Let me start by saying that I normally hate when people chew gum around me. The constant smacking and the incessant bubble blowing really get to me. It all stems from a former coworker of mine named Glenn Thompson. Glenn would chew gum all day, everyday and the noise coming out of his mouth was enough to drive me nuts.
Secondly I don't normally offer my kids gum as I am afraid that they might just try to swallow it. I don't want to digging around in their throats if it gets stuck in there if you know what I mean. Just recently though they took an interest in trying to blow bubbles, and as the parent I am that wants to make sure things like this art get passed from generation to generation, I let them.