To wonder why most parents don't give their toddlers any spicy food?

[laweaselmys]

I understand not giving tiny babies jalepenos.

I understand (when they are confident with eating solid food say over one at least) giving them some plain options and a bit of moderately spicy stuff to try.

I don't understand waiting until they are 5, making a big fuss about it, then being surprised when they don't like it.

Not that marvelous Parakeet, it's just one of a hundred ways to cook mince ie cheap.

I mean don't forget, if it's part of your daily diet and aily home cooking routing, you hcan be a pretty good judge of how to "pro rata" it for a child, and maybe your mum shows you how etc etc but when it's something you cook on an occasional basis, you might not be very confident about making it millder, so you're more likely to stick to what you know and what you're more confident with.

"My child eats five chillis at a sitting" isn't like some impressive whooooo feat. Is there a bit of smugness here?

Anyone could do it, normality, just not everyone would think to. It would never occur to me to add yogurt to something to cool it down.

We love spicy food- dd (now 5) has been given it from being tiny and.......SHE WONT TOUCH IT!!!

Coughs and splutters if she even gets a grain of black pepper in her mouth and needs to drink a gallon of water aferwards!

So bog off! and stop congratulating yourselves on your fantastic vindaloo eating toddlers- I doubt it's anything that you did that made them that way!

all kids have funny wee foibles.things they will/wont eat.mine wont eat tomato or olives.shame as i love em

It is very interesting about DC that are really not into it at all. I was a bit surprised when I gave DD food with chilis in and she didn't start screaming, so in a way it is weirdly reassuring to know that some kids DO, and that's why they don't eat it!

I have a friend from school with no sense of smell (which is supposed to be connected to taste) who doesn't eat spicy food... no idea what that means!

Sorry, Scruffy, no judgey intent.

It didn't occur to me to add yoghurt/ creme fraiche to DD's because I was trying it for the first time aswell.

I love spicy food, and grew up feeding dd off my plate, she ate most spicy things from a yoiung age.

She has reacted against it now though, and at the age of 14 has turned into one of those boring gits who won't eat anything stronger than a korma!

some of you are being hyper-touchy!so my kids eat spicy.they wont touch a raw tomato or salad leaves.if i was saying can do mandarin and violin,yes get the hump.eating spicy =no big whoopdidoo.

i ate spicy+++ all pregnancies.drunk big tom by the litre.haha maybe taste in the womb

I think books that sya avoid spicey food mean very spicy not a mild curry or a slightly spicy samosa.

DS would pretty much eat anything until about 2.5 then like many children became extremely fussy abouttast and texture now at 5 that is easing up a bit and he's back to eating a wider variety of food with some VERY mildly spiced things. But it noticable that his tastebuds are more sensitive than mine - and I'm a supertaster so I'm guessing that young childrne tastebuds become much more sensitive for a while. (anyone know?)

I don't think people do wait until they are 5, make a big fuss about it and then are suprised when they don't like it. I don't know anyone who has done that.

I think generally people give their dcs the same food as them and lots of children refuse unfamiliar food which could be curry for one child or pizza for another.

There does seem to be a few foods that people like to almost boast that theit dcs eat and curry, for some reason, is one of them along with olives .

DD loves samosas, bhajis etc.

DS less so, but he is younger. his gets mixed with yoghurt.

whilst i was overseas, the kindergarten food was generally les spicy than adult, but stil mildly spicy. The kids thought i was 'very brave' for eating bits of chilli and ginger in the food.

DS also won;t eat a raw tomato and salad leaves. I have even hidden raw purred tomato in a sauce and he can still taste it - so it obviously is th etaste he oesn;t like as it looked just like teh tomatto sauce I usually make (cooked) Also he has an incredibly strng sense of smell I wonder if that contributes too.

I don't mean curried olives, that would be noteworthy. And disgusting.

DD1 refers to spicy things as "minty". Both her and DD2 are very fussy eaters though and so I do play it safe a lot of the time. She did happily tuck into my chilli squid the other day though!

Sorry- didn't mean to be so touchy .

DD does eat veg though! Suspect she will go off as she gets older- kids are fickle.

Funny thing is- she manages to choke down chilli doritos -

Ds 1 never liked spicey stuff and still doesn't at 4 yrs.

However he LOVES olives and gherkins - go figure.

Point taken. DD does do spicy but is a student and works part-time in a coffee shop, so has 2 eclairs for her tea far to often for my liking!

I didn't say that was my view :) Just thought it was a possible explanation.

I have offered DS midly spicy food from 6 mo but he went off it. He will eat samosas/onion bhajis etc though and curry or chilli mixed with yoghurt.

really no need for anyone to feel defensive about it - provided DC's are not malnourished - who cares what they eatother than having them eat the same as you is a darn sight easier for me lazy paretns.

Its not like the staple diet in this country is curry so child will starve to death if they don;t like it.

Tis interesting though how their tastes change.

Dh often makes mild spicy (north african) food and DD2 has always eaten it and liked it. She doesn't really like "plain" food that much, which isn't good because school dinners etc. are never spicy! DD1 won't eat anything unless it's beige with no bits in it (don't ask!). Neither of them like really hot chilli sauce though.