Baby E is not really a baby anymore. She is a wild 2-year-old who dashes about the house, dismantling things that were better off assembled and gnawing on things that were better off unchewed. When Baby E asked for a bite of kimchi months ago, we hesitantly let her try it. Now every time she sees the stuff (and around our house, she sees it a lot) she shouts, “Chimchi!” and points inside her mouth as if to say, “Deposit kimchi here.” This is not evidence that young children should be eating spicy food, or even evidence that our kimchi tastes great (It does taste great, but Baby E is also fond of eating lemon wedges, raw onion, and the occasional bit of dog kibble). Maybe it’s just more proof that kids can really surprise you… and occasionally those surprises aren’t terrible.
PS: Granny Choe says 4 years is a good age (with no exact reason why) to introduce most little ones to kimchi. Here’s a good BabyCenter article on how to introduce kids to spicy food.
