horrible story in NY papers today -- 3 year old boy died

[jennyanydots]

for crying out loud...

yeah, it's not the most appropriate movie for a 3 year old.

but if the movie had anything to do with the poor kid's death, i.e., that the kid choked because he was scared, don't you think it might have been mentioned in the NY media?

the side article in the News(or was it Newsday?) listed foods you shouldn't give to a young child, and indicated that most parents -- who know not to give a child whole grapes or hot dogs -- don't realize popcorn is a problem because popcorn dissolves in your mouth.

2 years ago, a woman I know had a horrible death in her family. her 4 year old nephew choked on a hot dog. his grandmother, who was quite elderly, gave him the hot dog -- she'd never had a problem feeding hot dogs to her children or her other grandchildren, had no idea she had to cut it up into small pieces to prevent choking.

anyone who blames these parents -- well, I am glad you dont work for Child Protective Services in NYC. you have no idea what child abuse really is.

 

[janette]

Originally posted by phillybeth
What I am saying is that it is tragic and sad a child died. It would be even MORE tragic and sad if his parents' decision in any way precipitated that death.

I can't see that the movie choice made any difference at all. The article even says the movie had barely started.

The only decision they made that precipitated that death is to go to a movie as a family and buy some popcorn. Certainly not something you ever think will end with your child gone

I read the article which had more information and it mentions a 15yo brother and that they loved monsters. This movie while it sounds gross would be something that a couple of brothers that love monsters may very well enjoy and the rating system is only a guideline. We all get to make our own decisions as to what movies our kids will see.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

Originally posted by jennyanydots
for crying out loud...

yeah, it's not the most appropriate movie for a 3 year old.

but if the movie had anything to do with the poor kid's death, i.e., that the kid choked because he was scared, don't you think it might have been mentioned in the NY media?

anyone who blames these parents -- well, I am glad you dont work for Child Protective Services in NYC. you have no idea what child abuse really is.

It would be kind of hard to ask the child if he choked because he was scared, don't you think?

And you really shouldn't make assumptions about what someone might or might not know about certain subjects.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

My heart totally goes out to this family; what a tragedy.

(And, FWIW, Alien V. Predator is rated PG-13, not R; which means Parental Guidance ages 13 and under. The same rating, mind you, as Pirates of the Carribean. It isn't as though they were taking the kids to see Eyes Wide Shut or Kill Bill 2, for heaven's sake. And even if they had--I still don't think they "deserved" to lose a child because of the movie they chose to see, which seems to be the implication of some of the posts here.)

 

[syncer55]

The kid should have never seen such a movie.

Things like violence have quite of an impression on little kids as they have not fully grasped the concept of certain things.

Why did the ushers even let a little kid into the movie.

 

[Planogirl]

There's no rule against letting anyone in to see a PG-13 movie. The ratings are simply guidelines, not laws.

I can't believe that so many here are more concerned about the choice of movie than the fact that a child died from choking on popcorn. My heart goes out to the family.

 

[disney4us2002]

I agree it is tragic. I do think people are just unaware of the types of things that children can choke on. I am a daycare provider now and there is tons of ongoing training about this and lots of other stuff, but before this I investigated child abuse/neglect for 11 yrs. I don't think this constitutes abuse but I think perhaps what others are reacting to with regards to the movie and this incident is that if the parents had left the child at home with a sitter while the older child was taken to the movie this could have been avoided. Who's to say though that he couldn't have eaten popcorn at home and choked? As many posters here have pointed out, the media report things a certain way often times to sell their papers. Was the title of the movie relevant to this tragedy? Nope, but it was sensational, wasn't it?

I didn't realize this movie was rated PG-13. I assumed it was R given the premise and the gore I can only imagine is shown. I have no desire to see it so can't say that for certain. I'm basing my feeling only on the original Alien which scared the bejesus out of me! Going on a tangent here, sorry, but aren't all of the ratings merely 'guidelines'? Our local theatre does say noone under 17 can buy R tickets but don't R movies say "No one under 17 admitted without parent or adult guardian". That's probably a paraphrase but the point is the parents could have taken the child to an R movie.

 

[2BigKIdz]

That family's story is so horribly sad I cannot believe the title of the movie is even an issue with anyone.

Just for the record- I have seen the movie and don't recall anything even remotely scary in the first 30 minutes of the movie.

 

[Keli]

What a terrible thing to happen.

 

[mom2alix]

Wow! DD2 and I often have popcorn as an afternoon snack and I never even thought of it a a choking hazard. What a terrible story. What's even scarier is that the Heimlich didn't work even when performed by a nurse at the scene. So tragic.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by mom2alix
Wow! DD2 and I often have popcorn as an afternoon snack and I never even thought of it a a choking hazard. What a terrible story. .

