Each year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission receives about 15 reports of choking deaths of children under age 3. Even one such death is too many in our opinion. Some of these deaths involve known choking hazards such as small toys, toy parts, balloons, balls, and marbles. But others occur from hidden hazards: small objects that accidentally fall into children’s hands or seem safe but aren’t. To prevent a choking incident in your home, make sure everyone in the household understands the hazards and take these important steps:

1. Always supervise your baby or toddler when he’s eating. Don’t let him munch in his car seat, which can be a blind spot, especially if he’s still facing rearward. If your baby starts choking on cereal, you may not know.

2. When your baby gets to the finger-food stage, which can start as early as 7 months, cut food into bite-size pieces. But don’t offer your baby nuts, raisins, grapes, hot dogs, gummy bears, or bite-size fruit snacks; they’re choking hazards and not appropriate for infants or toddlers. We’re especially leery of Kellogg’s Lego Fun Snacks, fruit-flavored snacks that look just like regular Lego pieces. These snacks seem like a choking hazard waiting to happen since they look like toy Legos (which can be a choking hazard for young children) and might encourage kids to put toys in their mouths.

3. Keep toys designed for kids older than 3 away from younger ones and teach your older children to keep their toys away from younger siblings.

4. Constantly scan your home, especially the floor and areas within your child’s reach, for choking hazards such as marbles, balloons (inflated or uninflated) and popped balloon pieces, staples, paper clips, coins, small balls, magnets, and batteries. Collect them as soon as you spot them.

5. Buy toys according to manufacturer’s age recommendations. A more advanced toy can be a safety hazard for younger children because it may contain small parts. If your child is older than 3 and still puts everything in his mouth, check the eyes and noses of stuffed animals to make sure they’re properly secured.

6. Stay up-to-date on toy recalls. Check the U.S. government’s recall Web site, www.recalls.gov, to see if toys, baby or children’s products or other items in your home—or items you plan to buy—have been recalled. Even better, save yourself a step and sign up for free e-mail alerts of recalls at CPSC’s Web site. Also, if a product you buy includes a registration card, fill it out and send it in. That way, you can be notified directly by the manufacturer if the item is recalled. Being informed can keep you from buying recalled products and remedy the situation if you already have.

For additional information on choking hazards, read our reports on food choking hazards (which includes links to choking first aid for infants and children), toy safety standards, and tips for toy safety.