I have raised three kids to eat and love hot and spicy foods. They started out young less than 1 year eating from the table. Now my son, Rob has a son just turned two. My son is quite the fiery cook. Little Andrew rarely refuses a second bite of garlicky chile prawns or calamari. His favorite being the legs--guess that tells you something right there. Rob started letting him partake of chile cooked foods the minute he wanted some. He's hooked! Gotta condition and addict em early to survive around this house and garden. Our kids were eating the hottest Thai food in Thailand before they were teens and they haven't stopped the chiles yet. My son grows em just like mom. Rob (30 going on 14 sometimes) has been a bit naughty with little Andrew placing a sliced Habs on the kids tongue when he was screaming and being two, so we suggested he lighten up or the kid was gonna think chiles were bad and you got them only when you were naughty! Gotta get him past TWO. So feed em chiles the minute they reach for them. You can develop their palate little by little. Mary-Anne