# Peeling grapes and apples?



## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

At what age did you stop doing this?


----------



## katt (Nov 29, 2001)

I've never peeled grapes or apples.


----------



## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

Really? I don't know why I started doing it. I think I read somewhere that the peels are choking hazards.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Probably, Lina tends to gag out skins more often than anything else.

I had to peel one batch of grapes for her because the skins were just too tough to chew. So bad I peeled MY grapes too.


----------



## lizfu (Jul 18, 2008)

We have never peeled Ben's grapes- we just cut them into 8 pieces, maybe. And apples we still peel- but he isn't really into apples and still doesn't have a ton of back teeth. He's mostly a sauce man.


----------



## HappyFox05 (Apr 11, 2007)

I've never peeled grapes. I can't remember when she started eating them, but they're a staple now at 23 months. Grape tomatoes, too.







(Which she calls "grapes" or "matoes".)


----------



## CrunchyChristianMama (Dec 5, 2008)

We've never peeled either. Sometimes she spits out the skins of apples, but never has with grapes.


----------



## inkslinger (May 29, 2009)

I never peeled grapes, but I did cut them in half. Apples, I peeled for dd1 until she was 2 or so, dd2 I don't think I did after she was 1 or so!


----------



## sweetcheeks (May 21, 2005)

I don't peel either of them. I peeled apples with my oldest and to this day, at 6.5 years old, he still will not eat an unpeeled apple. It's annoying because I can't just throw an apple in his lunch kit the days he stays at school for lunch.

Grapes are cut in half (or quarters, if they're particularly big) and apples are cored and cut into wedges. Sometimes DS2 will gag on a piece of apple peel but he spits it out no problem.


----------



## MissMommyNiceNice (May 1, 2007)

never peeled. I think if you do, it only encourages them not to eat it later. DS eats most of his apple peels now, although sometimes he still spits them out.


----------



## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I don't peel. DD gets grape halves or thirds and apple slices and has since she was 9 months old.


----------



## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

I don't peel. I do cut, though, and you should too. Even if you think your child is fine.

PLEASE READ THIS, BECAUSE IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!

*I once saw a child 5 years old die

right in front of me

from choking on a grape.*

She wasn't doing anything risky-- she was sitting at a cafeteria table at the school I worked at. Yes, she was properly supervised. And yes, the Heimlich maneuver was performed, correctly, more than once, by two different adults. They were not successful in dislodging the grape, and the child died before EMS arrived.

This is no joke. A child younger than at least six should not be allowed to eat foods like grapes or grape tomatoes unless they're cut. The same for round pieces of hot dogs, hard or very chewy candies, or anything that is similarly sized and firm in texture. These foods are exactly the right size to become lodged in the trachea. They completely block airflow to the lungs. The Heimlich is not a sure thing-- sometimes you can't dislodge the food. And every second it takes you to dislodge the food, the child's growing brain is deprived of oxygen.

Cut grapes. Seriously. Cut them at least in fourths, so that no matter which way the grape goes down, it can't become lodged.
***************************

FWIW, peels may cause GAGGING, but they won't cause CHOKING. A peel is not the right size and shape to completely block a child's trachea. Gagging is unpleasant and uncomfortable, but not deadly like choking is. So I don't think peeling is necessary past the age when a child seems able to handle the peel.


----------



## clicksab (Oct 15, 2006)

Never peeled grapes. We stopped peeling apples....today! I've been offering for a while, she just didn't like it I guess. But we got a different kind of apple and she seems to not mind the peel now!


----------



## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
I don't peel. I do cut, though, and you should too. Even if you think your child is fine.

PLEASE READ THIS, BECAUSE IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!

*I once saw a child 5 years old die

right in front of me

from choking on a grape.*

She wasn't doing anything risky-- she was sitting at a cafeteria table at the school I worked at. Yes, she was properly supervised. And yes, the Heimlich maneuver was performed, correctly, more than once, by two different adults. They were not successful in dislodging the grape, and the child died before EMS arrived.

This is no joke. A child younger than at least six should not be allowed to eat foods like grapes or grape tomatoes unless they're cut. The same for round pieces of hot dogs, hard or very chewy candies, or anything that is similarly sized and firm in texture. These foods are exactly the right size to become lodged in the trachea. They completely block airflow to the lungs. The Heimlich is not a sure thing-- sometimes you can't dislodge the food. And every second it takes you to dislodge the food, the child's growing brain is deprived of oxygen.

