Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Lyn:
    
    Thanks so much for the warning.  My little 10-month old was "just"
    introduced to pnut-butter and loved it!  Although she's been GREAT 
    about not choking on things, we're going to shelf the PB for a while!
    
    My brother-in-law just told us over the weekend that his 9-month old
    choked on a slice of apple!  Scared them to death, as they worked on
    him for quite some time before finally getting it un-lodged.
    
    My heart goes out to the parents of that little 2-year old!!
    
    Dottie
    
    
                                                 

    Thanks for the reminder ..... it has certainly been published before.
    
    It is one of the reasons for adding oil and sugar to peanut butter
    to make it less "sticky".  So while peanut better without sugar
    maybe better for you, it does make it a safer product.
    
    It is also one of the reasons that it is a good idea to butter
    the bread.  I have heard of children gagging on plain white bread.
    
    Stuart

My son started choking on peanut butter on white bread on Sunday.  (All of
a sudden he decided he didn't like jelly.) It scared me half to death 
because I know about the hazards of peanut butter.  I cut the piece of 
bread up in very small pieces.  My son, who is 2, was jumping on a stack 
of cushions while eating.  We told him to stop.  He did it again and then 
started making choking sounds...he couldn't breathe.  He was a little
shaken (I was panic stricken!) but luckily it only lasted for about 5 
seconds, altho it seemed longer.  Peanut butter is very difficult to
dislodge because of it's sticking ability.

New rules:
1. If he can't sit at the table while eating, there will be no eating.
2. Peanut butter must be on a cracker, or with jelly.

    Lyn,
    
    Thanks for the reminder!!
    
    I think my response should actually  be in the EMT or a medical note,
    but here goes...will the haemlic maneuvor (sp?) work at dislodging
    stuck peanut butter or are we better off tipping the child upside down?
    
    Is there any safe way to remove the lodged food glob such as with your
    fingers (my first instinct), a spoon, etc? 
    
    Just asking so I can be more then prepared for a specific emergency.
    
    This incident just goes to show how important it is for us parents to
    know emergency medical treatment for our children. A relatively good
    book is the "First Year Baby Care" which has a section in the back
    about handling chocking, first aid, etc in small children. Maybe Lyn
    knows of a even better book through her training the specifically deals
    with child emergencies??
    
    Andrea
          

    Does anyone know if there is a video out that teaches parents
    how to handle choking and other medical emergencies ...and
    especially infant CPR?
    
    I was certified in CPR in college, but my husband has never
    had the training and I would like him to.
    
    p.s.  I realize that the local high schools and YWCA/YMCAs
          offer courses, but I am looking for recommendations for
    	  a home video.
    
    	thanks, Linda

    Linda,
    At the local video store (Nashua, NH), Blockbuster, I noticed the
    other day they had tapes on this subject and other safety issues. 
    They were provided by someone (town, hospital or Red Cross, I forget), 
    and were available for viewing at no cost. I suggest you look in your
    local video store. 
    JR

    RE:  .16	Thanks!  We have alot of video stores in town, but
    		their offerings were limited.  Blockbuster video opened
    		in our town last week.  I'll check them out.
    
    		If anyone has any particular videos that they recommend,
    		I'd be interested in hearing about them!
    
    		My son doesn't choke often, but of course he stuffed
    		too many cheerios in his mouth last night and started
    		choking...just what I needed to see after reading about
    		this awful choking tragedy!
    
    		Linda
    

    
    I don't believe that the home video approach is the best approach to
    learning first aid and CPR.  One needs the hands on learning that
    comes only with working on the CPR maniquin.  And practice.  There
    are no quick outs.  Nor could you teach your child how to ride a
    bike by letting the child watch a video.
    
    If you are really interested in your child, you will get a first
    aid/CPR course presented at work, through the local hospital, etc.
    The are very low or no cost.
    
    Choking isn't restricted to the peanut.  Hotdogs, small toys, etc.
    And the tongue remains the #1 cause of choking.
    
