I thought this was going to be about 3 year old popcorn and was all ready to compare notes about my ILs keeping around cereal so long a spider nested in it.

Definitely offer a substitute for the popcorn.
Pirate's booty? It's just puffy and literally dissolves. Something safe that tastes like popcorn.
Call it "Aidan's popcorn". Your 3 year old will love it and your mil will love that he loves it.

OP, happy you got your answer. I'm in the 'no popcorn' camp too. My siblings laugh at me, but it don't care.

When the kids stay at my parents I bring a bag of pirates booty as a special treat. Looks like popcorn and serves the same purpose, minus the choking hazard husk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year olds ate popcorn and other "chokeables" with adult supervision.

And if your kid choked, what exactly would you do?

The issue with popcorn is that due to its weight and texture, you can't just Heimlich it out like you would a piece of hard candy. It would just get lodged in there and you'd be supervising your kid's demise.

THIS! Supervision isn't enough. Think about the texture of a soggy piece of popcorn. It's kind of spongy and won't create the kind of obsruction in the trachea necessary for the Heimlich maneuver to work. The HM works by pushing whatever air is in the lungs up the trachea to pop out the piece of food. Spongy things don't pop.

Oh for the love of God. Parents today! And listen, I'm a parent today too.

Here's an idea. Could you use the popcorn your child is not allowed to eat to put in bags and bubble wrap him for his excursions into the dangerous world? There you go.

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year olds ate popcorn and other "chokeables" with adult supervision.

Clearly it was your superior supervision that kept them from choking and not, say, dumb luck.

SOunds like the problem if you OP and now the ILs. Barring any special medical conditions, popcorn for a 3 yo is fine.

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year olds ate popcorn and other "chokeables" with adult supervision.

And if your kid choked, what exactly would you do?

The issue with popcorn is that due to its weight and texture, you can't just Heimlich it out like you would a piece of hard candy. It would just get lodged in there and you'd be supervising your kid's demise.

My 3 year olds ate popcorn and other "chokeables" with adult supervision.

One of my friends, who was a cool parent, had a shelf in the fridge for his kid.

He could eat what was on that shelf.

We use a shopping bag and fill with safe snacks.

They can eat things in the bag (not Honey Nut Cheerios, for example).

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with popcorn?

Try reading the thread. oP explained

What is wrong with popcorn?

My in-laws watch DD on a regular basis. When they do something I object to, I talk to DH about it and get him on the same page. He'll then talk to his mother and ask her to do it differently. This happens rarely tho.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For my family (who are DS' only other babysitters) it's a known thing that little kids don't get popcorn after what Happened with my nephew .

"Barbara, I'm not sure if you remember that my nephew had a choking incident, which still terrifies me to this day. Here's the list of choking hazards that we request you avoid with Larlo."

Perhaps accompanied by a bag of things he likes that you approve of but perhaps he doesn't get very often so he will be excited to get them.

We have a 3 1/2 year old and just started allowing him to eat popcorn under strict supervision. Husband is a pediatrician, has seen choking with it under age 3.