Toddler with spicy food

[NumbsMet]

I'll make very clear from the start that I DO NOT prepare spicy food for my toddlers.

DP and I love extremely spicy food. Think naga and beyond. Jalapeños are basically apples to us. DS really doesn't like spice at all.

23 month DD, however, can't seem to get enough of it.

Occasionally, if it's calm, I will prepare myself an easy to pick at snack to eat whilst my DCs eat their lunch. My snack will normally have a shot of West Indian pepper sauce or hot Indian pickle, previously with some bread to dip but now with cucumber sticks or similar. These things are VERY spicy. DS knows to stay away. DD will take her toast, and zip up to the bowl in a split second, dip her toast and start munching.

She coughs and her eyes start watering. The first time this happened I felt awful, but I was hopeful and thought 'that'll learn ya'. It hasn't learned 'er. She now knows what to expect, and insists on dipping. I try to stop her, she screams, she refuses to eat unless I give her access to the chili dip.

So my solution at the moment is simply not to eat my spicy snacks around her, and so I don't. But is this necessary? Is it fundamentally cruel to allow DD to have a tiny bit of (extra hot) spice on her toast if she actually wants it? It doesn't seem to affect her beyond the initial cough, no sore bum, no runny nappies, no tummy aches, no distress. Genuinely pure contentment. Could this just be a genetic preference? As I mentioned before, DS made a similar move once before and he has never tried it again. He hates spice and I will never prepare spicy foods specifically for them until they're a 'reasonable age' to cope with it and request it. DP used to be 'punished' with English mustard so I am very very wary of causing discomfort with food.

WWMND?

Maybe just get her a milder chili sauce. She doesn't have to have access to the super hot stuff but if she enjoys it then don't deny her.

I don't see the problem if she likes it and has no digestion issues after. Our food is quite plain but other cultures I'm sure have a lot more flavour and spice

Cant you just yet a less spicy sauce for her and let her have her own bowlful of that? Build up to the spicier stuff as she gets older

See that's why I thought it would be a good idea to ask here, because some cultures (like West Indian and Indian) have a lot of spicy food in their cuisine, and I'm wondering if it's normal for children from different cultures to eat much spicier food? I tried googling it, but that really didn't help. I'd really like opinions from all over.

I think if I did let her keep on with it, the hardest part would be battling my own guilt, which is very weird I know. It really surprises me that these two are like chalk and cheese with absolutely everything.

If she likes it and there’s no health issues then it’s fine. Perhaps get her something slightly milder then build it up gradually? Hundreds of millions of toddlers around the world (especially in Asia and South America) grow up eating more exotic/spicy foods from a very early age. She clearly has an adventurous palette! 🙂

I do like the idea of a milder sauce. God knows why I didn't think about that before. Perhaps Thai sweet chilli sauce? That's lovely and very mild. She might really like that!

Get her a less spicy sauce for herself. She clearly likes it so nothing to feel guilty about. I actually think its probably good for her to like more flavours

When DD was small we asked our regular curry house owner when his children started eating spicy foods. He looked at us like we’d gone mad. Right from the start, he said, with yoghurt stirred in if they found it too much. Mind you, I think there’s less of that ‘I’m better than you because I can take a really hot sauce’ thing that comes across a bit in the OP. A range of levels of spice are employed, as appropriate to the dish and the flavour.

If she likes dipping toast in sauce I'd take advantage of that!! You could mix your chilli sauce into some natural yoghurt or sour cream to make it milder, try her with mild tomato salsa, guacamole etc and give her different things to dip.

You arent forcing it on her. She is choosing to eat it.
I echo some of the others, maybe get some milder versions and let her have her own. Might stop her stealing yours! Be careful tho. It didn't take DS1 long to demand "Daddy Chilli" rather than the milder stuff. DS2 has stuck with milder varieties. I'm a chilli free zone!

Oh, I sincerely apologise, I had no intention of suggesting that we're better than anyone because we enjoy spicy food - if anything for DP and I it was one of those niche things that brought us closer together, and people tend to laugh at us for being crazy enough to add chilli sauce to everything. I apologise if my post was offensive in any way.

The yoghurt/cream addition that other posters have mentioned is a great idea too. Also gives you the chance to experiment and come up with some nice dips and sauces for the family! My background is Indian and we all grew up with hot food from a young age. Raita was a staple addition to balance everything out and give some cooling relief

Honestly some people . Your post wasn’t in any way implying superiority, just explaining the level of spice that you routinely enjoy eating. Useful context not boasting!

This is a non-problem. Unless there's some sort of danger to toddlers from spicy food that I'm not aware of?

I do love the idea of trying her with a milder sauce, I really do feel silly that I didn't think of that before - how long can you still legally claim to have 'baby brain'?

I'll go out and buy a couple of mild spicy options today. Any suggestions welcome! As right now all I can think of is sweet chilli sauce.

@DragOnflye oooh raita is lovely! Very good idea.

@StatementKnickers I agree it's an odd question and probably isn't a problem in the scheme of things, but my opinion was the same as you mentioned - I genuinely don't know if there's a danger to giving toddlers extremely spicy food and I'm also aware that in some situations it's used as a punishment for bad language or behaviour so the thought of it was making me uncomfortable. I'm really grateful to have been given some perspective, I tend to worry a lot about the small things.

We're spice lovers in this house too and fully intend on letting our kids eat spicy food (currently pregnant).

One of our best friends is Indian and we often go out for lunch with him and his baby at Indian restaurants/cafés, where baby will eat naan dipped in spicy sauces or bits of spiced chicken/veg dishes. His 6 month old happily eats spicy food and does him no harm.

I think we're a bit silly about food in this country. British food is VERY bland isn't it?! Spice is great and does no harm to the rest of the world

Basically enjoy it (and be slightly proud 😁)

I love the nandos sauce, you could maybe try her on the milder version of that?

Also I would be so happy if ds likes spicy foods so enjoy having an adventurous daughter

When I lived in Korea the children were eating very spicy kimchi in kindergarten. I don't see the issue with children having spicy food if they like it and it isn't upsetting their stomach.

Nandos lemon and herb is mildly spicy, and the mild Nandos perinaise. You could also make home made salsa with just a bit of chilli sauce in for her to dio into

DS14 is very anti-spice and will have plain chicken at Nando's because even mild has too much taste, DS9 is like me and eats chillies as snacks.

I went with it and accepted that he simply had a different palate. I don't think there's any harm that can come from letting her eat the things she enjoys eating at all.

Yeah just get something milder. I don't like super spicy food and neither does dh really but our 3yo seems to love spicy curries and anything chilli flavoured. I was surprised as I had assumed toddlers ate quite bland food but if they enjoy it and it's not upsetting their tummies then why not.

DD is similar, she gets it from her Dad. She's 2 and will happily munch on quite spicy food. The first we knew of her preference was when we caught her munching Thai Sweet Chilli Sensations from the packet at the age of 15 months.

We made a Goan fish curry a while back that was very spicy and whilst her older sister wouldn't touch it, DD munched the lot. I was quite proud, I have to say.

If it's not making your LO poorly I say crack on!