Teach Your Kids the Universal Sign for Choking

A choking child often cannot speak or cry out, which is exactly why so many adults miss it until it's too late. The universal signal — both hands clutched to the throat — was designed so the message gets across without a single word.

Sit down with your kids for five minutes and show them the hands-on-throat gesture, then practice it as a game so it sticks. Tell them to use it the moment they can't breathe, even at the dinner table with strangers around, and tell them an adult who sees it should act immediately, not ask questions first.