mini marshmallows

At what age did you allow your kids to have mini marshmallows (in a snack mix, for instance)? I know they are a choking hazard and I'm a little hesitant to let them have them yet. Am I being overly protective? What about popcorn? I read some horror stories about choking on the Internet and now I'm petrified to let them have any.

 

I never heard that mini marshmallows would be a choking hazard... so we let the girls have some about a year ago. They were about two, I'd guess. That said, marshmallows are pretty processed with all sorts of artificial ingredients, so my kids have only had them once. We've let them have popcorn a few times but I usually won't give the pieces with hard kernels in them. And I tell them to chew a lot and drink lots of water while they're eating.

 

I'm totally paranoid about choking, but my girls had mini-marshmellows last december (2 3/4 yrs I guess). I bought them to decorate gingerbread houses and they started eating them. However I have never given them real popcorn. They think pirate's booty is popcorn and I'm fine with that.

 

My almost 6 year old still hasn't had marshmallows - oh the horrors! LOL We only allowed him to have popcorn when he was around 4. I'm so paranoid about choking - longtime grape-cutter here, too. :laughing:

 

I'm not sure when it's considered to be okay to give your kids those foods. At our house popcorn is served after the boys go to bed. I still cut grapes (not much use since I end up eating them :blush: ) and I embrass people in public (it seems) by pulling weiners out of buns and cutting them up.

 

i gave mine mini marshmallows aroudn teh time they turned 2. they LOVE them, but only get them once in a great while. then my mom started finding all these "gourmet, flavored" marshmallows and bringing them over, and they'd just end up in the garbage, cuz they were way too big, and way too sugary lol
i don't plan to give mine popcorn for a long time. but the corn pops/pirate's booty is a good (tho unhealthy) alternative! trader joe's makes yummy sour cream and onion ones

 

You sound just like me. I still slice my almost 6-year-olds's hotdogs down the middle so they aren't the perfect size for blocking an airway! LOL He doesn't care - and neither do I. Choking just really scares me.

 

We give our guys marshmallows. YUMMY! No popcorn though. Our older boys and we enjoy it on occasion but the twins know they can't have it because it's a choking hazard. No gum either.

For what it's worth, I never choked on marshmallows or hot dogs as a child, but have an AWFUL memory of choking on cooked spinach. Yep! Completely blocked my airway. And of all things, my grandmother put her finger down my throat (the biggest NO NO) and scraped it out with her finger nail. TO this day I have a horrendous metal block when trying to swallow pills or large bits of food. Sometimes it's not the foods that you would most expect to be the hazard. It can pretty much happen with anything. But for our household popcorn and whole grapes, they have to be MUCH older and much better at chewing.

 

The only thing that choked one of my boys was a small Gerber snack. Go figure! But he's ok. I do cut my hotdogs down the middle and then in small slices across. I don't want to see it happen again! I wouldn't give them mini marshmallows. My husband bought some for them hoping to give them a treat. He had already bought them so I didn't want to argue. I just pretended to forget about them, which worked cause the expiration date passed and he threw them out. Then I told him lets wait on the marshmallows until they are older. He finally agreed.