What age should a child be to chew gum?

Question

Also to eat popcorn? I think popcorn a child should be 4 or 5. If anyone knows for sure, I would apperciate it.

Answer 1

I think a child is old enough to chew gum when they know not to swallow it. I also heard that chewing gum is beneficial for children who have ear infections.

Answer 2

This depends a lot on how well the child eats. One of my kids seemed to choke on anything and everything, while the others were fine even with popcorn at a younger age. Gum is no big deal if swallowed. Popcorn, hotdogs, nuts, whole grapes, I'd wait until at least 4 or older depending on how well he or she chews, if she or he still talks while eating, and how close attention they pay, and you pay.

Answer 3

I have given my 22 month old a very small piece of gum on a couple of occasions. If she catches me pulling out a piece she will ask for some so I give her a bit. I keep an eye on her and continually remind her to throw it in the garbage when she is finished but I have to admit that she has swallowed it.
I have given her the soft part of popcorn before but I also keep an eye on her about that because once when I was a teenager and babysitting, a child put popcorn in her nose and I could not get it out. lol

Answer 4

Never - gum is band for the teeth.. 4 or 5 seems to be a good age for popcorn...

Answer 5

When they are able to chew their food thoroughly then popcorn would be okay. The gum thing depends on the child. Some little ones like to chew it & swallow it no matter how many times you tell them not to .

Answer 6

My daughter is three, and still swallows it. No big deal... but I won/'t give her any if I can't watch her, jnust cuz she might take it out of her mouth and put it somewhere.

As for popcorn... I give it to my 18 month old, but I make sure there aren't any of the parts that could cut her... ya know, that annoying brown hard shell type stuff... my 3 and 4 year old love it.

Whatever you feel is right... give them the soft parts of the popcorn to start if you want. The bubble looking part....

Good luck!

Answer 7

my 4 year old has been getting popcorn for about a year, with no problems. Gum is still not allowed in the house though. I read somewhere (sorry, can't find the link) that swallowing gum can still be dangerous up to about 5 years old, but a lot depends on how responsible your child is.

One of my daughter's pre-school friends gets gum because her older brothers gets it, but she is very quick to tell you that she never swallows it, and always spits it out onto paper, not the floor. I guess it is up to you to figure out how likely your kid is to understand and follow the rules about gum. I'd try them out on other rules, like eating popsicles at the table, no running with popsicle or lolly sticks in their mouths etc, to gauge if they are capable of following the rules before trying gum.

Answer 8

My almost 4 year old eats popcorn every day, we have no problems. Gum is a big no no at our house so I can't help you with that one, sorry.

Answer 9

My daughter is almost 3, and she does not get gum. So, I don't know about that, probably not a good habit to start anyways. As for popcorn....my daughter does eat that, I just make sure there are no kernals in what she eats, and just make sure you watch them with it.

Answer 10

I wouldn't start them too early on gum, besides it's messy. Probably when they get into school. And they say not to give popcorn until they are closer to two, but my lil girl loves popcorn and hasn't choked on it, but I still watch her.