Kids love bite-sized food.

Although it may not be the first thing that pops into your mind when you think about kids’ cuisine, sushi can be an enjoyable and exciting treat for young children. If you’re used to making some peanut butter sandwiches and calling the babysitter when you go out to a sushi restaurant, you might want to consider bringing the kids along next time; it can be fun for the whole family!

Philip Yi is an experienced sushi chef, instructor and the director of the California Sushi Academy. Here he offers some fun ideas for taking kids to a sushi restaurant:

• Good fun. Yi thinks eating sushi is fun for kids because they can go out to a restaurant, and it’s okay for them to eat food with their fingers. Sushi is also lots of bite-sized pieces that appeal to kids.

• Chopsticks. When you go to a sushi bar, ask for the kids’ chopsticks. They’ll have a rubber band to keep them together and make using them a lot easier. Picking up rice with chopsticks, says Yi, is also a great way for kids to build motor skills.

• Appetizers. As an appetizer, Yi recommends edamame, which are boiled soybeans that are very healthy and tasty.

• Rolls. Start kids off with California Rolls or Veggie Rolls; it’s a great way to get them to eat vegetables.

• Miso. Along with the sushi, kids can try miso soup. It has chunks of tasty tofu in it, and it’s perfectly acceptable to drink from the bowl. Miso is often served very hot, so test the temperature before letting kids eat and drop in an ice cube if it’s too hot. Then just concentrate on your own food and let the kids have a ball!