Pediatricians want hot dogs reshaped and repackaged with warning labels.

[Liberal_in_LA]

decades ago, I was babysitting a 2 year old. Thank goodness I was standing by when the hot dog caught in his throat. He started choking then the perfectly shaped for choking hot dog piece flew out his mouth. If I had stepped out of the room, if he hadn't been able to dislodge the dog himself...OMG. HOT DOGS ARE THE DEVIL!!!


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Hot dogs declared choking hazard. Should they get a new look?
By Carrie Stetler
February 23, 2010, 6:08PM

Are hot dogs so dangerous they need to look more like chicken nuggets?Until my kids were out of kindergarten, I was paranoid about hot dogs. I knew they were one of the most common foods that could choke children, so when I served them to my kids, I cut them into bits.

Hot dogs never hurt them. And now that they're older, I don't worry so much. But the American Academy of Pediatrics thinks hot dogs are so dangerous they should be reshaped and repackaged with prominant warning labels.

A vocal advocate for the changes is Joan Stavros Adler of Warren County, whose four-year-old son Eric died in 2001 after choking on a hot dog.

Foods that are round or cylindrical pose the greatest risk according to experts, so why not change that? Hard candies should be flat, they recommend. But so far, there's been no consensus on what hot dogs would look like if food manufacturers follow the academy's suggestions.

http://www.nj.com/parenting/carrie_stetler/index.ssf/2010/02/hot_dogs_declared_choking_haza.html

[w8liftinglady]

1. when I worked Pedi-we had 4 kids do this...hot dogs were #1 choking hazard

[Warpy]

20. Right, that's what I learned in nursing school

I'd avoid feeding hot dogs to kids while they are infants and toddlers, at the very least, and probably hold back on them until the kids are school age. I'd also make teaching parents the Heimlich maneuver a part of prenatal care.

[w8liftinglady]

27. agreed...I also had 4 kids die from tylenol OD-pre-childproof caps...

If the technology exists,why not?

[Edweird]

2. Seriously? Isn't that a bit much?

I mean, I could see a warning for all the chemicals, but for choking? What's next, a drowning warning on water bottles?

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. buckets have warning labels on them these days. Small kids can fall head first and drown

[Edweird]

8. Yes they do. Outside of institutional/commercial preperation, I am unaware of buckets being involved

in meals.

[midnight]

4. How about grapes?

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. another choking hazard!

[Edweird]

12. Maybe we can genetically engineer a new shape. Somebody has to put tiny warning labels on each one.

It'll be a whole new industry.

[Confusious]

44. Lasers

And make everyone buy a microscope so they can read the labels

[Obamanaut]

6. Can a person possibly choke on a chicken nugget, or a pea, or

most any bite size food item? Or even a bite of pork chop?

Can an eye be stabbed with a fork? Or a pea stuffed up a nostril?

[notadmblnd]

29. my cousin got a dandilion stuck up her nose once.

she was having trouble breathing and my aunt knew she didn't have a cold. At first, when my aunt pulled it out we thought it was a big spider. Apparently it had been in there a few days and had turned black.

[dysfunctional press]

7. so do some christian fundies.

those things are OBSCENE.

[TheMadMonk]

9. Don't feed children age inappropriate foods.

A huge proportion of "accidental" child deaths are no accident. They are the result of adult ignorance, stupidity, or inattention.

[Dappleganger]

26. +100! nt

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Brickbat]

50. I object to your use of the word "retarded" in this context.

[Skittles]

11. I fed a kid I was babysitting a hot dog

about an hour later he started getting pains in his stomach that got worse and worse - I panicked and ran for my dad (two houses away) - I babbled that I thought I had poisoned this boy with a hot dog - dad took the boy to the hospital - it was an appendix rupture - turned out the boy had had pains for some time but hadn't said anything because he was afraid he'd be kicked off of Little League. Hoo boy. :o

[Egnever]

13. Darwin awards are there for a reason

[Hugabear]

38. Exactly. Stupid fucking children.

Choking on a hot dog, serves those little fucking bastards right. Gotta clean up that gene pool, eh?

:sarcasm:

[hlthe2b]

14. Reshape 'em, put warning labels on 'em, include a pkg insert...

Any of that can be done and I certainly won't object, but the bottom line really has to be observant and anticipating parents.

Yes, with two parent working households, I know how hard that can be. But when I think to the deadly risks my Mother and her cohort managed to keep us away from without benefit of child safety locks, warnings on everything we buy, child-safety tested toys, etc., etc., it is a wonder any of us survived past childhood.

Mom would see candy or food that might cause us to choke and she'd cut it up or take it away. She'd see a deadly discarded fridge behind a house and go down there to demand they rope or chain it shut or get rid of it. If a child went missing, Mom knew to check the trunks of those big honking cars that didn't open from the inside. It was instinctive with her as it is with me now, when I see children or pets coming into contact with potential risks.

So reshape the hotdog or whatever additional measures they want to do. That is just fine, until the next hazard-- which is out there already, I can assure you. Or maybe we need to teach those observational and consistent anticipatory parental skills that kept the rest of us out of danger all along-- How to be in the moment. How to avoid deadly distractions. :shrug:

[Binka]

15. What's Next....Warnings on Johnsons? n/t

[DJ13]

16. Hot dogs already come in another shape

Its called "bologna".

