Choking Fear

[sarahando16]

Hi my name is Sarah and I am 38 years old. I have suffered with Health anxiety on and off for 4-5 years and at the moment I feel fine. The latest problem is with my 11 year old daughter, she has this fear of choking on her food. It started in school when she was rushing her dinner and started to choke on a bit of food, she managed to get it down and seemed ok. She has been fine right up until Christmas and on Christmas Day she hardly ate any of her dinner, then to top it of her dad started to choke on a sandwich right in front of her a few days after Christmas, which seems to have triggered something in her. She is hardly eating anything and if she does she takes absolutely ages and mushes it up until it is liquid. Last night it took her nearly an hour to eat a piece of toast. As you can image suffering from anxiety myself I am worried sick. Her dad says just to leave her and it will go in time, but I just don't know what to do. The funny thing is that she will eat her breakfast normally. Any help or advise would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Sarah

[nomorepanic]

Hi sarahando16

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi Sarah,
When my son was younger he choked on his food once , he was fine eating after that but i would sit with him untill he finished his meal ( like a mad woman lol ) I never made a big deal of it just tried to act normal. If you don't worry about it in front of her , it will pass. If she is eating her breakfast ok could be because it happened at dinner . She may always be cautious , my son still is but only with tablets , he has to have dissolving pain killers, hes now 20 !
There is nothing that you can do but give her reassurance when you feel she needs it , don't make a fuss about it or she will pick up on that . Give her time to get over it in her own way , you know what kids are like , they bounce back .

Welcome to NMP , you will find it supportive here :welcome:

Paige x

[sarahando16]

Hi Paige,
Thank you so much for replying, your words mean so much. It is so hard no to show worry and panic in front of her, but I do it, whilst my stomach is churning (another mad women)!!! Yes you make a good point about the breakfast and yes it did happen at dinner time in school. I will just keep offering her what she wants and give her support and see what happens. Its scary when you read about eating disorders in young girls and of course I am worrying about it going down that path. I will let you know if anything changes. Thanks Paige.
Sarah x

[Vanilla Sky]

I understand your worries, I have a daughter too. Once you have been a member for 5 days come into the chatroom and talk with us
:)
Paige x

[sarahando16]

Thanks Paige, will do that.
Thought she was doing well at breakfast time, but this morning she has started taking ages and chewing excessively, just don't know what to do, at my wits end.
Saying that last night she ate crisps, chocolate, biscuits (which are hard) and sweets - how do you explain that!!
Sarah x