    My son choked two different times on bacon.  The way he chews food
    like that.
    
    ed
    

    Ed is correct on doing vs viewing.  My high school class was a test
    case for this.  A large group of students learnt CPR by practicing on
    the dummy and learning by doing.  The other group (me included) just
    read and viewed films.  When they tested us 97% of the do'ers saved the
    dummy.  98% of the viewers did *not* save the dummy.  Practice makes
    perfect.
    
    gog
    

    Ed and George, I *do* understand and agree with what your are
    saying.  That is one of the reasons why I mentioned that I was
    certified in CPR.  I have my own personal reasons for asking
    for video recommendations vs. classes at this time.  I feel
    they will benefit our family alot more than NO TRAINING!
    
    I could elaborate, but I'm not interested in getting into
    a rathole discussion.
    
    Linda

    I had been wanting to start a topic about dangerous situations all
    (or some) of us may have encountered.  I was waiting until I didn't feel
    so embarrassed about admitting to what I let happen to my little guy.
    This may be a good place for it (with the topic name changed to 
    WARNINGS or something like that) or another topic could be started, 
    if preferred.  We all know of the terrible things that can happen, 
    but maybe it will make us think twice if we hear specific stories in 
    this file (I still very much remember the story told in here about
    the dishwashing liquid being swallowed and I find myself being extra 
    careful by making sure I have the lid closed tightly and the bottle behind
    childproofed cabinet doors - always).
    
    Here's my story.  My husband and I always try to be very careful 
    about what's on the floor.  One day a nickle fell out of a pocket
    and we did not know it.  The nickle landed under the dining room
    table pedestal leg and we did not see it.  Eric (about 10 months old 
    at the time) did find it.  My husband and I were eating, Eric was 
    playing on the floor.  Next thing we know is a horrible choking sound 
    is coming from Eric (which quickly turned to no sound).  My husband 
    picked him up and saw the nickle way back.  After several firm slaps 
    between the shoulder blades, the nickle popped out.
    
    We now make sure all change is removed from pockets immediately.  I
    can also be found checking under that big pedestal leg on the dining
    room table when the awful memory comes back to haunt me - which is
    often.  We were lucky we were right there and able to take action
    immediately.
    
    Donna
                                         

After reading this, for the first time I'm not sorry Alex is allergic to
peanut butter!


marty

    I'd like to thank you for posting this note!   We are going to stop
    giving the kids the natural-style peanut butter and go with the
    creamier stuff, and spread it thin.
    
    Since this topic is moving towards choking in general, I'd like to
    point out (again - just go to the next reply if you're tired of hearing
    this from me) that balloons are the NUMBER ONE non-food item that
    children choke on (and die).
    
    The unique thing about balloons, is that children who are way too old
    to be putting things in their mouths for fun will still put these
    things in their mouths - because they are imitating blowing them up. 
    And as you know (especially during cold season), most kids don't know
    the difference between blowing OUT and sucking IN, for some time!  
    
    In the CPR class I took (because Ed Badger convinced me to through this
    conference and that's why I believe in repeating things you believe in)
    they told about a balloon in the throat can mean that the respiration
    part of CPR can be defeated - you are only inflating the balloon, not
    the lungs!
    
    Want balloons?  Go Mylar!!!!
                      

    Gosh, this hits home.  Choking is my paranoic fear with my children!!
    
    Baloons - Don't forget that when they pop, the pieces can go flying
    everywhere.  I always search to find every last piece to put in the
    trash!  8*}
    
    Coins - periodically check under the sofa cushions.  Change often times
    walks out of your pockets to hide under the sofa cushions.  And as we
    all know kids love to rip the sofa cushions off the sofa to build a
    fort.
    
    Dry cleaning bags - I always remeber now to remove the plastic bags
    from my dry cleaining before putting it into the closet after I caught
    my ten month old merrily sitting in the closet chewing on one.  I used
    to just leave them on the clothes until wearing.  Not anymore.
    
