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Original poster

when did you let your child first eat chocolate/anything with added sugar?

78 replies

Lelophants · 08/08/2020 19:44

We're nowhere near going to (he's 9 months) but made me wonder. DH just said when would it ever feel right to let a small child consume empty calorie sugar? I agree it sounds ridiculous but I was never allowed anything sweet as a kid and it made me obsessed with it as a teenager onwards.

My main concern is because we eat it! Just the occasional thing, but still. Doesn't seem fair if we do and never let him have any. Maybe we should stop? 😳

I thought tiny taste age 2 or 3 and then very occasional stuff after that.

OP posts:

TiptopJ · 08/08/2020 20:22

Probably around 8 or 9 months. I was far more concerned about the salt content of foods than the sugar.

Cheeseycheeseycheesecheese · 08/08/2020 20:25

I think ds had chocolate buttons at 6/7 months, dh and I have the mentality that if he shows interest in it we let him try it.

drspouse · 08/08/2020 20:26

First birthday, though not deliberately, he'd had scones etc with some sugar in (and e.g. bread has sugar in) before that. We didn't give him cakes/sweets etc but then realised when buying cupcakes for his birthday that it was his first taste.
No 2 probably 7 months as it was Christmas then.

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Llamapolice · 08/08/2020 20:28

We eat pretty well overall and take the view that the best approach is for DD to eat whatever we do, so she has something sweet when we do. It varies a lot, we might have nothing for a month then have dessert a couple of times in a week if we're seeing people. I just feel any other way is setting sweet stuff up as a forbidden treat rather than a normal part of a rounded diet. So in answer to your question, from 6 months.

Parker231 · 08/08/2020 20:28

Chocolate buttons before they were one and then after that birthday cakes (theirs and numerous friends), Easter eggs and ice creams on special occasions.

TeddyBeans · 08/08/2020 20:30

About 8 months much to ex mil's horror

Hopeislost · 08/08/2020 20:31

My DD is 16 months and has never had anything with added sugar. People think we are quite strange and grandparents were horrified that we didn't let her eat any cake on her birthday. We don't have a plan for when to start, just not in any rush to feed her junk.

GiveMeAllTheGin8 · 08/08/2020 20:35

First child had some cake at 18 months then very restricted until child 2 came along .
Child 2 was 6 months and still going strong .
I can’t get worked up about at this stage

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 08/08/2020 20:38

I can't remember, 6mo probably. We didn't make a big deal of it and he's not particularly fussed about sweet things now. I'm only here for the OTT responses - 'DD is 44 and we let her try a chocolate button for the first time last week, but only because she was promoted to CEO at work.'

zigaziga · 08/08/2020 20:39

Probably was 2 years old before had any kind of fruit juice or squash, and at age 4 I still would never have it in the house (restaurants only etc).

Also have a 1 year old and I am a long way away from giving her any kind of juice.

I don’t have a problem with them having cakes and things though, ice creams when we’re out etc. Pretty much from the start of weaning really. I do tend to think of cake as “real” food

I wouldn’t keep sweets like haribo type things in the house, but if we happened to have them then yes they could have them too, from maybe an age where they can ask for them (18 months?) but this would be extremely rare to have in.

sqirrelfriends · 08/08/2020 20:40

About 11 months, we were planning to wait till DS was at least 18 months but we went on holiday and he kept being given stuff by the hotel staff.

It didn't make him crave sugar and after that he didn't have added sugar again until about 6 months later.

TinySleepThief · 08/08/2020 20:42

We don't have a plan for when to start, just not in any rush to feed her junk.

Don't you worry she will gorge herself silly when given the chance to eat sugary food though if you restrict it and treat it as something that's forbidden?

I've seen way too many children do this as an early years teacher, several had a huge fixation on anything sugary or containing chocolate to the extent they couldn’t concentrate on anything else if they knew it was nearby it was a real eye opener and part of the reason I'm keen to not treat it as something so desirable.

Original poster

Lelophants · 08/08/2020 20:45

he's such an active child. I think sugar would make him absolutely mad 😅
Interesting responses, thanks.

OP posts:

Nacreous · 08/08/2020 20:47

I definitely see a big difference between homemade cakes/scones etc and shop bought sweets/cake/ultra-processed foods. I would view the former as "food" and the later as "junk". At least homemade cakes won't be full of high fructose corn syrup, trans-fat margarines etc.

Bitchinkitchen · 08/08/2020 20:50

@Lelophants

Oh wow some of these are so young! I'm so worried about his teeth as they're so new and little.

Don't you brush them?

Bitchinkitchen · 08/08/2020 20:51

@Lelophants

he's such an active child. I think sugar would make him absolutely mad 😅 Interesting responses, thanks.

You know that's a myth, right? Based on a single study from almost 50 years ago that has never been replicated or corroborated?

MynephewR · 08/08/2020 20:52

Both of mine were having things with added sugar from about 7/8 months. It's sugar not cyanide

Trashtara · 08/08/2020 20:53

For both mine it was probably their first birthday cake.

After that they were at nursery so ate what nursery fed them, which once a week is cake and custard and once a week is fromage frais (the Tesco value ones with sugar in).

DS is 4 now and still has pudding at school. We probably have a 'treat' once a week in addition to that.

lifesalongsong · 08/08/2020 20:56

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

I'm wondering if all the posters so far have toddlers, I would have no clue what my children ate at what age, are we meant to remember this kind of stuff?

Does anyone with teenagers actually know their answer?

butterry · 08/08/2020 20:56

I think it's much better to allow them little treats every now and then as I have simply seen so many children at halloween and birthday parties etc act crazed around cake and sweets. Mine are simply not that bothered by it. They never finish a slice of cake or a small packet of Haribo. If they want a sweet they would be allowed a couple and that would be it but now they are older they have self-restraint and I think that's really important in life.

Trashtara · 08/08/2020 20:57

Don't you worry she will gorge herself silly when given the chance to eat sugary food though if you restrict it and treat it as something that's forbidden?

We don't restrict it or treat it as forbidden, we just don't really eat sugary foods or junk food. It's not discussed or mentioned, it just isn't there. We do our food shop online do they don't see it in the shops to be ask for it/ be told no.

YakkityYakYakYak · 08/08/2020 21:00

Birthday cake on her first birthday a couple of months ago. I’ve also let her have some of my ice cream a few times on days out. She loves ice cream so much, she cries every time it’s all gone.

Other than that I don’t really give her anything sweet other than fruit. I’m trying to keep sugary food more as an occasional treat, than an every day thing, although I’m pretty sure MIL lets her eat all sorts of junk on her childcare days

IHaveBrilloHair · 08/08/2020 21:01

@Lelophants
Teeth?
Dd didn't have any teeth to ruin when she first got sweet stuff!

Longpigs · 08/08/2020 21:01

PFB: when s/he is about 35.

Subsequent children: from birth.

Mine are all much older now, but that's more or less as I remember it.

amusedbush · 08/08/2020 21:01

My colleague’s DD is 8 and isn’t allowed sweets or cake. He told me that when they go on a family day out she asks for sweets because her cousins are eating them but he says no and she has to watch them getting stuck into Haribo while she eats unsalted nuts. That seemed so depressing to me!

Although he told us that a friend’s parent gave her a can of full sugar Coke and she was tuned to the moon and ‘chatting shit’ all night

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