Should I speak to the ganenet about choking hazards?

amother

Rose

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 2:50 pm

Tomorrow my 2-year-old is starting in a private gan that came highly recommended by many mothers. I know the ganenet well and trust her to be a responsible ganenet. What concerns me is that when she sent out invitations to the kids to come for an orientation in her house, she included a balloon. We don't give toddlers balloons, so it went straight to the trash. Then, at the orientation itself, she gave out lollipops to each kid (the ball-shaped ones). We don't give these to our toddlers either since the stick can come out and babies have died from the candy getting stuck in their throat. Should I say anything to her? I don't think she hands out balloons or lollipops in gan, but there are other things that might come up over the year.

amother

Burlywood

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 3:00 pm

Sorry but did you say orientation at her house? Unless she is a registered childminder no children should visit her house at all ever.
That is to ensure that grooming which leads to abuse does not occur. So if she wants children at her house, she must register with the state and be subject to inspection at any time. Even if parents are in attendance the guidelines still stand.
It seems a little off that she doesn't know this rule and the rule of choking, but it's so hard to find a warm loving person to take care of your child, so if she is willing to recognise and learn from her mistake re the choking, then perhaps she is simply unaware and your child will thrive in her care.

PS I am a child care worker which is how I know the above

amother

Rose

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 3:28 pm

amother wrote:

This is a home-based gan, so she had orientation in her house. And yes, she is registered.

amother

Rose

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 3:34 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

My (almost) 2 year old eats lolly's every week at Shabbas party with no problem.
I think at that age kids can learn "when there is no more we throw it out", "no baloon in mouth" etc.

I couldn't disagree with you more. The danger with lollipops is that they occasionally come off the stick and can c"v get lodged in a toddler's throat. See this story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new......html

and this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new......html

There's more out there, but I think these are enough.

Also, balloons are a well-known choking hazard and 2-year-olds can't be trusted not to put them in their mouths, especially since they tend to attempt to blow them up by themselves. Here's an article about the danger of balloons:

http://www.marshallbrain.com/cp/balloons.htm

I just want to add that I did not come here to debate whether lollipops and balloons are dangerous. I mistakenly assumed that that was undisputed. I was just questioning how to handle the situation with the ganenet.

amother

Azure

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 3:57 pm

My children all went to this one ganenet (also in her house ) who was totally amazing BUT gave out balloons and allowed lolly pops in birthday bags. It drove me crazy but she has been a ganenet for many years and I knew I wouldn't change her in a day. BUT I knew her personally and knw she has her eyes on the kids ALL the time especially when she gives out ballons and stuff And that she's the safe type- very worried about their safety etc. So she have out balloons but told them to be careful and if one popped made sure to put it in the garbage immediately.. In other words I trusted her as a person .
Also I think its cultural- all my friends who send to israeli gananot say that their kids get lollys and balloon and whatnot (even small hard candies!).

amother

Rose

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 4:01 pm

amother wrote:

I have no doubt it is cultural - there's a lot less safety awareness in Israel than in the US. Regarding watching the kids when giving out balloons, here's a quote from the article I linked to:

Quote:

Basically, the problem is that kids get balloons or pieces of broken balloons in/near their mouths. Then they inhale, and the balloon gets sucked into the airway. It is nearly impossible to get the balloon back out and the child suffocates. Think about this as a parent. Even if you are standing right there when it happens, it may be impossible to get the balloon out of your child's airway because it is not heavy enough to fall out on its own.

The lollipop stories I linked to also both happened right in front of the parent's/sibling's eyes and there was nothing they could do to save their children. So watching isn't always enough.

etky

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 4:07 pm

Just a few months ago a pre-school child here in Israel chocked to death on a balloon.
There have been several cases here unfortunately involving babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and even young school age kids in recent years. I can't believe the ganenet is unaware of them. They've been in the news.
My friend's daughter almost died eating a lolipop that broke off in her mouth when she was about 4 or 5, sitting right next to her mother. B'H her father was around at the time too and he knew how to get it out of her throat. It was a matter of seconds.
These things can be dangerous and kids that age can't be trusted to consistently obey instructions not to put them in their mouths.
I think a chat with the ganenet is in order and while you're at it take a look around and see if they're are any other chocking hazards in view.
I'm sure you can conduct the conversation in a non-threatening manner. Worst comes to worse she think's you're hyper-vigilant. Hopefully your bringing up the matter will make her so. As a child-minder she has to be.

amother

Lemon

Sun, Sep 06 2015, 4:51 pm

I was working in a mishpachton several years ago at the time that a baby in a nearby yishuv died of strangulation by a blind cord while in maon (not ours). I think the moatza decided all the metaplot in all the Chinuch Gil Harach needed a first aid course after that, or maybe it was just the hanhala of where I was working.

I had only been in the country maybe 4 or 5 months at most, and my Hebrew wasn't so great yet. I got yelled at by the Mada instructor for whispering to the person sitting next to me trying to clarify what was being said without interrupting the teacher every 5 minutes.

I, at least, had taken a first aid class before in English. There were 2 or 3 metaplot who were even newer olot than I, from the Bnei Menashe, who had no idea what was being said. One of them didn't show up to the second half and later got quite a dressing-down from the menahelet. I didn't blame her for not wanting to waste her evening- if the menahelet really cared about all of us understanding child safety, she should have had more understandable instruction or made a rule that neither I nor the other new olot could be left alone with kids, and that there needed to be a metapelet properly certified in first aid present at all times.

That's just one story I can think of (one of the worse ones but probably the least identifying)- I cannot bring myself to put my children in a mishpachton before they're old enough to understand some basic safety and tell me what's going on. The mishpachton I worked in was one with supposedly good ratios and a good reputation, but a big change-over in staff mid-year was beyond what parents could have predicted. I won't trust anyone with my child whom I don't know very well personally.

Definitely speak to the ganenet and if she doesn't seem inclined to listen, maybe you need to look for alternate childcare arrangements.

amother

Rose

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 12:05 pm

I did say something to her today. Since it my son's first day though gan started a week ago, I made it with her last night that I would bring him a bit late and then stay there with him for a while. When I came, the kids were eating aruchat esser. There was quite a bit of mess on the floor - bread crusts, sandwich bags - things you would expect when a bunch of toddlers eat - but the first thing I noticed was an uninflated balloon right next to one of the tables. I didn't say anything for the first 15 minutes or so - I was just shmoozing with teh ganenet. At one point, I noticed that one of the kids was eating something that I first thought was popcorn and then realized I had been wrong, so I casually said to the ganenet, "Oh my, I thought she was eating popcorn. That would be so dangerous!" She smiled and said, uh huh. Then she bent down and picked up the balloon from the floor, so I said (while smiling), "So is that." She nodded. Then I said, "By the way, we also don't give him lollipops. They're a serious choking hazard because teh candy can come off the stick and get stuck in teh throat." She replied that she never gives out any nosh in gan anyway. I told her that I noticed she had given out lollipops at orientation, so she laughed and said, "Oh, so you got scared?" I said yes, and that was that. Hopefully the message got through.

Happydance

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 1:29 pm

there are certain brand lollypops in israel that are major choking hazards even if you give your kids lollies generally.
Plastic stick and roundish shape ensures that its slips off the stick just about everytime!
I am not personally against lollypops for my kids, but I dont take chances with this type
I think most israeli mothers agree and there is a reason they dont sell them in america!