Cut grapes. Seriously. Cut them at least in fourths, so that no matter which way the grape goes down, it can't become lodged.
***************************

FWIW, peels may cause GAGGING, but they won't cause CHOKING. A peel is not the right size and shape to completely block a child's trachea. Gagging is unpleasant and uncomfortable, but not deadly like choking is. So I don't think peeling is necessary past the age when a child seems able to handle the peel.

And THANKS!! I feel sick after reading this, but thanks for the reminder.


----------



## jennchsm (Jun 24, 2008)

Well... an adult can choke to death on a piece of food too -- that's why we're all supposed to know the Heimlich Maneuver. I know the above commenter had a traumatic experience, but by that line of reasoning you should never let your children out of the house at all because of all the possible bad things that can happen, from kidnappers to car accidents. Granted, I'm a bit of a free ranger, so take that as you will. 

I've never peeled either grapes or apples, mostly because I'm lazy, but also because IIRC most of the nutritional value of both is in the peel. We did BLW with our son, and we gave him whole apples to gnaw on from 6 months old. Granted, he mostly sucked on them then, but now (at 22 months) he can actually eat an entire (small) apple all by himself, unpeeled.

He didn't digest grape skins for a long time (they came out in his diaper, LOL), but once he got some molars we stopped seeing that. We used to cut up his grapes, but when he was around 14 months he got hold of some whole grapes and very carefully bit into them one by one. They were even seeded, and he carefully spit out all the seeds, much to our amazement! So I haven't cut them up since.

BLW seems to really help them learn how to maneuver food in their mouths. DS hasn't so much as gagged in a year, now that I think about it.


----------



## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jennchsm* 
Well... an adult can choke to death on a piece of food too -- that's why we're all supposed to know the Heimlich Maneuver. I know the above commenter had a traumatic experience, but by that line of reasoning you should never let your children out of the house at all because of all the possible bad things that can happen, from kidnappers to car accidents. Granted, I'm a bit of a free ranger, so take that as you will. 

I've never peeled either grapes or apples, mostly because I'm lazy, but also because IIRC most of the nutritional value of both is in the peel. We did BLW with our son, and we gave him whole apples to gnaw on from 6 months old. Granted, he mostly sucked on them then, but now (at 22 months) he can actually eat an entire (small) apple all by himself, unpeeled.

He didn't digest grape skins for a long time (they came out in his diaper, LOL), but once he got some molars we stopped seeing that. We used to cut up his grapes, but when he was around 14 months he got hold of some whole grapes and very carefully bit into them one by one. They were even seeded, and he carefully spit out all the seeds, much to our amazement! So I haven't cut them up since.

BLW seems to really help them learn how to maneuver food in their mouths. DS hasn't so much as gagged in a year, now that I think about it.

Well, she did say they did the heimlich, but I like reminders like that, because I have a tendency to get complacent sometimes.

Come to think of it, DS hasn't gagged on anything in a very long time. He has had whole grapes, and I know he can chew them, but I always would rather be safe than sorry.


----------



## crunchymamatobe (Jul 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yasinsmama* 
Really? I don't know why I started doing it. I think I read somewhere that the peels are choking hazards.

I read this, too, but I never bothered to peel them.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

I don't cut grapes, I just watch to make sure she's taking a bite out of the grape instead of putting the whole thing in her mouth.

If she's going to have a grape alone, then I'll cut grapes.

Oh, and be sure to cut raisins too. They can rehydrate in the body and cause some uncomfortable pooping according to my little cousin's unpleasant experience.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Oh, and if you're giving red delicious apples, do peel them. Those are the worst peels EVER.


----------



## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Oh, and if you're giving red delicious apples, do peel them. Those are the worst peels EVER.

Which apples have easier to chew peels?


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yasinsmama* 
Which apples have easier to chew peels?

Galas, Jonagolds, Fujis, Honeycrisps, Braeburns, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Granny Smiths (those are a bit tart to be a good eating apple), really just about every other apple out there. The red deliciouses were bred to have extremely tough skin to reduce bug damage. Only thing is it made the skin taste bad and made the meat of the apple more mealy. They used to be a fantastic apple, I understand, now I probably would fast rather than eat one.


