We’re nearly halfway through baby safety month – now’s the perfect time to cover new ground and learn more information about baby safety! Today we’ll be talking about mealtime safety.
A child who is under 5 years old doesn’t have a fully developed immune system yet, so their body doesn’t have such a strong ability to fight germs and sickness. And food poisoning can be even more dangerous because it can lead to dehydration, fever, and other issues. There are several ways to increase mealtime safety, and make such occurrences less likely to happen.
Good hygiene can prevent foodborne illness. Good hygiene includes washing hands when needed, as well as adequate washing of all pots, pans, counters and other food equipment and surfaces. It also includes cleaning sippy cups and bottles properly in hot water with soap.
High Risk Foods to Avoid
There are plenty of foods that are high risk, and should be avoided. For instance, unpasteurized milk and cheese products, and foods containing uncooked eggs. Raw or undercooked fish, meat or poultry are other examples of foods you don’t want to serve to your kids. Another food is honey. Honey shouldn’t be given to a baby that’s under a year old, because it can cause botulism, which is basically a foodborne illness.
High risk foods include unpasteurized milk and cheese products, food containing raw or uncooked eggs, raw or undercooked fish, meat or poultry. Honey shouldn’t be given to children who are under a year old because there is a risk of botulism, a foodborne illness.
Little kids should avoid foods that are hard to swallow, such as peanuts, popcorn, round slices of hot dog, hard candy, whole grapes, and cherry tomatoes. If it's possible, you can cut them into smaller pieces about the size of half an inch.
Here are some PishPosh mealtime faves that will make breakfast, lunch or dinner simple! The EZPZ is a great way to serve your child meals.
Mealtimes can be some of the most memorable moments from your little one’s childhood. Keep it as safe as possible with these mealtime safety tips!