How on earth did parents bring up their children safely before government intervention? It is a miracle clearly that so many of us made it to adulthood given how terribly dangerous food is. Thank goodness that the Ministry of Control er, Education is going to take the responsibility for keeping children safe off parents because we all know that government bureaucracies are much more efficient at doing things than the private sector.
What do parents know about bringing up children anyway? A supervisor with a clipboard and a list of dangerous party foods is the only way to ensure that children can survive their thoroughly miserable childhood.
- Popcorn…nope.
- Slices of apple…nope.
- Hard or chewy sweets or lollies…nope.
- Potato chips…nope.
- Hard rice crackers…nope.
- Dried fruit…nope.
- Sausages, saveloys and “cheerios”…nope.
- Marshmallows…yeah?…nope.
The Ministry of Education is considering a ban on foods including sausages, chips and popcorn in early childhood centres because they pose a high choking risk.
The ministry has told centres it wants to make Ministry of Health guidelines on food preparation compulsory in order to reduce the risk of children choking on their food.
It said under-fives were at higher risk of choking because they had small air and food passages and were still learning how to chew food properly.
The guidelines also said small children should be supervised while eating.
Since the start of 2016, the ministry had been alerted to seven cases of choking, including the case of a 22-month-old child who suffered severe brain damage after choking on an apple.
Stuff
It is typical of this government that they would react to a small number of food-related incidents by taking control and banning foods that (let’s face it) were a big part of most of our childhoods. Just because some unfortunate children choked and one died they think that the only way to address the potential for choking is to BAN certain foods.
When a parent backs over their child in the driveway does the government BAN cars? No, they run campaigns to alert parents and others to the dangers of reversing down the driveway when you have young children in the home.
This proposed ban is yet another knee jerk reaction that looks like it is doing something but that is not addressing the real issues. It is yet another opportunity for the food Nazis to start to control our children’s diet.
The Ministry ban does not address the real issue here which is adequate supervision while the children are eating. Each centre should be allowed the freedom to work out a solution for their own situations regarding food rather than a one size fits all regulation.
For the example of the 22 month-year-old who choked on an apple the ratio of staff to children is currently 1 adult to 5 children. For the over 2’s it is 1 adult to 10 children, and that adult does not have to be out in the general area – they can be in the kitchen or elsewhere to count. This sector is already overburdened with regulations. This government needs to stop banning and start listening.