Choking. There is little that strikes more fear in the hearts of parents with infants and toddlers. From the day she was born, I was nearly paralyzed with fear about my daughter choking. For that reason, I was always pretty cautious about the size of the bites I served to her. However, I was always horrified when I would turn away for a second and find that some well-meaning relative had slipped her a baby carrot that may have been perfectly nutritious, but was the exact size and shape food experts warn you about.
This is the reason that Midwest Monkeys has created an ingenious new product that helps parents and caregivers better prepare safe meals for their toddlers. The Safe Sizer Choking Prevention Plate is a 100% melamine plate that has a ½” raised circle molded into the plate that you can use to place food inside to check the size of the bites you are serving. The ½” size comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and FDA’s guidelines that children under age of 4 not be given any firm, round foods that are bigger than ½” in any direction. If the food is bigger than the circle, it is simply too big to serve to your baby.
When I heard about Safe Sizer Choking Prevention Plates from Midwest Monkeys, I was originally thinking that it would be a great idea for when family or babysitters were watching my little one to help them portion out her meal. What I found, however, was that I still had a lot to learn about feeding my own baby and safe bite sizes for those under 4. Even though I had always been cautious, I found that even my bites were a bit big when placed in the Safe Sizer ring. I seriously could not believe how small ½ inch bites are and how easy it is to over estimate when you don’t have a good idea of what a ½ inch looks like.
Now that I have been using the Safe Sizer Plate for over a week now, I find that the ½” circle size is embedded in my mind when I’m feeding my daughter. Even when we are out of the house or not using the Safe Sizer Plate, I find my bite sizes are still within the ½” guidelines now that I’ve gotten used to cutting foods into that size. It’s not often a product gives you piece of mind even when you’re not using it, but this is one of those times and it has completely changed the way I think about feeding my daughter.
The Safe Sizer Plates come in 6 different designs and are dishwasher safe, but not microwave safe. The plates are sold individually ($6.95 and up) or in packs of 3 ($19.99). You can search for retailers here, or you can check the Midwest Monkeys website for purchasing information.
http://www.midwestmonkeys.com/
And now for the Giveaway...
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a Safe Sizer Plate of their very own from Midwest Monkeys!
To Enter: You must visit Midwest Monkeys and tell me something you learned about the company AND tell me what plate you would choose if you won.
And, as always, there are extra entries available!
1) Let me know you subscribe to Rave and Review, top of right sidebar (2 extra entries, must be verified to count - leave two comments)
2) Tweet about this Giveaway using @raveandreview and #giveaway after following (daily Tweet, just post link here)
3) Blog about this Giveaway with links back to this post as well as the www.raveandreview.com homepage
4) Place my button or logo in your sidebar on your blog or website (must have an active link)
5) Comment love. Enter any of my other Giveaways or comment on any non-giveaway post!
6) Email love. Share this Giveaway with friends and family via email and cc Leanne (at)raveandreview (dot) com (I will never, ever contact your email recipients)
7) Vote for Rave and Review on Top Baby Blogs, logo in right sidebar (daily entry)
On April 7th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to US addresses only.
Winner, winner! This giveaway is closed. Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to Lily Kwan who said:
I subscribe to your blog!
A huge thank you to Midwest Monkeys for sending their Safe Sizer Plate at no charge for us to review and for offering a giveaway to our fabulous readers. No type of monetary compensation was received for this Rave Review.
