Every parent's worst fear is that their child could get hurt or, even worse, killed.  Most parents are on watch for danger from one moment to the next, but sometimes there is just nothing we can do to see the worst coming. Despite all the preparations and precautions we take as parents, accidents still do happen.  Unfortunately this is what a pair of parents are dealing with after their toddler died and now they are warning others.

Emma was with her son, 2-year-old Ayyan, at the grocery store and he was sitting in the cart as his mom shopped. One moment Emma was looking at cheese, the next her son was fighting for his life FOX News reports.

Ayyan began to choke on two grapes he had grabbed from a bag in the cart.

Emma began to hit her son’s back to try to dislodge the grapes. “I even threw the cheese down and I started banging on him,” said Emma. “But it wasn’t getting it out, so it had to be lodged.”

Someone nearby called the paramedics. Another customer tried CPR. After the paramedics arrived a handful of minutes later, they were able to dislodge one grape, but not the other. Poor Ayyan passed away.

Ayyan’s father said, “I was feeling like maybe it was a bad dream, maybe somebody gonna wake me up…I see him everywhere.”

Ayyan’s parents are now advocating for everyone to take first aid classes.

The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends keeping whole grapes from children under the age of 4, suggesting that they be cut lengthwise before a child reaches that age. 

Many parents do not know what to do if their child has started choking because of an object or food. In the United States, the percentage of parents who don't know how to act reaches 40%, according to research.

There is a procedure that must be done in such cases to save the life of the child.

If your child is under a year old:

Turn your child facedown over your forearm or on your lap if you can't manage the forearm position (see image below).

Hold your child's jaw with one hand to support the head, which should be lower than the child's chest.

Using the heel of your free hand, deliver five quick slaps between the shoulder blades.

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If your child still can't breathe, try chest thrusts:  While holding your baby, turn him or her faceup, keeping their head lower than their chest (not pictured here).

Place two fingers in the middle of his or her chest and give five thrusts. Repeat with back blows and chest thrusts until the object is visible and you can remove it.

If your child is older than 1 year old:

Stand behind your child with your arms around their waist (see image below).

Make a fist with one hand, placing the thumb side against the child's stomach above the navel, but below the rib cage.

Grasp the fist with your other hand and quickly thrust inward and upward. The Red Cross recommends alternating abdominal thrusts with back slaps to try to dislodge the object.

If your child becomes unresponsive, perform CPR.

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Toddlers & Older Kids

If your child is still making sounds, tell him or her to cough, which may dislodge the object. (Don't try to remove a foreign object unless you see it, or you could push it farther into the airway.)

Ask "Are you choking?" If your child nods yes or can't respond, he or she needs help.

To learn more see the video below.

The American Red Cross offers several training courses, among them First Aid, CPR and Child Care training classes. Look up a CPR class near you with the American Red Cross here — Find a Class.

It is very important that parents know to apply this technique.
So share this information because it could save a life one day.