Choking.  Most children occasionally choke on liquids that go down the windpipe instead of the esophagus. Your child's cough reflex will clear the windpipe of the liquid within 10 to 30 seconds. It is best if you do nothing except reassure your child. Sometimes a young child will suddenly choke on a peanut, raw carrot, or other piece of food. If your child is coughing and able to breathe, encourage him to cough the material up by himself. If your child can't breathe, cough, or make a sound, proceed with high abdominal thrusts, called the Heimlich maneuver. Grasp your child from behind, just below the lower ribs but above the navel, in bear-hug fashion. Give a sudden, upward jerk at a 45-degree angle to try to squeeze all the air out of his chest and pop the lodged object out of his windpipe. Repeat this upward abdominal thrust 10 times in rapid succession. If your child is too heavy for you to suspend from your arms, lay him on his back on the floor. Put your hands on both sides of his abdomen, just below the ribs, and apply sudden strong bursts of upward pressure. If your child is less than 1 year old, first use back blows. Place him face down at a 60-degree angle over your knees. (Gravity may help get the object out.) Deliver 5 hard blows with the heel of your hand to the area between your child's shoulder blades. If this is not successful, lay him on his back and give 5 rapid chest compressions over the lower sternum (breast bone) using two fingers. If he still hasn't started breathing, begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and call the rescue squad (911).