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Original poster

To let DD eat sushi

80 replies

helpmegetthisrightplease · 20/06/2009 16:22

DD loves Japanese food and I occassionally take her to a Japanese resturant that does a buffet (set price to take as many dishes as you like off a conveyer belt).

She loves it including the sushi. We went today and I heard a couple of women loudly commenting how wrong it is to let a small child eat sushi as they cant digest raw fish.

Now I'm wondering if its alright to let her (she's 3+7). She's been eating it on ocassion for about a year and always really enjoyed it. am I wrong to let her?

OP posts:
Bucharest · 20/06/2009 16:22

Japanese children seem to thrive.....

plimple · 20/06/2009 16:24

Ask someone from Japan. Even if she can't digest it and get the goodness out doesn't it just mean it'll pass straight through? Were they nutritionists? I'd have asked them.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 20/06/2009 16:24

Children can't digest raw fish? Really? Mine seemed to able to digest worms from the garden alright so I imagine raw fish would be a doddle for their digestive systems.
You should have asked them to cite the research about it, that usually shuts people up I find.

FabBakerGirlIsBack · 20/06/2009 16:24

I have no idea but if she has been eating it for a year without any problems I don't see why you should stop.

I might get some for my kids.

I eat it but DH and the DCs never have.

hercules1 · 20/06/2009 16:25

I believe it's the levels of mercury - children cant deal with them as well as adults. I've read somewhere 8 is the safe age.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 20/06/2009 16:29

I just looked it up because that's the sort of sad person I am. Government advice is that children under 16 should avoid shark, marlin and swordfish - not fish in general.

LovelyTinOfSpam · 20/06/2009 16:35

Smoked salmon is raw fish.

DD seems to be rather partial to it. Seems to digest it just fine.

Oh happy day...

LovelyTinOfSpam · 20/06/2009 16:36

Oh so YANBU

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 20/06/2009 16:38

LTOS - When DD3 was 3 I once picked her up from pre-school to be told 'we asked them all what they had for lunch today and she said smoked salmon ha ha'
I was highly embarrassed to admit it was perfectly true.

scottishmummy · 20/06/2009 16:39

we all love sushi as we are poncy love miso soup too

scottishmummy · 20/06/2009 16:39

we all love sushi as we are poncy love miso soup too

itwasntme · 20/06/2009 16:41

Would cooking affect mercury levels??

My guess would be no, but I am not sure.

Both my kids love smoked salmon, and any other fish for that matter. As long as it is fresh, I don't really see the difference that cooking would make.

duchesse · 20/06/2009 16:41

Twaddle. Good god, get them eating as varied a diet as possible as quickly as possible, I day. Those women's children will prob only touch chicken nuggets and chips.

YANBU.

LovelyTinOfSpam · 20/06/2009 16:48

Ladyglencora I am retraining her palette for these strightened times - she has just polished off a tin of sardines...

Thunderduck · 20/06/2009 16:48

YANBU.

MrsEricBana · 20/06/2009 16:49

Can't see how it is any dif to them having cooked fish. Mine both love sushi and have never had any problems.

Thunderduck · 20/06/2009 16:51

Besides sushi doesn't mean raw fish. That's sashimi.

Sushi just means the bed of vinegared rice, so she could have sushi with raw fish,cooked fish or vegetables.

hercules1 · 20/06/2009 16:52

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-381958/Sushi--raw-truth.html

Actually sushi doesnt seem to be that healthy.....

Disclaimer - I do not read the daily mail.

Thunderduck · 20/06/2009 16:53

Apparently everything is bad for you.

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

SomeGuy · 20/06/2009 16:56

My 1 year old loves smoked salmon. She also likes sushi, unpasteurised cheese, etc.

As for mercury, it's just about possible if you fed your child tuna sandwiches every day of the week (I bet the silly cow wouldn't object if you gave her a pack of Tesco tuna sandwiches) they might get too much. But not from the occasional trip to sushi.

OutOfThinHair · 20/06/2009 16:57

My 2 year old likes it and has been enjoying it (occasionally) for a while now.

LovelyTinOfSpam · 20/06/2009 16:59

Hercules that article is all arsed up.

It seems to cobble together various fishy issues ie. heavy metals, over fishing etc and seem to attribute them entirely to the consumption of sushi?!

Like someone said, cooking doesn't remove the heavy metals. And overfishing is more to do with our taste for fish of all sorts rather than just sushi. Cod n chips, fishfingers, vast amounts of salmon as it's supposedly a "superfood" etc etc

It also says sushi is very bad for you, then in the next paragraph says it is very good for you

hercules1 · 20/06/2009 17:00

Well I did point out it was the daily mail and I just barely skim read it!

Personally I eat sushi - never tried kids on it although they have a very varied diet already - lots of seafood includin shark.

oodlesofpoodles · 20/06/2009 17:01

I think girls aren't supposed to have oily fish more than twice a week. I have never heard that sushi is worse for you than any other fish though.

LovelyTinOfSpam · 20/06/2009 17:03

Is it all oily fish or just the carniverous ones?

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