----------



## sunshadow (May 17, 2009)

I've never peeled either. That's sad about the 5 yo. It's good to prevent what you can, but at the same time adults have choked and died the same way. I can't imagine cutting every grape until she is 6. I don't know...


----------



## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

We never peel. I've just cut up fruits into appropriate snacking sizes and left the peels intact.


----------



## noobmom (Jan 19, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Galas, Jonagolds, Fujis, Honeycrisps, Braeburns, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Granny Smiths (those are a bit tart to be a good eating apple), really just about every other apple out there. The red deliciouses were bred to have extremely tough skin to reduce bug damage. Only thing is it made the skin taste bad and made the meat of the apple more mealy. They used to be a fantastic apple, I understand, now I probably would fast rather than eat one.

Has this been in the last 20 years? It seems every time I get a Red Delicious now they are mealy, and I seem to remember them being really sweet and crunchy when I was a kid.


----------



## lnitti (Jun 14, 2004)

I thought apple skins were a no-no until age 3 due to choking hazard?

I cut the peels off pears still. Usually apples too. Although dd2 has been actually asking me to leave the peel on - She is only 26 months! She actually tells me to leave it on.

Our favorites are Pink Lady, and crispins. Although we've also done Braeburns and Golden Delicious recently too.

I tried leaving the skins on the pears, and she was spitting the skins back out.

Grapes I've never peeled, but we cut in 4ths (cut in half, then cut the halfs in half again so they are skinnier).

We also did BLW, but I did cut stuff.


----------



## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I've never peeld OR cut grapes. Don't think I've ever peeled apples either, and I only cut them occasionally and then with one of those apple cutter things that makes it super easy.


----------



## pantrygirl (Jan 5, 2009)

I never peeled grapes but I have and still peel the skins off the apples. My daughter is 16 months old and the peeling is just a preference I have. We try to buy organic but some organic fruit skins still leave my throat itchy so I err on the side of caution and peel it.


----------



## butterfly_mommy (Oct 22, 2007)

I have never peeled grapes. I used to cut them in half but started giving them to DS whole at about 14 mons or so. I do usually peel apples or slice thin slices for DS to eat. I am nervous about apples as a 19 mon old child choked on one and died this summer at the Toronto Zoo. he was sitting in his stroller his parents and older brother were there and he was eating a whole apple. A nurse was called and tried to get the food out but it was too late. My friend is friends with a women that went to the funeral. Apparently even though some apple was disloged there was too much to get it all out. He had put too much in his mouth







It could have been any kind of food but since it was apple I am reminded of the toddler every time DS eats an apple.

I do still give DS apples and I know there is the potential to choke on any food, I am trained in infant/child first aid and CPR, I supervise DS eating and try to limit risks like climbing and eating, etc, I also try to be cool and give DS space to eat his food and gag stuff out if he needs too. We also did baby led solids and DS has been eating whole foods since he was 7 mons, he hardly gags now, he is really good at manipulating food in his mouth.


----------



## MissMommyNiceNice (May 1, 2007)

A lot of this advice is such BS imo. Not to malign anyone here, but just in general from companies & such. I mean, I got some crap advertisement in the mail from some food company and it was saying about how peas & beans where not an appropriate food for children under 5. Um, I'm sorry, but how are they ever going to learn to like things like peas, carrots, and beans if you don't start trying them very young? Peas & beans were some of DS's first foods! Delicious & nutritious.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *noobmom* 
Has this been in the last 20 years? It seems every time I get a Red Delicious now they are mealy, and I seem to remember them being really sweet and crunchy when I was a kid.

Could be, but I know they were horrible when I was 7 or 8 and that was 21 years ago. Any chance you got yours from a local orchard as a kid? The original red delicious were, in fact, red and delicious.

Oh, the other thing they bred for was uniformity of color. That's why the red delicious are an even red where other apples are variegated.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

On the subject of peels.

http://lunchinabox.net/2007/12/13/ho...apple-rabbits/


----------



## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

Um never.

I dont cut them up either, never bothered. (well sometimes I cut an apple if I want a peice!).

We did baby-led solids, so chocking was never an issue, we just make sure he sits when he eats, and doesnt goof around.

How do you even peel a grape? Ive never heard of that except on halloween when you are trying to make fake eyeballs.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *leighi123* 
How do you even peel a grape? Ive never heard of that except on halloween when you are trying to make fake eyeballs.

The cool thing I discovered is that when the peel is horrible and tough, it comes off really readily.


----------

