Yeah, bring it to their attention. They might be worried about choking but most little kids are OK with popcorn and even if they don't want to give them popcorn may be there is something else they can give them, it is never nice to eat infront of others and little kids don't understand and it just seems mean to them.

I'd definitely ask the folks at the school, but I suspect healthy's right. Here's a link that discusses the American Academy of Pediatric's suggestion that no children under 4 consume popcorn: www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/505_choking.html

However that said, I'd think the proper way to handle this is to forgo popcorn entirely--for the kids AND for the teachers. The 3s are certainly NOT going to understand and the 4s can live without it for a movie.

How much older can they be in preschool?? 4 versus 3??? I know there are guidelines on toys that say small parts might pose a choking hazard to children under age 3, so perhaps they're thinking popcorn is a problem for them? It wouldn't hurt to ask the next time they're scheduled to go to the theater, but phrase it in such a way as to not accuse..."Mrs. Teacher, I'm wondering if what I heard is accurate...are the older kids allowed to have popcorn?"

It doesn't hurt to ask why the little kids can't have popcorn. Maybe no one wants to be responsible for holding the money and paying for the little kids' snacks?