Chewing Gum and Toddlers

My 2 year old can chew gum, no problem. Of couse she saw my older 2 chewing it (ages 6 and 4.5) and had to have some too. I let her try it and low and beyhold she chewed it like a champ without swallowing it! You never know until you try, if they don't do well with it then wait a while before offering again. My little one can chew a whole piece of sugar free gum fine. We don't make a habit out of gum chewing, but when it does come up she does fine.

My 5 year old has his tonsils out this past summer and that was the first time he had chewing gum. He was fine with it. My 3 year old HAD to have it too, she swallowed it. My 2 year old hasnt had any yet. We don't do a lot of gum or candy. I just rarely buy it. If they don't see it, they don't want it anyway. I just find that things like this are something you need to decide what you want to do and stick with it. My kids will definately ask for gum/candy if they see it at the store. I don't always say no because I like candy sometimes too!

I have been giving my daughter gum since she was about 3 she is now almost 5. WE have rules no taking it out of your mouth, no playing with it, no swallowing it, no bubbles, no snapping it. She has never got it in her hair, she swallowed it once and cried for hours because she thought she would be sick. If any of the "gum rules" are broken she looses gum privileges for a week. It has never been an issue.
I would rather give her sugarless gum than candy.

no, i would not. Toddlers are too young for gum - they get it in their hair and on their toys, not to mention that they can choke on it if they're running around and fall.

I dont let my daughter have gum. She's almost 4 and only just now has enough hair for a little ponytail. I am incredibly paranoid that the gum would end up in her hair.

There are so many "no's" out there for little ones (coffee, soda,cookies for breakfast etc) that I chose to not make gum one of them. My kids see me chewing gum and want it to. I give my 3 year old 1/2 a piece and my 18 months old 1/3 piece. I chew sugarless so that is what they get although as a general rule when it comes to anything else they do not get sugar substitutes. There is absolutely no digestive harm in swallowing gum (the 7years for digestion is a myth) and although the body is unable to process the gym it just comes out as it goes in. As long as you give a small enough piece that there is no threat of aspiration/choking it is fine.

My speech therapist recommended my 3 yo (at the the time) chew gum to build up the muscles in his jaw. He had no issues...we have the same gum rules as Popmom. It helped a lot with his jaw and helped his speech progress. GL!!

Depends on the kid.
My daughter was fine. Even with super long hair. She didn't swallow it either.. I just told her when she was done with it to let me know and then I'd hold out a small piece of paper for her to stick it on, I'd wad it up and throw it away.

She is also the same child who would hold a grape or piece of egg or whatever she happened to be eating in her cheek instead of swallowing it... She would just decide she was done and not swallow the last piece... packed it in her cheek like a chipmunk and off she went.

Gum pretty much is a no no mostly because it ends up out of there mouth and stuck to something you don't want gum on. But when I did do it, I always gave them a half piece and tried to pay enough attention to them that when I figured the flavor was gone they'd spit it in the trash or my hand. I read that swallowing it doesnt hurt them any, but the fear of them asperating it is more dangerous.

We started at 4 year old... and every time my daughter asked about gum, we told her she had to be 4 to have it (and she accepted this fine)... We only give her sugarless gum.

My 2-year old chews gum. We introduced it a bit at a time, because he wanted to try some. First a corner, then, after a while, a half a piece, and then a whole piece. He has a hard time with the hard coatings, so we get him a Orbit gum (sugarless of course, no huge Hubba Bubba pieces). He has never swallowed it. I was nervous, and not sure I would recommend it for everyone, but I supervised him well and it worked for us. Good luck!

i let mine a few times, and she does not get the concept of just chewing it. she swallows it every time. She hasn't had gum in a very long time because of this. I was happy to know that it digested and didn't just hang out in her belly though. I know this because the day after she ate the gum, her poop was the same color as the gum with little peices in it. so, don't worry, it'll pass through!

No, not until they are older and know not to swallow it or drop it out of their mouths. My 3 11/12 child has only had gum once or twice.

Not a toddler no , they don't understand not to swallow it and they don't need. My eldest is 7 and he has had gum on a few occasions , probably about 3 or 4 altogether

i would not because my son loves to eat it. My sister has a habbit of sicking her gum under the table no matter what i tell her and how mad i get at her. My son finds it and eats it. If were lucky we get to him before he swallows it. if not then we find it later in his BM. Not pretty.

Hi, A:
Why do you want your toddler to start chewing gum?
Just want to know.
D.