carrots and celery should be avoided. It seems logical to give small children baby carrots because the children are small themselves but the smallness of the carrots actually makes it easy for the children to choke on it. Celery is very stringy and, small children can easily choke on the celery. If you want to give your children carrots you should either cut up the raw carrots into tiny pieces or cook the carrots so that they are soft. If you want to give your children celery you should cook the celery and include it in a stir-fry of some sort.

Stringy cheese such as mozzarella should be avoided. Mozzarella cheese is well known for its elastic nature and for this reason should not be given to small children. When mozzarella cheese is heated it stretches to great lengths. If you want to give this type of cheese to your children serve it to them in the form of sliced, shredded, or cheese sticks.

Whole olives should not be given to small children. If you would like to give your child an olive purchase the sliced variety or slice them yourself so that they are safer to eat.

Pastrami should not be given to young children. Pastrami is an extremely stringy meat which makes it very easy to choke on. Some older people even have a difficult time chewing pastrami and almost choke on it. There is no way to make pastrami less stringy so it should not be served to children.

Seeds and nuts should not be given to young children. Seeds such as pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are not very safe for young children to eat because they can easily be swallowed. Nuts can also pose as a choking hazard for young children. Avoid feeding your children seeds and nuts. Some nuts have husks and shells on them that can be dangerous to young children if swallowed.

Popcorn, chips, and mini pretzels should not be given to small children. Some small children can easily eat snacks such as these but others may have a more difficult time properly chewing and swallowing these foods. It is best to avoid these types of food.

*Nuts, dairy, and fish are common allergens.