    

    Moderator, Please feel free to move this notice if you feel it should
    reside someplace else.
    
    Copied from the Nashua Telegraph 8/1/90 without permission.
    
    
    INFANT, CHILD CPR COURSES HELD
    
    The Nashua Chapter of the American Red Cross will conduct an Infant and
    Child CPR course Tuesday, Aug. 7, and Thursday, Aug. 9, from 12:30 p.m.
    to 4:30 p.m., at 28 Concord St.
    
    The course is designed to help parents and caregivers prevent the
    thousands of choking, suffocation, drowning and similar accidental
    deaths that take the lives of young children every year.
    
    The cost is $35.00.  Advanced enrollment is required.  Call 889-6664 to
    register.
    
    
    

    Can someone point me to the note which discusses the dishwashing soap
    incident.... hmmmmm something ELSE to be particularly aware of.  Thanks
    for the P.B. warnings, I have been aware that it was somewhat risky.
    Just plain peanuts according to Dr's are one of the hardest things to
    remove from a childs throat because they CRUMPLE into little pieces
    when the Dr. tries to remove them.  

    RE: .16
    
    I posted a note awhile back in the archived HELPME::Parenting_V2
    conference under the topic "WANTED: Recipes for bubble solution".
    
    It told of a recent incident I experienced with my then 2.9 month 
    old son swallowing a hardy dose of Dawn liquid detergent.
    
    If that's the note you are requesting, it is note 2184.18.
    
    
    Jodi-
    

    This note is a really scary topic for first time moms but very
    informative. My daugther 11 months old had peanut butter for the first
    time on wheat breat melted in the toaster oven and spread thin. I
    didn't read this anywhere but my instincts told me that without
    lubricating the pkbutter somehow she could possibly choke. However,
    after reading this note I think I'll skip this until she's much older.
    I really appreciate your posting of this note!
    
    clotelle

    I disagree with previous comments that the "natural" (peanut-only) peanut 
    butter is more sticky than the commercial peanut butter (which has added 
    oil, sugar, and salt). On the contrary, I think the commercial peanut 
    butter is more mucky and sticky, and therefore more likely to cause 
    choking.  
    
    I've been buying fresh ground peanut butter for years (at Spag's,
    near the back dairy case.) When kept refrigerated, the peanut butter is
    becomes fairly crumbly and hard.  Even when it warms to room
    temperature and softens, it is still a little granular, and not really 
    sticky. 
    
    When I give my son (almost 2 years old) peanut butter, it is either alone 
    on a cracker, or crumbled -- sort of like feta cheese -- into small
    pieces on his plate. 
    
    But based on the experiences described in this note, I will still be extra
    careful to make sure my son's peanut butter portions are small -- that
    the cracker spread is thin and the crumbles are pea-size or smaller. 
    
    And since this note is simply titled "peanut butter," I'd like to get
    some comments on its proper storage. About ten years ago, I remember 
    hearing something about toxins growing in non-refrigerated peanut butter.  
    Does anybody remember this?  I keep my peanut butter in the fridge
    partially for this reason, and partially because of oil separation with
    the peanut-only peanut butter. 
    
    

    I use only fresh ground unadulterated peanut butter, and it has never
    been near the refrigerator.  It certainly doesn't get toxic, and
    separation is no promblem; indeed, I suspect the slight coating of oil
    that forms on top keeps it from drying out.  I'm sure I've occasionally
    had it as long as 2 months before it is all eaten up, maybe longer.
    
    The choking danger strikes me as seriously exaggerated.  My kids and
    millions of others have been eating peanut butter sandwiches (big as
    you please) since they were one, and are much the healthier for it.  I
    suspect Wonderbread is more hazerdous than peanut butter; indeed, given
    the ingredients, I'd bet on it!  Find something real to worry about.
    
