The weekends are usually a peaceful time where many sit down with the family and watch a good movie, unfortunately for Nicole Goddard, last month’s family movie night was a night was all but wonderful. It was a night that any of us would want to forget.

Nicole and Jake Goddard have three children. Every weekend they like to pop a big bowl of popcorn, sit down on the couch and watch a movie as a family. They say their recent viewing of “Mrs. Doubtfire” quickly turned into a horror flick when their two-and-a-half-year-old son, Nash, started choking.

Nicole and Jake Goddard, of Colorado, stated “We were all watching a movie and eating popcorn which is a very frequent event on the weekend in our home. 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.”

“He started making a gagging noise and Jake jumped up really fast to grab him,” she told FOX news. “He was getting ready to do the Heimlich on him and then he took a breath.”

She says Nash began breathing normally. The couple didn’t see any popcorn come out, so they assumed he just swallowed it.

Over the next few hours, Nash developed a cough. Nicole says she attributed it to cold and flu season, which had already hit their family. By Monday evening, the little boy had a 104-degree temperature.

“I was watching his stomach and he was breathing really hard -- like labored breathing -- and I’m like, 'That’s it, I’m taking him in,'" the mother said.

After some tests, Nash was admitted to the hospital and ordered into surgery.

“There was so much inflammation he actually started to develop pneumonia in his left lung,” Nicole said.

Doctors also discovered the toddler had inhaled chunks of popcorn that were stuck in his lung and causing the pneumonia.

“The gave us the pieces of popcorn that they pulled out of his lungs. There were six,” she said.

Nicole and Jake say they had no idea that children under the age of 5 aren’t strong enough to cough up bits of food like popcorn and pretzels.

“Never. Or I would have never given him popcorn,” Nicole said. “I’ve given [all of my kids] popcorn.”

She figured most other parents give their children popcorn too, so she wanted to post a few pictures of Nash in the hospital and explain what he had gone through as a way to educate others.

She shared the post on Facebook because she wanted to warn other parents of the dangers of giving popcorn to smaller children.

Her post has been shared 140,000 times.

This is not the only case of popcorn affecting a child.  Sadly another girl didn't survive after inhaling a popcorn kernel.  Mirranda Grace Lawson is a little girl who died in early November 2016, six months after choking on a single popcorn kernel.

Since the tragic death of their daughter, Mirranda’s parents have been raising awareness about the choking hazards that young children face every day.

Alison Lawson, Mirranda’s mother, was celebrating her birthday at home with her husband, Patrick, and their children when the unthinkable happened. 

“At the end of Alison’s birthday, Mirranda ran in to the living room.

Eyes huge, no sound. Time stopped.

Those were the last moments they shared before Mirranda fell to the ground; they swept her mouth, nothing; Pat started CPR.

The ambulance got there. Mirranda’s heart stopped.”

There was nothing in Mirranda’s mouth, but a small popcorn kernel had gotten lodged in her windpipe and choked her.

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On the way to the hospital, paramedics managed to get Mirranda’s heart pumping again, but the little girl’s family had no idea how serious her injury was.

When Mirranda arrived at the emergency room, she was immediately put on a respirator.

Her family kept their fingers crossed, but tragically, Mirranda’s  doctors soon realized that the three-year-old was brain dead.

The Lawson family fought with the hospital to keep their daughter alive, and the case ended up in court.

Hope was running out, but the Lawson family decided to try the case in the Virginia Supreme Court.

While the wheels of justice slowly turned, Mirranda remained in the hospital.

But even if Mirranda’s mom and dad fought hard to keep their little girl, the court was slow to make a decision.

Mirranda’s health suddenly deteriorated and she died in November with her heartbroken family at her side.

And now, it’s up to us to honor Mirranda’s memory and raise awareness about choking hazards so that other children don’t meet the same fate.

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How to lower the risk of choking:
1. Keep small objects out of children’s reach
2. Make sure your child sits still while eating—moving and having something in their mouth is always a bad combination.
3. Don’t let children eat in the car or when on a bicycle— there could be sudden bumps.
4. Take extra care if your child has a cold. Objects are more likely to get stuck in their throat during that time.

If a child is choking, use the “five-and-five” approach:
Five back blows:
1. Place the child on their stomach on your lap.
2. Hold the child’s stomach with your forearm and hold their head up by supporting their chin. The child’s head should be lower than their body.
3. Deliver five back blows between the child’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.

Five chest thrusts:
1. Turn the child over on your lap and hold them with her forearm. Support their head with your hand. The child’s head should be lower than their body.
2. Place two fingers in the middle of their chest just below the nipples.
3. Push sharply downwards up to five times.
4. Alternate between five blows and five thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.

Please share to warn others about the potential dangers of this common kids’ snack. It could save someone from going through what these families had to endure.

Source: Facebook / WRTV / Fox News