Teach your child to chew all foods thoroughly before swallowing them. Don't allow your child to fill his cheeks with food like a chipmunk. Clean up right away after parties. An especially dangerous time is the morning after parties, when a toddler may find dangerous foods on the floor. Warn your child never to chew or suck on pieces of rubber balloons.
Rubber balloons are the leading cause of choking deaths resulting from objects other than foods.
Most incidents occur when a child suddenly inhales a deflated balloon he has been chewing on. Even teenagers have died from inhaling a deflated balloon. Chewing on an inflated balloon is also dangerous because the balloon could burst. Mylar helium balloons are safer than rubber balloons, but rubber balloons are fine when they are used with supervision. Don't give a young child a toy with small, detachable parts.