^{What irresponsible, unthinking idiot let these children get on bicycles without helmets and adult supervision, anyway???}

Mothers and Fathers of toddlers, beware.

There's a serious threat to your children's very lives that you probably haven't done a thing to minimize. And it's bad! It's very very bad!!

I'll bet you didn't know that food kills.

^{Sugary treat or the snack equivalent of a speeding bullet?}

Did you.

^{Can you imagine what that whole grain would do if it were inhaled rather than swallowed?}

No, I'm rather certain you've been skating through meals and snacktimes without even pausing to engage your brain. To think about what you're doing. To consider that the bite of banana your child just took could be her last.

^{And you thought fruits and vegetables were healthy.}

You've been ignoring the nefarious danger of food.

Haven't you.

[sigh. eyeroll.]

^{Nuts: Not Just Triggers of Deadly Food Allergies Anymore} 

Fine.

Since you clearly aren't up to the task of keeping your child safe from massive, serious, deadly threats like this (the story linked below breathlessly reports that choking on food kills more than one hundred! children! a year!), the American Academy of Pediatrics wants you to be informed of the hidden dangers of food.

With labels.

Labels that will remind you, every time you shop, that the average grocery aisle is literally awash in thousands of threats to the continued existence of little Ashleigh and Brandon.

Labels that will remind you that the shortest route between your child and a pint-sized casket could very well be a Raisinette.

Labels that will remind you that every second of every day, something out there might harm, maim, or kill your offspring.

So now, because you won't do the responsible thing and tube-feed your youngster until his or her molars grow in, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the food manufacturers are determined to work hard together to make you acutely aware that every single thing that enters your child's mouth is potentially the last thing that ever will.

Your child may die from a bite of stew.

And it will all be your fault.

Really. I'm disappointed in you. Genuinely disappointed.

You'd think that parents who really love their children child would zero right in on the fact that small round foods (like grapes, nuts, carrots, and other scarily nonspecified foods as well!) are lurking at this very moment, biding their time, just waiting to lodge themselves in your children's throats.

^{"We've come to take Jenny to live with the Angels!"}

What happens next? Let's consult Dr. Greg Smith, who will go to great lengths to explain the incredibly complex process of choking to you.

In small words.

Small enough that even your pea-sized parental brain can grasp the full potential horror of apples and pears and bites of peanut butter sandwich.

(Speaking of peas--those are potential babykillers, too.)

"...foods that are round or cylindrical in shape and are roughly the diameter of the back of a child's throat -- these types of foods can [1] completely block the child's airway. [2]When that happens, the child cannot move air. [3] They then lack oxygen. [4a ]And if that obstruction is not removed within a short amount of time, [4b] brain damage and death will ensue. So these are very serious choking risks."

(From linked story)

I took the liberty of numbering the terrifyingly  short sequence of events standing between your child and permanent mental disability or premature demise.

I hope you'll understand I did so out of deep concern for the safety of your offspring, not because I'm trying to condescend.

I believe Dr. Smith has the market cornered on that front.

^{Franks and beans or a skillet full of death? You just can't be too careful...}