‘Don’t give ice cubes to young children’: Paramedic’s grim warning to parents

“I’ve never been so terrified in my life as when he was silently choking … no coughs, nothing, completely blocked.”

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

February 15, 2024 - 12:37PM

It only takes a minute without air for a child to lose consciousness. Source: tinyheartseducation/Instagram

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If you think giving a child under four a drink with ice cubes in it is entirely safe, think again.

A mum-of-two has issued a grim warning to parents about the dangers of giving ice cubes to children under the age of four.

Owner of Tiny Hearts Foundation and former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz took to her large social media following to share how easy it is for a young child to choke on an ice cube and how quickly things can become catastrophic.

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Mum reveals why she won't give kids under 4 icecubes

“Don’t give ice cubes to young children”

“Ice cubes have the qualities that make something a high risk for choking,” she explained on Instagram.

“It’s slippery, it can be round in shape, it can get stuck inside the mouth.”

You may think ice would be a less dangerous thing to choke on, as it would melt while lodged in the child’s throat.

But, as Nikki explained, by the time it would take for the ice to melt, your child could already be unconscious and suffer permanent brain damage.

In the clip, she placed a large ice cube against an illustration of a child’s mouth and throat, slowly melting as the minutes passed by.

“At one to three minutes, they lose consciousness,” Nikki said. “At three minutes, there is damage to the neurons in their brain.”

If a child is unable to breathe for four minutes, they are likely going to experience brain damage.

“At 10 minutes, a coma is likely,” she added.

By the time the ice melted, it would have already been too late. Source: tinyheartseducation/Instagram

It takes roughly 90 minutes for an ice cube to melt at room temperature, but would likely be faster if caught in someone’s throat.

“That’s how long a child choking on an ice cube would have to go without oxygen if we just waited for it to melt,” she said.

But it only takes a couple of minutes for the unthinkable to strike.

“I wouldn’t be waiting for the ice to melt; I would be starting choking first aid at the first signs of a choking child.”

She then gave her followers a stark warning: “Don’t give ice cubes to young children.”

The former paramedic has advised parents to keep ice cubes away from young children. Source; iStock

“I will never touch ice again”

Quickly surpassing 620,000 views, the video attracted many horror stories from people and parents who were unlucky enough to choke on a piece of ice.

“I accidentally choked on an ice cube when I was 21,” a woman recalled. “Let me just emphasise, it did not melt for what felt like minutes of not being able to speak, let alone breathe.”

“Our two-year-old daughter almost choked on an ice cube,” a parent wrote. “So scary.”

“My partner choked on ice at age 16yrs, couldn't breathe,” wrote a third. “So he will not let me give our kids ice.”

A mum explained how she “naively” gave her 12mo an ice cube to play with while she was cooking dinner. The next thing she knew, he couldn’t breathe.

“I’ve never been so terrified in my life as when he was silently choking,” she said. “No coughs, nothing, completely blocked.”

A woman shared the horrifying moment she “nearly died” choking on an ice cube when she was 10 years old. “I will never touch ice again,” she said. “Traumatic to say the least.”