Mom learns the hard way that toddlers should not eat popcorn – now she’s warning other parents
If you’ve ever parented a toddler you know it’s nearly impossible to keep them away from all the potential dangers lurking out there. To make matters worse, some dangers come in the form of things we never imagined could pose a risk – like popcorn.
Popcorn?
Surely you had popcorn when you were very young and turned out just fine, but the truth is that tiny mouths can’t properly chew a whole grain like popcorn – and this can lead to big trouble.
After a family went through a traumatic incident with their toddler, doctors are confirming that the ubiquitous snack is not toddler-friendly.
In February of last year, mom Nicole Johnson Goddard took to Facebook to deliver a warning to parents. She had been enjoying a movie night the weekend before – along with a bowl of popcorn – with husband Jake, their 2 older daughters, and the couple’s 2-year-old son Nash.
The toddler had a little choking episode on a piece of the tasty treat during the film, but was fine almost immediately after.
No big deal, right? This happens with toddlers all the time since they’re not careful chewers.
“I didn’t think twice to give Nash popcorn. Nash had small choking episode but was fine. We didn’t see anything come out so we assumed he swallowed it. He seemed completely fine and continued to watch the movie. The only thing we observed was a cough he developed after the episode. The next day he was fine but still had a weird sounding cough which concerned me a little. I just assumed he was catching the same crud we had all been going through,” she wrote.
But the following Monday after her husband left for a trip, Goddard noticed Nash was feverish and fussy in the evening. Giving him Motrin and some special mom cuddles, she noticed his breathing sounded a bit labored that night and called their pediatrician in the morning.
She was told to bring in Nash and the little tyke got a chest X-ray. The results prompted her husband to come home early from his business trip.
“After a chest X-ray the dr didn’t like what he saw so he got scheduled that evening for a Bronchoscopy…At 6pm they put Nash under and performed the procedure. I paced and cried the entire time my little man was in surgery.”
When the doctors came out she couldn’t believe the news – Nash had aspirated popcorn into his lungs when he choked! His body recognized it as a foreign object and set off an immune response that caused severe inflammation in his left lung, where he developed pneumonia and a series of “puss pockets.” (Many people think pneumonia is caused by a bacteria or virus, but it can just as easily be caused by a foreign object since it just refers to an inflammation of the air sacs in the lungs.)
Goddard said:
“During the procedure the dr got out 6 pieces [of popcorn]. There was so much inflammation so the dr wasn’t 💯 he got it all so scheduled him to be admitted and repeat the procedure in 2 days.”
A second procedure meant a second risk of anesthesia and surgery – all for some tiny bits of popcorn.
Luckily, Nash recovered completely.
Goddard’s viral post reminded parents to re-check the list of things to avoid feeding to toddlers.
“I knew about grapes and hot dogs—we hear about those all the time,” she told USA Today. “But I don’t think popcorn has been reiterated.”
USA Today spoke to pediatrician Alison Tothy, who said that popcorn is a common problem for young children because they don’t have the back molars and therefore can’t chew it properly – especially when it comes to those partially – or unpopped – kernels.
Because toddlers tend to shovel food in their mouths, choking incidents are more common.
In addition to popcorn, other foods that parents should avoid giving children under 4 include hot dogs, nuts, seeds, chunks of meat or cheese, whole grapes, hard or sticky candy, chunks of peanut butter, chunks of raw vegetables, and chewing gum.
Be sure to scroll down below for Goddard’s original post which has now been shared over 180,000 times.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.