A Roman Catholic elementary school adopted new lunchroom rules this week requiring students to remain silent while eating. The move comes after three recent choking incidents in the cafeteria.
No one was hurt, but the principal of St. Rose of Lima School explained in a letter to parents that if the lunchroom is loud, staff members cannot hear a child choking.
To begin with, instead of reacting to three recent choking incidents by telling students to pipe down, why not instead teach the ankle biters on how to properly chew their meal?
Had the staff bothered to simply with the school nurse, or just had remedial knowledge of first aid, they'd also be aware like most Americans that if you can hear someone coughing or gagging, its pretty unlikely they're actually choken. In fact, rule of thumb is that if you're considering using the Heimlich maneuver on someone, don't dare if you can hear them making sounds - it means air is moving from their lungs.Heck, even the folks at Lifetime know this:
» Know the signs that someone is choking: wheezing, inability to breathe or speak, turning blue, a frightened look, bulging veins.Of course, this was a Catholic School...
