Do you let your kid eat sushi?

[Anonymous]

Mine started eating salmon sashimi at 3 years old.

[Anonymous]

We love sushi and go out for it 3-4 times a month. DS has been eating it (rolls with raw fish) since 3.

At 4, out of the blue, he said to me “I’m in the mood for sushi”. I was surprised about this comment so young.

DS is now 6 and can easily put away 1 and 1/2 rolls on his own.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my one year old is a big fan. I honestly never thought twice about it.

[Anonymous]

DS has been eating sushi for years (he's 13) and I never gave it a second thought. As others have said, kids who like sushi can all of a sudden rack up an insane dinner bill so that's more of a reason to limit sushi intake than any other reason

[Anonymous]

So ok to eat factory farmed ground beef and milk but sushi off limits? God help us, America.

[Anonymous]

OP you obviously don't live in Hawaii. Here, kids eat sushi from the time they can eat solids or chew.

I thought this was a joke question.

-- Former DC/VA resident who now loves life in HI

[Anonymous]

Get a new pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP.

Pediatrician is nice older white woman.

She’s fine. We haven’t had any issues. It’s easy to get an appointment and very little wait. She definitely has some reactionary old school opinions so we take what she says with a grain of salt.

But of course it makes sense that in countries where sushi and raw fish is a common dish, that young children would eat it often.

I guess my question is when is it safe? We don’t introduce honey till the age of 2 right? There’s a risk of food borne illnesses with undercooked foods but if properly prepared it’s minimal. I know younger children are at an increased risk complications from e. Coli, salmonella etc.

So is best to wait till 2? 3? 5? 10?

My gut says 3-5 and just be aware of risk and quality.

There's a reason for that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why I don’t necessarily trust any old doctor to advise me about risk. They are often extremely risk averse.

I would feed my kid the sushi and find a new pediatrician whose risk assessment is more in line with mine. I prefer a doctor who tells you what the risks are, puts them in perspective, and lets you decide.

And FWIW, I did everything by the book my first pregnancy and my baby died from a random genetic defect. I adopted a much more “c’est la vie” approach after and have the most wonderful kids in the world. I ate the sushi and feed my kids raw fish, oysters, salad, deli meat, etc. they are fine.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

My kids have been sushi as long as I can remember (toddler or younger). I’m a pediatrician and I tell my patients that if the sushi’s safe enough for you (the parent), then it’s safe enough for your child. I’m Asian if that matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you obviously don't live in Hawaii. Here, kids eat sushi from the time they can eat solids or chew.

I thought this was a joke question.

-- Former DC/VA resident who now loves life in HI

I grew up there and the most popular sushi amongst the kids were the ones without raw fish (cone and maki sushi).

[Anonymous]

I ate sushi while pregnant, and will introduce it to my toddler soon.

Americans are so weird about food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way, that stuff is expensive and my kids would eat $40 worth each.

LOL!

I like you, PP.

OP, we started around age 3. Not much interest though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of little kids in Japan. What do you suppose they are eating?

Having grown up in Japan, I can tell you they aren’t eating sushi. At least not frequently. Sushi is an expensive treat food; like going out to a nice steak restaurant. Its a misconception that Japanese people eat sushi frequently. Now onigiri on the other hand...

[Anonymous]

My husband/children are Japanese. We started giving sushi to our first at 1.5 years. The Japanese Health Ministry site said age 2, if I remenber correctly, but a lot of parents start earlier, at 18 months.

It's one of his favorite foods. He watches videos of a super popular TV show aimed at kids 2 and under, and the characters have bits about eating norimaki sometimes. So while I'm sure some kids do take time to warm up to it like a pp suggested, I do think many kids are like mine and take to it right away.