My 3.5 year old loves sushi. I avoid tuna because of mercury so mostly salmon sushi. Was not aware of any age based recommendation so she's probably been having it since at least age 2.

I know a family that offered a salmon sushi roll to their 3 yo. Child was very sick that night (tummy). Their immune systems just aren’t as strong as ours. Parents were fine, it was clearly a case of why FDA says 5.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm a bad mom here, but our kids started eating sushi at around age 1. Japanese American.

Lol, you think that's bad? New Englander here who started her kids on raw oysters and clams after their first birthday when they could handle it without choking. But this is seafood you buy at the dock and can literally watch the fishermen unload the boats. If anyone got sick from contaminated seafood, the entire town would know about it.

Now those kids are teens who could eat enough oysters, sashimi, and ceviche to bankrupt me.

Sushi is the last thing I’m worried about my child shoving into his mouth after 1.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Japanese. In Japan, most families give raw fish sushi to their kids starting at around age 3. If you go to a reputable sushi restaurant I would trust the fish prep there. I agree with PP that you should all avoid eating too many portions of bigger fish that tend to accumulate heavy metals.

The fact that the people who know the most about sushi and about the precautions to take etc . . . wait until 3, is a reason for me to wait even longer. I'm going to stick with 5.

Well there’s also a difference in Japanese work ethic in how Japanese chefs handle food prep safety vs a low paid worker in the US

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Japanese. In Japan, most families give raw fish sushi to their kids starting at around age 3. If you go to a reputable sushi restaurant I would trust the fish prep there. I agree with PP that you should all avoid eating too many portions of bigger fish that tend to accumulate heavy metals.

The fact that the people who know the most about sushi and about the precautions to take etc . . . wait until 3, is a reason for me to wait even longer. I'm going to stick with 5.

That's just stupid.

I didn’t know there was a rule. After age 1, the kids eat what we eat. That includes sushi.

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been eating sushi since they were 3/4.

They love sushi -- great for us b/c we love it other than the fact that it is $$$

My kids also started eating sushi around 3 or 4 years old - they're now 5 and 7. We usually get 4 rolls (tuna and salmon) for the two of them to share and they devour them. We don't get it that often though, because it's expensive. Usually once every 2-3 months we'll spring for it as a special treat. They also love seaweed salad.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm a bad mom here, but our kids started eating sushi at around age 1. Japanese American.

+1. I wasn’t aware there was a rule. Our youngest is about to turn 4 so I guess it’s too late now

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm a bad mom here, but our kids started eating sushi at around age 1. Japanese American.

White, but same. It's really unclear to me what the concern is here? Are people also holding out on coldcuts til 5? No bagged salad or melons? I get not giving gas station sashimi, but a) I wouldn't eat that anyway and b) this seems like another instance of American overeach with the food stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Japanese here. Would literally have never occurred to me look at FDA or other sources for age recommendations on when to eat sushi. We've offered plenty to our 3.5 year old. DC isn't interested in anything other than shrimp tempura and California rolls, but we're not going to stop offering and wait until 5.

This...why not go with shrimp tempura and California rolls? These are still among my top picks as an adult. Also you can get your kid used to eating sheets of seaweed as a snack. It's fun! Any Target or big grocery store should have that.

Yeah I’m not Japanese just a white person that loves sushi and it never occurred to me to be worried, my son has been eating California rolls since early (obviously those are not raw) and tried raw rolls at least at 3. Loves it at 6. Lots of fun. Since all of our fish is frozen before serving here I really don’t see a lot of concern