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Sugar for babies

  • From 24 months

When can babies have sugar?

Sugar is a sweetening ingredient. Regularly adding it to your child’s food and drinks isn’t recommended: too much added sugar raises the risk of tooth decay and can crowd out more nutritious foods.

As a guide, the NHS gives upper limits for free sugars: at age 1, no more than 10 g a day; at ages 2–3, no more than 14 g. This is the total in all food and drinks, including honey, syrups, and juice — not an amount of sugar to add. Sugars inside whole fruit and the natural sugar in milk don’t count as free sugars. Before 12 months, no sugar is added to food or drinks.

Sugar

How to serve by age

Spoon-feeding

Adding sugar to your child’s food and drinks isn’t recommended. Make cereal, plain yogurt, and homemade baked goods without added sugar. For variety of flavor, you can use fruit or berries in a form that suits your child.

Choking risk

Sugar itself generally isn’t considered a high choking risk.

Still, sticky or hard candy isn’t suitable for young children.

Always stay with your child while they eat.

Allergies

Individual allergic reactions are possible.

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How often matters

For teeth, it’s not just how much sugar your child eats but how often.

Up to 1 hour of acid attack on the teeth after every sugary food or drink.

That’s from the children’s service at Chelsea and Westminster, an NHS hospital: plaque produces the acid when it gets sugar. So keep sweet foods to mealtimes rather than between them: five small sugary snacks mean five attacks on the teeth.

Cavities are common in childhood

According to the CDC, cavities are the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States: more than half of children 6 to 8 years old have had a cavity in at least one baby tooth. The CDC advises taking your baby to the dentist by their first birthday to spot problems early.

Sugar by other names

On an ingredient list, sugar isn’t always called sugar. The FDA counts sucrose, dextrose, syrups, honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices as added sugars. In baby cookies or cereal, sugar may show up as syrup, dextrose, or apple juice concentrate. Read the ingredient list, not just the claims on the front of the package.

Sources · 12

This page is based on guidance from health organizations:

For informational purposes only. Not medical advice. Decide on introducing foods, especially allergens, together with your pediatrician.

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