14 – What is choking? Gagging? Aspiration? What are the signs, symptoms and differences? And what can we do as parents to protect our child with Nikki Jurcutz from Tiny Hearts Education

One of the most asked questions we receive at Boob to Food is “what is the difference between choking and gagging and how can I safely feed my child to prevent it?”. This week we speak to the incredibly Nikki Jurcutz, CEO and Co-Founder of Tiny Hearts Education, as well as Ex Advanced Life Paramedic and of course mumma.

As a paramedic, Nikki would often be called to jobs where, had parents been confident with simple first aid, the outcome could have been very different. Kids could have been treated at home by their parents or, even more devastatingly, lives could have been saved. Because of this, Tiny Hearts was born. Nikki and her sister Rach created the Tiny Hearts Baby & Child First Aid Course to help parents and caregivers feel confident, educated and empowered to act in a first-aid emergency with their little one. Nikki has two beautiful children, with a third on the way and loves to educate and empower other parents on how to tackle parenthood.

in this podcast we cover:

• The difference between gagging and choking and how you would respond in each situation

• Choking hazards and choking prevention

• Creating a safe eating environment for your child as one of the best ways to prevent choking

• The difference between a partial and complete airway obstruction and how to respond

• Aspiration and the common consequences as well as how to recognise it

• and so much more!

While we may not be able to control EVERYTHING when it comes to the health and safety of our children, we hope that this episode leaves you feeling empowered and more confident to identify problems and respond accordingly. Tiny Hearts share SO many more resources and courses on their website, so make sure you check out their offerings so that you feel equipped to handle an issue should it present.

Some resources we mention in the episode include:

• The hot dog demonstration on Instagram

• Tenderheart by Hetty McKinnon

You can find Nikki on Instagram @tinyheartseducation or via her website tinyhearts.com where you will find a selection of courses and other resources.

Listen to Episode 14 HERE

Follow us on instagram @boobtofood to stay up to date with all the podcast news, recipes and other content that we bring to help make meal times and family life easier.

Today’s episode was brought to you by Kärcher Australia. Kärcher have a range of cleaning appliances, but their most exciting when it comes to cleaning up after mealtimes is the FC 7 Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner. The FC 7 is a 2-in-1 sweep and mop – because who has time to do both! It also has a two tank system, which means you get continuous fresh water for cleaning with a separate dirty water tank that collects dirty water and debris.

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Visit www.kaercher.com/au/ or find them on Instagram @karcher_australia