Would you give a young 2 year old jelly beans?

[pranava]

Ok, ignoring the fact that they are pure sugar - what's an easter basket without a handful of jelly beans   But are they a big choking hazard for a just turned 2 year old.  He's not a big chewer and likes to shove way too much in his mouth at once.

and while I'm at it, I have friends who like to give DS dum dum suckers.  This scares me to death!  Would you give a 2 year old a dum dum?

[vulnerable]

Me?  Absolutely not with the jelly beans.  I am terrified of my daughter choking to death on anything lol.  She also shoves to much in her mouth and forgets to chew.  Although she is decent about spitting stuff out she cant chew well. 

Maybe a dum dum if she was sitting still in her highchair.  I am not too worried about sugar content personally because she doesnt care for sweets much.  Just paranoid about choking hazards.

[ElaynesMom]

I wouldn't worry about those tiny jelly beans (jelly belly) being a choking hazard, but maybe larger ones. you could always cut them up smaller, that's what we did with gummy bears my dd got in her easter basket last year. I agree with the pp about sitting while having a sucker, my dd isn't allowed to walk around with a sucker in her mouth.

[Turquesa]

I've given mine one Jelly Belly at a time with no problems.  Of course, nutritionally speaking, that's not the best idea...

[physmom]

I would if I was desperate on an airplane when DD decided she was starving on a super short flight and the flight apparently had a special kids meal prepared for her (which had basically jelly beans and cheese in it ?) and refused to give her the more healthy adult one (and she'd already eaten all of mine)... Not that that happened or anything.

DD's been good with food for awhile now, though.  So we're not as worried about chocking hazards.  If your son had problems chewing I'd definitely avoid them!

[HollyBearsMom]

I would and did. Actually he was closer to 2.5.  We have a local candy store that makes them w/o artificial flavors or colors but on one of my foodie websites they rave about this site that carries them too.

http://www.naturalcandystore.com/product/green-beans-marich-all-natural-jelly-beans/made-in-usa-candy

[just_lily]

I would have no problem with it, but we tend to ration out candy like that.  I would probably only let her have 2 or 3 at a time so it is not like she would have the opportunity to stuff a whole handful into her mouth at once. 

Not sure about the difference between a dum dum sucker and a regular sucker, but I still don't let DD have hard candies. 

[hakeber]

I am not that paranoid about choking, and most of the jelly beans I have seen are not big enough to choke DD, so yes. 

Also there are some Jelly beans that are not so bad for you.  Surf Sweets makes a good one.  I think they are pretty tasty actually. 

Lollipops...probably not because you;re sucking and then POP it comes off the stick and down the throat...not until she's older.

[~cassie]

For us, it would be ok. In fact my youngest probably had them starting around 15 months.

[lactatinggirl]

DD hasn't ever had jelly beans, but she's had similarly shaped things like nuts. I just give her one at a time, then she remembers to chew and swallow and can't shove too many in. 

[vulnerable]

wow i think i am just super paranoid.  After all your replies maybe ill try them.  I am also the mom who would cut peas in half when she just started solids

[hakeber]

Originally Posted by vulnerable 

wow i think i am just super paranoid.  After all your replies maybe ill try them.  I am also the mom who would cut peas in half when she just started solids

I used to be the same until my daughter at 10 months got ahold of the beaded garland at my dad's house during Christmas, pulled it apart and she swallowed about 15 or 20 pea sized beads.  She was fine and had very fancy poops for the Holiday season.  That's when I realized that she had a larger esophagus than I had thought.

[treeoflife3]

my kid is just newly turned 2 and she can have anything now with no concern for choking.  Jelly beans, dum dum suckers, nuts... whatever.  She is a great eater though who hasn't choked on anything since she was like 8 months old... and that was a piece of lettuce she wasn't meant to have.... She got all her teeth quickly and likes to use them haha.

I think its a matter of knowing your own kid.  I personally wouldn't give jelly beans because they are gross but I know my kid won't choke on them anymore than I would (and I might... its always possible, right?)  How I parent might be different if my kid liked to inhale everything she can as quickly as possible.

[tzs]

i try not to give candy not so much for the sugar (dd...18 months...will get dessert with us if we're having) but more for the idea that the longer she doesn't know candy exists, the fewer tantrums i have to deal with. so she hasn't had jelly beans or mike and ikes although her friend of the same age has. i would have no problem with choking and if she was a "shover" i'd do a few at a time.

she's had a dum dum as well although i'd rather not for both the candy reason and it was one of the things that kind of gave me pause about choking (along with other hard candies....i've actually seen it happen in person and where several attempts at heimlich were unsuccessful, including by an m.d., it did finally work but was very scary). but i thought when it was given to her that she would just carry it around all wrapped up and none the wiser...except that somebody else unwrapped it for her. she was watched very closely and was going about it fairly delicately so i let it slide but i wouldn't choose to give one to her.

[sarahmsquared]

Last year for Easter I did fruit snacks and goldfish crackers.  The fruit snacks are still not healthy, but at least a little better than jelly beans.

[Anastasiya]

Yes, I would. I tend to think of things in terms of what's easy to get back out if choking did occur. Slippery jelly beans, yes. A wad of peanut butter, no. Dum dum sucker, yes. Popcorn? Never.

(Apparently popcorn is one thing that cannot be dislodged from the throat....scary.)

[Mom2M]

Originally Posted by hakeber 

I used to be the same until my daughter at 10 months got ahold of the beaded garland at my dad's house during Christmas, pulled it apart and she swallowed about 15 or 20 pea sized beads.  She was fine and had very fancy poops for the Holiday season.  That's when I realized that she had a larger esophagus than I had thought.

that is hilarious!

I would not give the lollipop, especially Dum Dums, because they pop off really easily, I've had it happen and with a gnawing 2 year old, I think it might happen easily. They are the perfect size to get stuck. I would go with a flat lollipop if you had to.
Jellybeans I wouldn't worry about as far as choking.

[pranava]

Originally Posted by physmom 

I would if I was desperate on an airplane when DD decided she was starving on a super short flight and the flight apparently had a special kids meal prepared for her (which had basically jelly beans and cheese in it ?) and refused to give her the more healthy adult one (and she'd already eaten all of mine)... Not that that happened or anything.

DD's been good with food for awhile now, though.  So we're not as worried about chocking hazards.  If your son had problems chewing I'd definitely avoid them!

Jelly beans and Cheese!!!  That sounds really gross! 
 

[pranava]

Originally Posted by vulnerable 

wow i think i am just super paranoid.  After all your replies maybe ill try them.  I am also the mom who would cut peas in half when she just started solids

HaHa!!  I'm paranoid with you then.  I used to smash each pea a little flat between my fingers before letting DS have them.

[2xy]

No, but my boys' dad was super paranoid about choking when they were little, because he choked on a Jolly Rancher when he was 7 and had to have the Heimlich. Plus, my boys were never good at sitting still. Even if they stayed in their seats, they were squirming and laughing and being silly, so small/slippery foods were avoided. FWIW, I don't like jelly beans and never included them in Easter baskets until DS2 was old enough to express that he liked them. I don't think they've been traumatized by the lack of jelly beans at Easter...lol...