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.

But we live in a mixed culture; the food here is varied much more than in Asia (where indiginous groups don't tend to eat things 'outside' their particular culture) , so it is reasonable to say that in England, English people encounter various kinds of ethnic food. So, with that in mind, it is feasible to wonder why people wouldn't expand their DCs food experiences when there is a lot of ethnic food widely available.

But lots of people in the UK do eat spicy food appletrees since it is now part of our mixed culture. Of course, there is no requirement to, but a lot of the discussion on this thread has been about making the choice to offer spicy food or not to offer it, and the rationale behind that decision.

If the adults in the family enjoy spicy food, then why shouldn't the children? My interpretation of the OP was that some parents hold back on offering spicy food to their young children perhaps for fear of doing damage or that they won't cope with it, when really there's no reason to.

possom, glad the chilli was a success!

Will have to be careful not to give chilli every night... glad childminder will have the nappy tomorrow!

I've explained why in previous posts. Gosh it really is obvious.

leaving out chilli con carne..

Home cooking Asian food by non-Asian cultures, in the UK in a suitable form for children, daal, casserole type curries, is relatively recent.

Most Asian food eaten by non Asian adults is not home cooked but restaurant, take-away, ready meal.

These types of food are not the types of food children normally eat.

For your information, western food is commonly available in Asia as restaurant and fast food, though often with extra chilli. The ingredients for English food are available.

But families commonly choose to feed their families at home with traditional food they know well, and are confident cooking and feeding their families. This is going to obtain in Britain too. OBVIOUSLY.

Do parents give their toddlers chili con carne?

I reckon that must be one of the most popular spicy ones to start with. It was with us.

Let's face it -- everybody knows that minced beef is the most popular meat in the family shopping basket. That doesn't curry up too well.

So yes I reckon most people will start with a bit of chilli con carne.

cue five thousand people saying they started with aubergine madras and had no problems at all

Appletrees, what would you recommend we try next?!

It's recent yes, but well within the time span of the current generation of parents having learned to cook.

If spicy food is regularly cooked in the home, which it is in a lot of households, then why wouldn't you offer it to your toddler, is the question that many of us interpreted the OP as.

That's what I thought, but my mum isn't British, so I wondered whether she'd been unusual to bring us up on chili con carne.

p.s. although her chili is done with chunks of beef rather than mince

Not unusual Grendel I don't think - also chili con carne was massively fashionable in the UK in the 70s. I can just about remember those early 80s ads with the chili in the middle and a huge circle of rice around the outside.

I really fancy a big plate of chili con carne now.

DD's first spicy food was just a spicy spanish chicken and rice dish.

Right - appletrees you are totally welcome to think me judgy. It wasn't my intent. My actual intent when I wrote the OP was to talk about something else on a very trolly/depressing thread day on MN.

The OP is a bit provocatively worded, but as I have said in further posts based on my thinking about my introduction to spice. Which we also had a nice chat about, I have qualified lots of times, and not judged anyone.

Nobody HAS to give their child spice if they don't want to. Nobody HAS to give it to them if they don't like it, which is clearly pointless. If you do want them to like spice... Why wait? That is the question.

This current generation of parents is cooking less than the previous generation. Also it's new, for Pete's sake -- why should everyone rush to do it and be scorned for not? Leave people be. Do it your way, fine, just accept other people's. Why do some parents have to put other parents down for not giving toddlers spicy food? Where's the point in that?

I am so right on this.

Possum: cripes don't really know and can't remember. Daal and rice is quite an easy one. And I don't think I know many children that would refuse mild tandoori chicken legs. I would say, remember that spicy doesn't necessarily mean full of chilli. So you can introduce the spicy flavour without the heat. And if he doesn't like a spicy thing with chilli, it could be either the spices or the chilli. So he might still like that Indian flavour but not when it's tremendously heaty.

I have found Thai curries to be terribly hot when out of the jar. Also try fajitas because they are fun for the child who can help to make them, a little bit, and it gets the cucumber and tom inside.

x posts

plus my cooking advice seems rather patronising on reading back ..I do apologise

Are we all friends yet? Begrudging acquaintances?

I can remeber going to my friends house for the afternoon and being taken to an indian restaurant (her family owned the place) and given tandoori I would have been aorund 5-6years and just touching into the 1970's, I thought it was great food but not similar to anything we had at home.

Why does it matter though if you give your child spicey food at 15 months, 5 years or 15 years? They may like it they may not

my dd2 eats curry and adds extra yogurt, she does perfer chinese food though

Nah, we're all taking bites out of each other and then spitting the flesh out because it's too spicy.

Well yes I will grudgingly admit that I didn't take the OP as meaning people who normally home cook spicy food. I don't think that obvious at all though.

We could call it draw. You got the clarification in.

(and some spice tips)

Both I and dcs are very fond of curries. But I do wish that the idea of expanding children's culinary horizons was not just interpreted in the light of Asian food culture. I would love to see more children around who were also happy eating traditional foods: parsnips, kidney, mackerel, boiled spuds, mashed swede. Most children we know only seem to eat pizzas and pasta. Would be nice to see a little more adventure.

You know what cory I was going to say, far from a mixed food culture we seem to have a 95 Italian food culture these days for children. You have a good point.

But kidney? That's way braver than chilli con carne

"I get what you're saying bobble, but this thread isn't about toddlers refusing foods, it's about parents actively making the decision not to offer their tots anything spicy, when there is no good reason to avoid it. Not liking a food is different from never being offered it."

But the assumption made over and over again ime with my spice refusing ds1 is its not offerered and that is why he doesn't eat it. I am staggered by the patronising advice I get in RL about how I should just 'Offer whatever you are eating'. I never get such advice about other things that any of my dcs don't like. I'm not even British and I get this rudeness from people so I can only imagine how annoying it is for people whose blonde blue eyed children don't like curry.

I think the premise of the OP "I don't understand waiting until they are 5, making a big fuss about it, then being surprised when they don't like it." is bollocks. How many people do that really? Enough to start a thread as if its the norm rather than a minority position occupied by people for very obvious reasons such as they don't cook spicey food so don't bother cooking especially for a child?