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My mate Coleen Nolan revealed this week that her baby son almost choked to death on a biscuit, leaving her with a crippling phobia about kids choking.

She opened up about this when Dr Hilary Jones came into the Loose Women studio to advise mums on how to avoid this problem – and what to do if it DOES happens.

Coleen said: “It was probably only seconds but it felt like hours and hours. I was on my own, it was my first child. I just remember that fear and I thought ‘I don’t know what to do’.”

Until then, I’d never really thought about what I’d do if one of my kids choked.

Dr Hilary’s key message was – don’t panic! Apparently the cough reflex is really strong and will dislodge most pieces of food that go down the wrong way.

But if the child is struggling to breathe you must hit them sharply on the back with your hand. I was surprised at how forceful you need to be, and to learn there are different techniques depending on the child’s age.

So many parents stress about choking they put off giving solid food, which turns kids into fussy eaters and can affect physical development.

Much better to spend 20 minutes looking at the excellent information and videos on nhs.uk. Because when it comes to parenting, knowledge isn’t just power – it’s peace of mind.

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