Three Year Old and Popcorn

My kids have been eating popcorn (supervised) since 18mos or so. If he can chew meat, bite sandwiches, eat suckers, etc there is no reason he cant' have popcorn.

Mine was 7 mos old. I know!! I was popping corn with an air popper at Christmas time for stringing on the tree when she reached over grabbed a handful ( a kernel, let's face it small hands) She loved it and wouldn't stop eating it. I would say by 3 you're pretty safe.

My son will be 3 in September and he's been eating popcorn since he was 2 but a lot more recently. We took him to TS3 on Friday (his very first movie in theater) and we got 1 small "Pop Pop" for all 3 of us. There were some points during that we actually had to take the bag away from him so we could have some..lol.

My daughter is almost four years old and has eaten popcorn since she was two. At first we would keep a close eye on her & made sure we took out all the unpopped kerrnels (they are easy to swallow but are very hard and crack a tooth if trying to chew it, it has happened to me twice)... now she eats it for a snack (not the buttery kind) and does well with it.

Yes if my daughter picked popcorn I would let her have it. You could let your son pick, give him a few options (popcorn, nachos, corn dog, or whatever)... but popcorn may last longer then a corn dog.

The movie is great! We saw it Sunday as our son is completely obsessed with all 3 movies.

My kids have been eating popcorn since well before they were 2. When they had molars and were chewing well, we let them try and monitored how they did.

Popcorn poses a choking hazard to anyone. But, both our kids have done really well with us being there to make sure we can address a situation as needed. He will be fine.

I know commercial daycare considers popcorn to be a choking hazard, but my son had it from time to time once he was over a year old and he had no problems. At almost 3, I wouldn't get him anything of his own to hold in the theater, but share your drink and popcorn with him (and that way you'll never hand him an unpopped kernel). I took my son to a movie theater for the first time when he was about 4 yrs old, and even though he was interested in the story (it was a Spy Kids movie), it was just hard for him to sit still for more than 30 min.

My son has been eating popcorn since at least 3yrs old at the movies and at home.

Can't wait to take my son to see the movie either!

S.

Make sure he likes popcorn FIRST before you go to the theater. You may spend $10 on popcorn that he won't eat.

If he drops the corn dog, how upset will he be? If he drops one piece of popcorn, not a big deal.

My 2 yr old loves popcorn and we can't drive by a Target without him saying "popcorn!" He's been eating it for a while now. He spit out a little seed flake the other day when we drove around Target. But he's pretty good about spitting stuff out.

My son likes to hold his own food in his lap, so wouldn't like to share. I'd suggest you bring him a bag or a bowl from home and then you can fill it up so he can hold his in his lap and you can hold yours. Just a thought.

My daughter has eaten popcorn a few times and she just turned 3. I find the biggest headache is when it gets stuck in her teeth! Have fun!

I agree, my kids started eating popcorn around 18 mo. and were fine. Just make sure he only eats one at a time. I honestly don't see what the big deal is about unpopped kernels. They're so small, kids will just swallow them whole if they accidentally get one.

I think my children were okay eating popcorn at that. I think that they just naturally avoided the unpopped kernals or, if they did get one one in their mouth, they ended up spitting it out - they didn't bite into it or swallow it. I can't remember which but I do remember that it wasn't a big issue but I did point out to them ahead of time that they should only eat the fluffy white popcorn. The main reason I would have avoided giving them popcorn at that age is the fact that they (meaning you) really have to brush their teeth well after they're done eat it.

Heard TS3 is great. Have a fun time!

I let my first have it when he was 2. I know it's supposedly a choking hazard, but so are raisins and really -any food! When we took our kids to the circus in February, our youngest (who was then 17m) dug into the popcorn and wound up eating most of a LARGE box! He was enjoying it so much and so cute with the box almost as big as he was -I just let him eat it. He's very picky, so I was excited for him to find something he liked! He was only eating one or two kernels at a time and chewing them. Your boy is definitely old enough to eat popcorn. My oldest LOVES going to the movies and getting the kids pack with the gummy candy, popcorn and small drink. He thinks it's so wonderful!

Oh -and the youngest refuses to try a corn dog (he's 20m), but our oldest is a corn dog fan like his mom! We have a great picture of him around 18m going to town on a corn dog slathered with mustard. Usually if feeding them hotdogs at a younger age, I half the hot dog length-wise and them chop it again across so you wind up with little bite-sized pieces, but a 3 year old should have no problem with a corn dog as is.

I would not give him any popcorn from the movie theaters. My son & I had popcorn, when we went to the movies, and we both threw up. The oil was probably old, or they didn't clean the popcorn popper correctly.

You have to be careful giving a young child popcorn, they could choke. I waited until my son was 4. Even @ that age, he didn't like the feeling of the kernels in the back of his throat. He would get scared, spit it out, and not want to eat any more.

When he was about 5, he felt more comfortable eating popcorn. Now, he loves it, and he is 7.

My daughter has been eating it since she was about 10 months old. I always make sure that she has something to drink to wash it down. One morning she woke me up @ 5AM asking for popcorn! Atleast twice a week she has popcorn as her afternoon snack and she is now 2.5. I would let him have it. Enjoy the movie!

I didn't let my son have popcorn until he was 2 and then he loved it! As long as he isn't eating the unpopped kernels, you should be ok. I doubt he'd even be able to pick up an unpopped kernel in a dark movie theater. You usually have to be concentrating to pick those up with little fingers. My son just went to see Toy Story 3 this weekend and he was munching on the family size popcorn my family was sharing and probably would have eaten the whole thing if I hadn't taken it away from him! I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's had enough practice with food that he'll be fine.

Have fun at the TOy Story movie, my kids (now 17, 15, 13) LOVED the first two, I think if you keep an eye on her chewing and swallowing the first few bites it should be ok....Have a blast!

Popcorn is better than a corndog.

By the way... We were thinking about taking our 4 yo to Toy Story 3, however my husband poked around in the reviews and found several that mentioned that the 3rd film is more dark than the previous two. It deals with Andy growing up, not wanting the toys anymore, themes of neglect and death (there is one scene apparently where the toys are on the conveyor belt into the incinerator fire...). A few reviews said that there were a few scenes that were just too scary for their young kids... Just passing the info along...

J.,

I use to run a daycare and we could not give it till a child is 3 (texas licensing) so since he is practically 3 you should be fine unless he has had problems with choking in the past then I would not.

Why don't you take in a bag of cheesies. I do not believe in popcorn, raw carrots and the likes until they are at least 5.

L.

i would not try it out in the dark movie theater. i would have a movie night and give him popcorn at home first. have fun.

My son will be two in July and he eats popcorn. Your son can eat pretty much anything now, he is three:)