Skip to content
You’ve all seen the warnings about cutting up grapes before giving them to your children, a lot of schools even place notes in packed lunches if they are not cut the correct way and the meme of how to prepare grapes is forever shared across social media.
With Easter coming up I want to warn you all about another deadly choking hazard, one that tragically took away my child.
It has been just short of three years since my precious little girl Sophie passed away she had choked on a mini egg and I was unable to dislodged it, even with back slaps and pushing up and under her ribs, I had done a first aid course only six months prior to this event so all the techniques to help a choking child were still fresh in my mind but it didn’t help, I watched the light slip away from my babies eyes, I tried in vain to save her.
Sophie was 5 1/2 so not a tiny tot yet this seemingly harmless treat took my angel away.
If your children enjoy these chocolate treats please watch them extra close and remind them to sit down whilst eating them or avoid them altogether.
Since Sophie’s passing I have seen many other parents posting into “mum groups”or their personal Facebook timelines saying their child had also choked on mini eggs, please parents be careful I would hate to know another child had been harmed by these Easter treats, if just one person reads this and watches their toddler, child or teen extra close when eating these my daughter’s death will not be in vain, I would love to have them removed from the shelves but I know this will not happen, but getting parents to be extra vigilant is the best I can do, please watch your babies.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
Thank you so much for sharing.i buy these and I have a 3 and a half y.o boy.i never give them to him but now I never will.im so sorry for your loss xxx
My son does not have these even to this day. They also do the snow ball ones on christmas when he was three- he choked on one after opening them in his present from someone. It completely blocked his air way, he could not make a sound. Everything slowed down. Luckily I had attended a first aid course only 2 weeks earlier and with firm back slaps and the a firm chest thrust, it dislodged and the snow ball shot across the room. I remember it like it was yesterday, yet it was over 7 years ago. We were lucky, but reading this notice it makes me realise how so close to tragedy we were. : ( my thoughts go out to the lady who has written in this notice.
My twin girls are 14 years old now , when they were 5 one of them choked on a mini egg and for years after I could not let her have them. When I finally did they were cut in half and closely supervised. I’ve never forgotten it and even today when she has them I still have to remind her what happened all those years ago. So sorry for your loss.
My son was around 5 when he was in his car seat nibbling on them and then he began to choke, my first instinct was to stick my finger in his mouth to dislodge it, luckily it worked but in hindsight I could have pushed it further back! ☹️You do what you feel is necessary at that time but I think they should be made smaller. Hate to imagine how many kids have been unlucky. The company should change the design to prevent any more loss of life! My heart goes out to the ones who did not make it x
This happened to my son at around 4 years old.Fortunately i managed to get it out with the Heimlich manouvre as the back slapping wasn’t working.I remember his lips were turning blue.It was one of the scariest moments of my life.He was eating a small box of the mini eggs and he was tipping them into his mouth and one got stuck.I now always tell my children not to tip food into their mouth but to pick food up with their fingers and put food in their mouths.
So sorry for your loss was gunna get my girls these but I think I’ll pass now x
I’ve bought these Easter eggs for my 8 grandchildren. Wish I’d chosen something different now 😢 xx
Perhaps you could open the boxes take out the mini egg bags and just wrap the chocolate egg itself up in some nice clear wrap with a ribbon tied round the top of it then that way they won’t even know there was supposed to be mini eggs with the chocolate egg 🙂
I’ll have them 🙂
Having recently finished off a dozen of my grandchildren’s mini eggs, I could see that they could cause a child to choke. They are very hard
I am so sorry for your pain. What a harrowing experience. Thank you for sharing to raise awareness.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and pain – I’m so sorry. I’ll share with others and offer a different treat to my children, which I wouldn’t have done otherwise. Your post has undoubtedly saved anguish or tragedy, thank you x
So sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing xx
I had to spend time in hospital before my baby girl was going to be born in the April, my older daughter was four years and eight months old and staying with my parents during that time.They had given her some of these eggs to eat and she had started choking on one of them, luckily my Mum and Dad were with her and just by pure luck were able to dislodge it and she came to no harm apart from the three of them being very upset. I have only ever bought them to decorate Easter cakes and never given them to my girls unless under strict supervision . My parents only told me when I was home from hospital, the story has been told many times since and I would never buy them for my grandsons. jacqueline. I feel very sad for the families that children have died this way.
I’m so sorry for your xxxx
Any hard food is a choking hazard for children. I shudder when I see parents giving their kids popcorn and/or peanuts. So are apples, carrots, pears. All food needs to be bite size, and bite size for a child is small. A child throat is much narrower than an adults. One of my sons managed to inhale a piece of short licorice when he coughed as he put it in his mouth. It was only my fast reaction when I realised he wasn’t fooling about and gave him a couple of slaps on the back, then the heimlich (yes, I do know that’s out of favour now, but it saved the day then) that saw it power out of his mouth, and his colour return to normal. Never let your kids eat when you are not around. Things happen in seconds.