    		- Bruce
    

    <flame on>
    
    re: -.1
    
    How DARE you say "Find something real to worry about?" How can you sit
    there, after having read the basenote, and claim that the choking
    danger of peanut butter is exaggerated, and that it's not "real"? Yes,
    it's true that children do not choke everytime they eat a peanut butter
    sandwich, but it happens frequently enough that people should use
    common sense and extra caution when feeding peanut butter to children.
    To discard the issue as insignificant is both insensitive and
    irresponsible.
    
    P.S. If you wish to rathole this, deal with me via VAXmail...
    
    <FLAME Off...>
    
    Fred Chalmers

    While this is obviously a very real hazard, I think that with all
    the other hazards of life, it all must be put in perspective.
    Unlike many hazards this one is a little unexpected ... after all
    I choked on an apple chunk last year and surprised myself but I'm
    not going to lose too much sleep over it!
    
    Yes, it is worth knowing about, and it certainly hurts to see the
    results personally which is probably why this is so emotional.
    
    re plastic vs real peanut butters ...
    
    Any real peanut butter ground as smoothly as the plastic stuff that
    I have met has been extremely sticky.  The coarser ground stuff isn't
    so bad.
    
    re peanut butter toxins
    
    There is a fungus that attacks peanuts and as it digests the peanut
    it leaves some very dangerous toxins ... some are strong carcinogens.
    You've probably tasted some odd tasting peanuts before ... well you
    ate the stuff!  Obviously the fungus growth is a function of moisture
    and so on ... so, if you make your own, ensure that you only use
    perfect looking peanuts.  Obviously when you buy the stuff you have
    no way of knowing.
    
    The best thing I can think of to reduce the choking risk is to eat
    a lubricant with it ... jelly, butter, banana etc  (not cheese!)
    
    Stuart

    Consumer Reports said recently that aflatoxins are no longer a
    problem worth worrying about, as the peanut farmers have taken
    steps to prevent their formation and it seems to be working.
    
    				Steve

    
    My daughter has all natural pn butter sandwich for lunch almost 
    everyday, but with no jelly, she doesn't like it sweet. We don't put
    a whole lot on it, kind of just enough to cover the bread. I
    also make sure she has a class of milk to "wash" it down.
    The pn butter can be real sticky in mass and when refrigerated.
    We keep ours at room temperature so it is more spreadable.
    I guess, we just have to be more careful with that stuff.
    
    
    eva. 

    Bruce...
    
    (FLAME ON)  There's not too much that WILL get my pulse rate going, but
    this one DID.  If you don't want to worry about your childen Choking to
    death, then maybe we should worry about YOU!!  There's not much else as
    final as DEATH!! (Flame off)
    
    BTW, I've had a verbal autopsy report and the Peanut butter combined
    with the WHITE bread became a lethal combination.  BTW taking a drink
    is a very common response to choking, fact is it doesn't help disloge
    food in the airway, since liquid will slide down the esopogas(sp), the
    tube to the stomach.  The investigating authorites placed no blame on 
    the parent, just an unfortunate accident.  Just a plea every parent to
    Learn how to dislodge food and do CPR, yearly as protocols change.  We
    found clearing the throat with a "finger-sweep" most effective.
    
    On a quick side note, this little girl was transferred to another
    hospital, and I'm fairly certain that even though she herself couldn't
    be saved, she lives on in the form of Organ donation.  (Trying not to
    start more controversy, I found this a very positive way of dealing
    with grief).  Thanks everyone for your comments, keep 'em coming.
    
    Lyn
    (EMT and MOM)
    
    

    I just wanted to add a quick P.S., I'm not saying Don't use Peanut
    Butter.  For the next two weeks I've had to change daycare arrangements 
    while my sitter vacations. (AJ is 3-1/2)  This temporary day care center 
    requires me to provide lunches.  Both yesterday and today I sent
    [skippy] Peanut butter and Apple butter, on OATMEAL bread! Let's face it 
    there's not too many lunch items that don't require refrigeration this time
    of year.  I am in complete agreement that PB is very good for you, just 
    use it carefully, when they're old enough to handle it.
    