[Toucano]

33. +1

That is just what I was thinking.

[Lance_Boyle]

49. but, but, but

the little darlings might put a slice over their noses and mouths and be unable to breathe! Bologna needs warning labels, too. Or maybe safety holes. Yes. Safety holes would be perfect.

Or maybe the "concerned pediatricians of america" needs to STFU and get back to the vaccinating and handing out lollipops. Buncha fucking dolts.

[agent46]

17. With all the scandals

With all the scandals in the meat industry I'm just glad hotdogs are made of plastic.

[Jamastiene]

18. Maybe, perhaps, parents could teach the little rugrats to chew their food properly.

Or maybe parents should not feed their kids hot dogs until they determine if their kids are at least smart enough to take decent sized bites, chew and then swallow instead of just swallowing their food whole like a fucking goddamn Hoover. Make parents teach their little spawn how to fucking chew and swallow properly!

Leave the fucking hot dogs ALONE!

Lame brained stupid fucking idea... fucking with hot dogs that way... people oughta be ashamed of themselves... wanting to fuck with an American classic that way...

AMERICA HATERS!!!

PARTY POOPERS!!!

MORONS!!!

:rant:

THERE!!! That feels better now.

[Warpy]

22. Yeah, I'd be more inclined to keep them away from the rug rats

than force manufacturers to change the shape. Somehow, a round, flat dog in a burger bun just wouldn't be the same.

[Jamastiene]

23. It wouldn't be a hot dog at all. It would be a bologna sandwich.

:P

[Warpy]

37. Yeah, and why bother?

[jmowreader]

19. I have a better idea...

instead of reshaping hot dogs, feed your kids HAMBURGERS!

[cameozalaznick]

21. Forget about it...

it's what's IN the hot dogs we should be concerned about.

[Arctic Dave]

24. What about cherries? On our daughters first birthday she grabbed the cherry on

top of her cake and popped in her mouth. Our friend happened to be holding her and squeezed her stomach to pop it out.

[seabeyond]

25. i would cut in half and put on bun. kids rarely have hot dogs. one of the worst foods. nt

[notadmblnd]

28. I think they should have a warning

but I don't think they need to be reshaped. Any parent with half a brain isn't going to give a toddler a hot dog without cutting it up. Besides there's the potential for a child to choke on anything or even an adult for that matter. I once choked on cheese from my french onion soup. I had to reach down my throat and pull the cheese out, else I would have died.

[Codeine]

30. Christ. Try monitoring your kids and teaching them to chew.

I quite frankly could not care less.

[flvegan]

31. The warning label needs to say: DON'T EAT THIS SHIT.

Feeding garbage to kids. Slaughterhouse leftovers. Might as well scoop a can of 9-Lives into a bun and cover it in mustard.

[unabelladonna]

32. let's puree all food

do parents bear any responsibility for the well-being of their children? where do we draw the line. apples (kids can choke on skin), rice (grains can lodge in the throat)..it doesn't end.

[Withywindle]

43. Yes, agreed. Getting rid of any remotely possible risk to any child anywhere is an urgent need.

And I once saw someone here on a thread about a news story that involved a 19-year-old referring to the "child."

We should puree all food for kids into a formless paste until the kid has his or her BA safely in hand. Can't be too careful!

[Hannah Bell]

46. but then you might aspirate. better to have a tube feeding. except for the infection danger

from the placement surgery.

i'm afraid it's hopeless.

[ChicagoSuz219]

34. I just used to cut them into smaller pieces. n/t

[Hassin Bin Sober]

40. The hot dogs? Or the children?

[ChicagoSuz219]

45. LOL... the hot dogs...

...did it for the dogs, too.

[Toucano]

35. I can go along with a warning label.

A lot of people may not realize the potential risk.

[stray cat]

36. A minority of how many pediatricians?

[petronius]

39. They should be shaped like spoons - they're just mustard-delivery vehicles, anyway...

:9

[SoCalDem]

41. Hot dogs, apples...many food items are potentially dangerous for toddlers

We bought skinless dogs & I took a potato masher to them .. easier for the boys to eat and safer too..

apples were peeled and then the fruit "forked" off the core..

I feel sad for the young Moms who apparently did not have much training..and who are surprised that a toddler cannot navigate many foods safely...or window blind-cords..or stairs..or bathtubs or pools..

When my kids were little, I literally crawled around the house looking at stuff from their level, and was amazed at all the "interesting" stuff they might want to get into..

[Countdown_3_2_1]

42. Humans choke to death on food every year. IV feeding only!

Food should be outlawed. All threats to humanity must be eliminated.

[Hannah Bell]

47. iv feeds pose infection risk. suicide is the only option.

[blueworld]

48. I choked swallowing water down the wrong pipe & damned near passed out

Just sayin', because if my progeny were as stupid as I was even soup wouldn't be safe.

Also, is this the same American Academy of Pediatrics that recommended not prescribing antibiotics for a kid's ear infection because "over-prescribing" contributes to resistant bacteria?

I would have suggested not shoveling antibiotics into all our livestock and spraying it all over fruit trees. However, I'm not a medical professional. Their solutions are more creative than mine.

[slackmaster]

51. There's an amazing new invention called a "knife", that can use to cut foods into small pieces

Especially useful for parents of small children.