Would you give a 2-year-old gum?

[mantysk8coach]

My MIL insists on giving my 2-year-old (newly 2, just turned 2 earlier this month) gum. It drives me nuts. She'll swallow it, and then she gives her more. She doesn't give her a whole stick at a time, she breaks it up into little pieces. If I say something about it though, then I'm the....you know what. I know she's either going to swallow it, or I'm going to find it in the carpet, or her hair, or stuck to a piece of furniture.

I don't want to go all "Jon and Kate" about this (J & K fans remember Aunt Jodi and the gum incident no doubt!)...but I just wanted to know if I am right in not wanting to allow this, or if I am being too nitpicky.

At what age did your kids start chewing gum?

Just wanted to throw this out there for outside opinions...thanks!

 

[happygirl]

I gave my kids just small piece of gum at that age. Yes, the usally just swallowed it but it won't hurt them.

However, you are the parent if you don't want them to have gun that is your call and grandma is just going to have to accept that

 

[Mermaid02]

No I would not. I don't remember when I started giving the kids gum. It sure as heck wasn't 2 years old though. 2 Year olds are impulsive- too much choking risk.

 

[hinodis]

No, never. Why does a two year old need gum? Tell your MIL that you do not want her having gum at this age. Blame it on the dentist if you want.

 

[Erin1700]

I gave my son gum at that age and surprisingly he did well with it. BUT I would have been upset if someone else gave it to him without my ok.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

My DS is 3 and has never had gum (at least that I know of ). My inlaws insist on stuffing him full of all kinds of sweets though and then they bring him home for DH and I to deal with. I decided to not say anything and just let them be grandparents. As long as nothing is actually hurting him I let it slide.

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS was actually not quite 2 when he first had small pieces. We were going on a plane, and because DH's ears bother him during the air pressure changes, and chewing gum helps him, we wanted to be prepared for DS to have the same issues. We just spent a bunch of time talking about how to chew it properly (not to swallow it, or put it in hair, etc.) and practiced at home first.

 

[allison443]

I definitely didn't give my kids gum at age 2. They were at least in school. I never chew gum myself (got out of the habit when I had braces, never got back into it).
Isn't gum a choking hazard? Is it sugarless gum? Those would be my concerns.

 

[RadioNate]

IMO absolutely not. I have a DD that age and I can't imagine giving her gum! I think my DS was about 6 when he first had gum.

No one needs gum and a 2 year old really doesn't.

Unfortunately a co-worker of my mom's granddaughter choked to death on gum when she was just about 3. I obviously didn't know the family but I still remember the story.

 

[allison443]

DS was actually not quite 2 when he first had small pieces. We were going on a plane, and because DH's ears bother him during the air pressure changes, and chewing gum helps him, we wanted to be prepared for DS to have the same issues. We just spent a bunch of time talking about how to chew it properly (not to swallow it, or put it in hair, etc.) and practiced at home first.

I can see that being a good reason. Plus you were sitting right next to him on the plane, right?

 

[PeterPan09]

um...no. Can you say choking hazard?

My DN's pediatrician had us give her a half dose of Children's Benadryl before we flew with her and that worked well on the plane for the ear issue. No need to give her gum.

 

[OceanAnnie]

She insists? Does that mean you have asked her not to and she does it anyway? If so, that would be time to talk it out and come to an understanding. I wouldn't give a 2 y.o. gum, especially a 2 y.o. that wasn't "mine". There is a host of issues at play here. But it isn't all about the gum.

 

[wdwfan16]

No

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No.

If my MIL insisted on giving my 2yo gum against my wishes we would have a problem.

 

[LunchladyDoris]

My MIL once gave my daughter gum even though I told her not to. Guess what? I made HER deal with gum in the child's hair.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Where do you people find such meddling MiLs? Tell her to follow your wishes. If she does not comply, don't let her near your child. The drama ends or the relationship ends. Pretty simple...

 

[Becky2005]

I had a hard fast rule of NO gum until 5 years old. The concept of put this in your mouth but DON'T swallow it was not an easy one. In addition, I figured it was a choking hazard.

My kids have never been big into gum though except my DD (she loves gum -- however, she now has braces, so once again, no gum for her).

Luckily for me, no one ever tried to give it to them otherwise.

 

[DMickey28]

My DS is almost 3 and has asked if he sees us with it but we have never given it to him. There is no reason to. If my MIL blatantely went against my wishes my DH would have a nice long talk with her. My MIL tends to spoil my DS with candy and such. I understand that grandparents will be grandparents BUT I do not believe that giving him chocolate at 6pm which causes him to not be able to go to sleep at a reasonable time which means daddy and mommy do not get a decent night sleep is spoiling him. It's hurting him.

My DS is very sensitive to schedule ... my MIL watched him about a month and half ago so DH and I could go to dinner. He was to go to bed at 7:30 -8pm and be read to etc. He does this every night. My MIL sees this when she is over and we are home ... she knows how it goes and more often than not when we are here DS wants her to read to him ... We call her at 8pm to let her know we are running behind and won't be home until closer to 9pm. The plan was already for her to put him to bed .... we get home at 8:45pm and he is running around playing. Her reason ... "He wasn't ready and didn't want to go to bed yet." No S*&^ he's TWO.

I went off on a MIL tangent there ... second time this morning!!!

 

[luv2sew]

No, in fact I never gave my kids gum. It's not important to their health so they weren't offered any. They have grown and still not into chewing gum.
I absolutely hate stepping on gum when I 'm out somewhere and I hate feeling it stuck under tables and I hate seeing the way some people chew it.
One of the times we went to Disney my daughter sat in gum on the It's a Small World ride in Disney World.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

DD started chewing gum for the first time this year. She's 10. DH and I are not big gum chewers so it was never an issue.
I guess all her classmates chew gum so she wanted to try it. So she saw a pack of her dad's Trident sitting around one day and started chewing. I guess she was embarassed to ask. I did ask her what she had in her mouth and she told me. My only requests were: don't swallow it, throw it away in a piece of paper in the trash can with the lid (doggies steal from other cans), and you can only have sugarless gum. She was okay with all the rules. She seemed excited and picked out her own pack next time we were at the store. She's only chewed it about 2 more times since then.

I would never let a 2 yo chew gum but that's just me.