    Lyn
    Original Worry-wart!
    

    A good ingredient to add to pb to make it not sticky is powdered
    milk.  There is a health "candy" you can make where you mix pb and
    powdered milk (I forget if there are other ingredients) and roll
    it into small balls and refrigerate to harden.
    	Linda

    Lyn,
    
    Just to be sure I understand - are you saying that food caught in
    a kid's airway, p.b. or anything else, is best removed by a 
    finger-sweep? When is the Heimlich maneuver recommended? 
    
    Thanks for any info. 
    
    Lucy (who needs a CPR/first aid refresher)
    

    Lyn, 
    	Before we were allowed to take our son home from the hospital we 
    were required to take a CPR course.  In the course they told us that 
    they no longer use the finger-sweep method as it can cause more damage 
    or push the object further down. 
    	I know that my first reaction has always been to use finger-sweep 
    but when they told us that, I became totally confused.  
    	Can you enlighten me??!!
    
    Thanks, 
    Malinda

    I too have heard that the finger sweep can easily push the food in
    deeper.  Lets get this cleared up because someones life may depend on
    it.  Is the finger sweep appropriate or not?! Are there cases when it
    is or isn't to be used?  Please make this issue clear.   Jeff

    in re mold contaminated peanut butter..
    
    in this month's consumer reports they indicated that of the commerical
    brands all had pbb of less than 5, (government standards are 20 pbb).
    However the grind your own types had much higher levels, ranging
    from 10 to 20 ppb. So even 'clean looking peanuts' can be a problem.
    
    Bonnie

Well, given that the problem seems to be the combination of PB and [white] 
bread, I'd like to offer a suggestion.  We've gotten in to using "rice cakes" 
and "wheat cakes" etc. to spread PB on.  They are round, and about three 
inches in diameter.  They are [IMO] rather tasteless and boring by themselves,  
but they are an ideal vehicle for peanut butter.  They're hard, and the 
surface has a lot of nooks and crannies, so it's easy to spread the PB.  

They're a bit thick to eat as a "sandwich", but it's quite easy to make spread 
the PB on just one, or to make a "sandwich" and tear them apart, kind of like 
a lot of people eat Oreo cookies. 

Clay

    Let's try and get this finger sweep thing under control (we hope).  First we
    are professionaly trained, who in the course of our training are taught 
    methods that the general public may not be.  Just to clarify our method, 
    the Police were the first on the scene and prior to our arrival had
    attempted the back blow and "chest thrust" manuver, when this failed
    the finger sweep method was used more as a last resort. (let's face
    fact PB sticks to everything!)  We, as professionals have other equipment 
    available to us, and used it.  This included a portable suction machine for 
    the small amount remaining in the mouth and airway.  Unfortunately as I 
    stated in the base note the little girl was in cardiac arrest prior to
    our ever being en route. (The location was within a mile of our 
    headquarters). If breathing is interupted it can take several minutes for 
    the heart to stop.  We were only a couple minutes behind the cruisers. 
    I'm not here to blame anyone, but can only guess that like any of us
    the adult may have attempted to clear the airway and when that failed,
    at that point we were called.
    
    Again the most important thing I can stress is to contact your local
    Public Service people (fire, police, ambulance) or American Heart Assn
    or Red cross to see when their next class will be given.  As a
    reasuring side note, I know that in MA daycare providers MUST be
    certified in CPR and first aid annually.
    
    Thanks again!
    Lyn
    

    I agree with Lyn.   You can not learn CPR from a notefiles, TV, reading
    in a book.  You have to take the course.  and practice.  So I you
    really
    care to learn, break down and invest 10 hours on your children and your
    neighbors.  It may be the best quality time you have spent for your
    children.  I seem  to have preached this each year.  I'm gonna sound
    like the Dear Abby repeats.
    I have had the unfortunate experience to look into the faces of parents
    holding their dead child waiting for help.  If only these parents had
    taken training their child may be alive today.  COULD YOU REALLY LIVE
    WITH YOURSELF KNOWING THAT SPENDING ONLY 10 HOURS YOU COULD HAVE SAVED
    YOUR CHILD, BUT NOW HE IS DEAD?  Dead is a lonnnnngg time.
    