Sorry for your loss but children should be taught to chew not just swallow,
Seriously? Leave the judgement out of the comments. She’s been through enough.
This poor woman doesn’t need a lecture, she needs compassion and kindness. She was giving her child a treat and it ended in tragedy for goodness sake.
Yup. My son choked on a mini egg. He was 7 at the time so not little. Luckily I’m advanced first aid trained and very experienced so I got it out. Still scared the living day lights out of me.
Just like with grapes, I’ve always cut these in half for fear of my little girl choking on them. Your poor little babba (even if they’re no longer babies physically, they’ll always be our babies). This was heartbreaking to read. 😥
After reading this yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about the pain you must have gone through. Your story broke my heart, particularly the line ‘I watched the light slip away from my babies eyes…’ I can’t imagine what it must have been like to go through this. Your poor little baby, sleep well, Sophie. xxx
I’m so sorry for your tragic loss it does state on the packet do not give to any child under the age of 4 but regardless it’s scary what they can choke on and I’m very very sorry for you loss i cannot imagine how hard this is for you and your family x
Her daughter was 5 1/2, so I don’t know what the package warning has to do with this.
Sorry so for your loss, my heart goes out to you the worst thing that can happen is for a parent to lose there child xx
I give my 5 year old son these and I shall definitely be thinking twice now after reading your tragic awareness….im so so sorry for your loss can’t begin to imagine the heartbreak you must be going through x
Xgemx thank you so much for your message.. it brought tears to my eyes… most parents have had some experience with their children chocking, some of us are luckier than others. I hadn’t even thought of these eggs being dangerous, (grapes yes).. we won’t be buying them anymore and I’m disgusted the company doesn’t change their design. I have no doubt you would have done everything you could to stop it from happening and this was a true tragedy.. I hope that your daughter has gone somewhere beautiful and peaceful and I hope you and your family are able to recover from this.
So so sorry for your loss. These mini eggs have worried me since last year and unfortunately many people don’t take the risk seriously until something tragic happens. Thank you for sharing. I have passed this on and had a lot of feedback from fellow mamas. No one wants to lose a child. I can’t imagine what you have been through. Lots of love to you and your family x
I am so sorry for your loss, the pain you must fell, it’s unimaginable. Thank you for sharing and warning x
Sorry for your loss. Thank you for your love !
Really sorry for your loss. I have three children and am so greatful for you warning others of the hazards that are associated with mini eggs. X
I was always choking on boiled sweets as a kid. My gran would calmly put the kettle on…til almost hot, pour a cup of the water, make me take a swig, and the sweet would pop out! No idea how that works but it did every time. I think it has something to do with the heated water expanding your throat?
Is XGemX a user’s account? In one post, she has two young daughters; in another, two sons; oh, then a different son. And she has a brain tumour. And about 1000 links to Amazon shopping.
A note on back “slaps” to all parents who might worried about hurting their child — they are now called back “blows” for a reason — you have to do this technique hard enough that it scares you for it to work, don’t worry about bruising your child if they are about to die from choking, it’s better they live with a bruised back and lose their life. A friend of mine who is a paramedic had to perform this technique on his own 2-year-old daughter and even with his training failed to do it hard enough until he seriously panicked and a surge of adrenaline caused him to thump his little girl’s back with real force, dislodging the plastic object in her throat. It’s natural instinct to be gentle with our children but bear this in mind if you’re ever confronted with a choking child.
So sorry for your loss. Sending lots of love to you and your family. Thank you for sharing. I’m so paranoid about my little one choking and this just makes me realise why. As particularly with mini eggs/grapes/Lollipops xx
I work in a school and they give these out at Easter for a treat in Easter baskets, will be definitely talking to the school about making changes after reading this, thank you for sharing and I am thinking of your in your loss.
I am so pleased this is being shared. We got scarily close to losing Izzy when she was two when she choked on a mini egg. The quick response of a 6 year old (to whom we will be forever grateful) probably saved her life. By the time we got there Izzy was starting to change colour. Luckily turning her upside down and thumping her back dislodged the egg but it was very close to ending very badly.
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss, xgemx, but your story will help raise vital awareness of mini eggs as choking hazards and potentially save lives.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it can’t have been easy at all.
I work for a national women’s weekly magazine and wondered if you would be interested in sharing your story, anonymously if you preferred. If you would like to chat confidentially, please email me at asha.mehta@bauermedia.co.uk and we can help you get your message out.
Thanks, Asha
My daughter choked age 5 on a mini egg.After back slaps and hind rick manoeuvre did not work she was turning blue , her dad as a last resort unlodged it ( not saying this is a method to deal with a choking child it was desperate measures) with his finger. I think the oval shape adds to the chocking danger..She is 27 now,.It was one of the most scary things to happen to me I thought I was going to loose her.
Deepest sympathy for the mum who lost her child. I would ban them!