Popcorn is not allowed at the grade school for kids grade K-5 since it is a choking hazard...but what amazes me is that they serve hot dogs to kindergarteners which are also a choking hazard....makes me very nervous since no one other than the school nurse and gym teacher are required to take a CPR course..every lunch aid and teacher should have to know this!

 

[Robinrs]

This reminds me of the course I took in criminology that talked about how the quickest and lowest reaction to a tragedy is blaming the victim.

It's human nature, a sort of protection saying "that would NEVER happen to ME! SHAME and POO POO on that person!"

Choking can and does happen everywhere and everyday. This is a tragedy, not a debate. I think we've all learned something through this, though.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I can't believe that so many here are more concerned about the choice of movie than the fact that a child died from choking on popcorn. My heart goes out to the family.

Ditto.

 

[year2late]

Although it disturbs me to no end whe I see young children in that kind of movie, it has nothing to do with the tragedy.

How sad for the child and his family.

 

[jx3smom]

This story is just so sad and so is this thread. I cannot believe that people even care what movie the family was watching. The poor child is dead and the parents will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Have some compassion! My heart goes out to the family.

 

[jennyanydots]

Originally posted by DukeStreetKing
It would be kind of hard to ask the child if he choked because he was scared, don't you think?

And you really shouldn't make assumptions about what someone might or might not know about certain subjects.

yes, the child was scared -- scared when he started to choke. none of the witnesses, or the parnets, thought the child choked because he was scared. in fact, several people remarked that the boy and his older brother LOVED monster movies.

if you were in the Nassau County DA's office right now I'd bet you'd be charing the poor parents with manslaughter.

 

[beattyfamily]

IMHO, there are two issues here.

One, the poor baby choked on popcorn, and sadly died. Lessons to be learned by this. It's certainly made me more aware.

Two, parents who take their little ones to scary, adult movies. But the fact that these parents did this has NOTHING to do with the fact that their child is dead.

Regarding the child's death, how sad and I pray for the family. So so sad and scary.

Regarding the issue of little kids at adult type movies. It does bother me. I see it and think those parents are selfish. That's what I think. I saw a family of 4 when I went to see "The Village" the other day...the kids were 1 and 3 years old at the most. I couldn't believe it. I also saw a 1 year old at the Passion of the Christ. I just don't get it. I would never do that BUT I would never say anything or think that if, God forbid, their child choked on popcorn and died that it was the parents fault in any way or that there was any relation between the two issues. IMHO, they are two separate issues.

 

[KarenC]

Being part of a family who suffered the loss of a child I know how guilt-stricken parents become regardless of the circumstances. My mother is a broken soul to this day, even though it's been nearly 23 years since my sister died. No need to pile on!

There is absolutely no relationship between the nature of the film they were seeing and the fact that the child choked on popcorn. The type of movie doesn't negate the tragedy that occurred. We should all take notice of what happened and remember not to give small children popcorn. But speaking ill of the grieving mother is in poor taste and asking for bad karma, IMHO.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

Originally posted by jennyanydots
yes, the child was scared -- scared when he started to choke. none of the witnesses, or the parnets, thought the child choked because he was scared. in fact, several people remarked that the boy and his older brother LOVED monster movies.

if you were in the Nassau County DA's office right now I'd bet you'd be charing the poor parents with manslaughter.

I was going to stay away from this thread, but just like Michael Corleone, you pulled me back in.

You should follow the advice of your signature tag.

 

[KarenC]

While we're on the topic of choking, I thought I'd throw in a public service announcement. About 5 years ago, a sixth grade girl in our community choked to death. I will NEVER forget my son's call to me at work when he told me that something terrible happened at school that day.

They were having a fun fair at school. One of the games they were playing was chubby bunny. The game is played by placing a marshmallow in the mouth and saying "chubby bunny". You continue putting marshmallows in your mouth and saying "chubby bunny" until you can't say "chubby bunny" anymore. The kid who has the most marshmallows in his or her mouth at the end wins.

As I understand it, this girl was the previous year's chubby bunny champion. She had three marshmallows in her mouth and started laughing. She got the marshmallows caught in her throat and took a drink of water. The marshmallows expanded. Although the paramedics arrived quickly, they couldn't save her.

I'd never heard of chubby bunny but both my kids told me that they played in frequently at camp. When my son explained the game to me, I figured out the ending to the story pretty quickly. They don't play chubby bunny anymore, but I'll bet kids in other places still do.

So parents, when you're done worrying about your small children choking on popcorn, grapes and hot dogs, don't forget to warn them about stuffing their faces and trying to talk with their mouths full. There were a couple years when I took my kids to sleep away camp and made a point of asking the counselors if they played chubby bunny. One camp did, so I explained what happened and they don't anymore.