    I don't advocate putting off the call for professional help i.e.
    ambulance.  But most responce times can be over the 4 minutes in which
    the brain is dead due to lack of oxygen.  You can call for help and
    then start first aid/cpr if needed.  Unlike others who advocate
    the posion control centers, I say tear up the numbers and call the
    ambulance directly and allow them to handle that situation.
    
    The cost for some of the hospitzal courses run $35.  That hurts.
    But I got my training through the nurses at work.  The cost was
    $10 for materials.  Even that I'm sure you could work out somehow
    [maybe borrow a book].
    I take the time to recertify.  allow working on an ambulance service
    for some time and working real life [or death ] cpr on bodys, more than
    I'd like to count, Saveing my son from certain death TWICE in choking
    situations,I still realize the need to keep up to date and practice.
    For me, its paid off.  If I'd have let my son choke to death, I could
    not have lived with myself after!  Thats also why you'll have to 
    forgive when I get on these soapboxes, I've had first hand experiences.
    
    Children and eating:
    
    - never leave them unattended
    
    - never let them get unattentive to what they are doing
       - extreme crying/behavior
       - fights/playing
    
    - allows cut up their food so that the larges piece will fit though
      their food channel should they forget to chew
      - hotdogs should get attention here, always cut length ways.
      - hard candy... I don't give when young.
      - ice.  still dangerous.
    
    -popcorn and other smallest of objects are dangerous.  what can happen
      is they get sucked down the windpipe into the lungs.  when forein
      objects get into the lungs, phnemeun [sp] can develop.
    
    
    - then, never let them place more than one piece of meat/etc in the 
      mouth  at a time.  be on guard for chipmonking
    
    their are more dangerous things in life as Bruce pointed out.  Unless
    its happening to your child.
    
     Food and toys have age restrictions.
    
    	toys come with warning labels.  food doesn't. use your best of
    judgement. 
    
    ed
    

    Ed,
    
    I agree with you wholeheartedly, except that I don't consider you as
    being on a soapbox...It's a valid concern and a very serious issue.
    This is a subject which I care about deeply.
    
    Regarding your reference to the $35 cost 'hurting', let me make a couple
    of suggestions (although personnally, I think it would be the best $35
    that I could spend on my child...sure beats the hell out of handing
    that money over to Fisher-Price or Playschool...)
    
    	1) Many DEC facilities offer on-site CPR courses at no cost to DEC 
    employees. These courses include instruction on child/infant CPR, and
    offer certification as well. My class was taught by a captain from the
    Maynard Fire Dept. Contact your personnel office or security for more
    information.
    
    	2) Some hospitals allow you to take the course, but without the
    certification, at a reduced rate. Winchester Hospital, for example,
    charges $35 for the full course, but only $20 without the
    certification. They also offer similar discounts on their 'family
    rate'. I don't know how much extra you gain from being 'certified' if
    you've taken the course anyway. (I seem to remember that my
    certification test was just  a series of multiple choice questions, and
    was a test that "we couldn't fail" [instructor's quotes]). Perhaps
    someone more qualified can shed  more light on this.
    
    	Freddie

    Yes, there is little excuse for any Digit not getting CPR training
    through DEC, as I and many others have done.  Inquire at your local
    Health Services; if they don't already have one scheduled, they can
    probably refer you to another nearby, or arrange one specially for an 
    interested group.  Many Health Services staffers can provide the
    instruction, so the cost to DEC is really only released time.  I can't
    imagine that anyone couldn't get clearance for that, so as to be able
    to get the training during work time.
    
    We can disagree about the dangers of particular foods without
    disagreeing about the clear value of CPR training in the face of
    multiple hazards to the lives of kids and grownups alike. 
    
