Safe Age for Lollipops and Candy Canes

All hard candy is a choking hazard for anyone of any age. It is also very bad for the teeth. The candy sits in the mouth for a longer period of time than a candy bar and the sugars have a better chance to start decay. Also candies like hard candy, taffy, even fruit roll-ups stick to the teeth and a quick rinse with water doesn't wash out the sugars.

So that being said....

It's perfectly okay to give a 3 yr old a candy cane or lollipop once in a while or during the holidays as long as someone is watching to make sure they don't break off a big enough peice to choke on.

side note:
Several years ago a friend of mine told a story about one of his sons as a baby. He was playing with a balloon and it broke, no one thought anything of it. They went on with their evening and everything seemed fine, middle of the night the baby has a fever and is quite sick so they run him to the ER. Turns out the baby inhaled a peice of the ballon into his nose when it broke and it got stuck and caused a severe infection.
As a Mom I learned something. I would never in a million yrs think a ballon could be a dangerous toy for a child. But is served as a cautionary tale for me, it's okay to let them play with a balloon but watch them.

I thought lollipops were ok from about 2 or 3 years old, as long as they understood they had to be sitting down, they held onto the stick and didn't bite them. I never gave them small hard candy until they were school age, and they didn't like candy canes. I found lollipops to be useful for times when they had to wait, or for long grocery shopping trips, or as a reward after a haircut or needle. There is a kind of "safety" lollipop you can get that has a kind of a looped stick. http://www.spanglercandy.com/our-brands/saf-t-pops

I didn’t give any candy to my daughter until age 2, but lollipops and things like that she didn’t have until age 4. I was so worried about her running and falling with it in her mouth. Even now I have her sit in one spot so she doesn’t get hurt or hurt the dog. She is 6 and I worry about her poking the dog in the eye or falling and choking on it.

I honestly can't remember when I first gave the boys a lollipop. I think it was at about age 4, but only because I was not a big fan of giving them candy as toddlers, not because I had any concerns with choking.

My 2 year old only has a sucker or candy cane while sitting next to an adult. I worry about chipping teeth as well as choking.
Also, I break up hard candy (i.e. life savers) for both the 2 year old and my 4 year old; and may include suckers and candy canes if I'm unable to keep a close eye on them.