    		- Bruce

    Also check with the Red Cross.  Their classes used to be a bit
    cheaper, and some chapters will underwrite part of the cost for
    you.  Also, you can arrange to have them teach CPR and/or first
    aid to your entire church group, neighborhood association, scout
    troop, or whatever.  I don't know how much that costs.
    
    Some police and fire departments offer free CPR once in a while. 
    
    --bonnie

    First, I am certified yearly at DEC in first aid and CPR, and usually
    when I make the request to my manager I remind him of my child and
    my father in law with a heart problem.  (just a reminder...) and
    have never had problems enrolling in the class offered on site.
    
    Maybe this is the appropriate note to vent a rage over uneducated
    so called "professionals" since it concerns choking hazards.  Last
    week I took my husband to the doctor on call (ours is on vacation)
    for a minor cyst behind his ear.  We thought this would be a good
    time to take Joshua (14 months) so that he would realize that not
    all doctor's visits are painful.  Well, imagine my shock when the
    on call nurse offered Joshua (AGAIN-he is 14 months old) a balloon!
    I very hurriedly told her, "Absolutely not!  Babies choke on balloons!"
    And what did she do next but to bring him a hard plastic sticker
    with the rolling eyes that are about the size of a small eraser
    glued on!  Of course, I did not allow Josh this toy either.  I
    expressed my outrage to my husband and wondered silently if any
    of this nurse's patients had choked on toys given to them by the
    person who was supposed to be helping their health.?!  I can't believe
    a general practioner's nurse would be that naive to the hazards
    of choking!
    
    Pam 

    
    
    RE: .38
    
    I have had two separate occasions where the "Nurse Practictioner" has
    given my 6 month old son Tommy a "Tongue depressor" to play with (choke
    on!) while trying to examine his eyes, ears, etc.
    
    I'm not saying that he could choke to death on this (at least hopefully
    not while a doctor is present!!) but why put the threat there in the 
    first place!!
    
    
    PB
    

    I really don't believe supervised operation of a tonge depressor
    by a six month old is too serious.  I don't believe he could sallow
    it or get it in his airpassage.  What may have happen, as with other
    things infants put into their mounths is that it trigger a gaging
    reflex and that you may have confused the gaging reflex with choking?
    

    
    
    Yes, you are right. He did gag, but personally I wouldn't give an
    infant anything that I knew that he could gag on (supervised or
    otherwise) just so that he would sit still for a couple of minutes.
    I guess my point is he could have been given something that he could
    not stick in his throat. 
    
    

    Several years ago (I can't remember how many) I saw Dr. Heimlich on a
    TV talk show.  He stated that no one of any age should ever eat peanut
    butter all by itself.  He said his maneuver will work on just about
    anything, but NOT peanut butter.
    
    So I have never let my kids have straight peanut butter (if only I
    could convince my adult friends of the dangers!), but soft white bread
    is a culprit too?  Okay, no more soft white bread in my house anymore.
    (no great loss there)
    
    BTW, my kids aren't toddlers, they're almost 10 and almost 12.  
    
    /Wendy                                         

In the American Heart Association guidelines (as of six months ago anyway), 
the finger-sweep is a part of the cycle of actions used on an UNconscious 
victim.  On infants and children up to about age 8, the finger-sweep should 
*only* be done if the rescuer can actually *see* a foreign object.  A "blind" 
finger-sweep should only be done on an adult (which, for this purpose, 
includes children over 8 years).

At the risk of being repetitious, I'll reinforce what others have said
about formal CPR training.  No human being should be without it (IMO),
but especially no parent.  And once is not enough; certification is good
for one year, so the training and testing must be repeated annually.  I
admit that this seems like a nuisance, but I have been re-certifying
yearly for the past 6-7 years, and I have found that my skills and 
knowledge have improved steadily from the repeated exposure.  After all,
this is a skill that we hope to never have to use; we get rusty/forgetful
after months without practice.  I feel much more confident in my training
now than I did even a couple of years ago.

Sarah