If your baby never ate sugar, when did you allow it?

[EscapingLondon]

I know some parents won't agree with this approach, so this question is really only for those who didn't feed their babies any sugar or nasties. When did these types of foods get introduced into their diet?

My baby is 11 months and grandparents want her to have a chocolate birthday cake with coloured icing etc for her 1st bday. Whilst it's fine I'm sure, and we will probably just go ahead, it made me think about when we start to feed her this stuff and why. Obviously there will come a time where we can't control it but at the moment she doesn't have a clue and she only really eats at home or with us anyway - so we may as well stay healthy.

If your baby ate really healthily, how and when did you start allowing unhealthy things?

and they have great teeth and aren't overweight

sugar free cake 🤦🏻‍♀️

He had a small piece of cake on his first birthday, and then no more sugary stuff for probably another year or so. I do remember he had his first ice cream around 2ish. Now at 3.5 he has the odd biscuit/ice cream/cake, usually on special occasions or holidays

The only biscuits mine ever had was at baby toddler groups because I don't have a sweet tooth we never had any biscuits, chocolate or cake in the house unless it was for people coming round.

A bit of birthday cake is fine!

I barely let my DC have sweet stuff at all when they were small since I figured they would not miss something they never knew existed but when they were with their cousins and started to go to nursery then that changed.

Now DD is late teens and guzzles down can after can of pepsi max and eats way too much junk so I don't think it's done her any long term good!

Sugar really helps babies when they're constipated, orange juice, a bit of melted chocolate etc is oftentimes recommend by health visitors and Gps so it can't be the devil.

My baby has shared by ice cream on occasion and has had bits of chocolate egg at Easter. She just ate it as though it was any other food, no special reaction and is presented to her like any other food. She's has a varied, balanced diet. Sugar free cake is (IMO) silly and a bit mean!

I can't remember exactly with my first, I remember her having a small try of her 1st birthday cake and that being a big deal. I think once she was old enough to be going to parties I relaxed it. With the second it was much earlier as she was at parties earlier and saw her sibling with things. I'm sure it's not a coincidence that the eldest doesn't have a sweet tooth at all but the little one does.

She started to have things with sugar at around 2.5. Babies don’t need cake, and I wouldn’t let grandparents force it on her.

Also wanted to call out the ridiculous comment about breast milk above. There’s a difference between giving your baby milk and feeding her cake.

And also ridiculous comments about raisins. Yes they are high in sugar...but we all need carbs in some form. Babies need carbs, and great if like raisins they come with fibre and nutrients. Cake does not have either of those. And I do appreciate that raisins are bad for teeth.

DD had her first taste of chocolate/cake on her first birthday and from then little bits; it got harder when she started paying more attention to what I ate and wanting that.
DS being a second baby has managed to have sugar earlier by grabbing things from DDs plate and he had biscuits more than DD did but I still don’t give him much and he’s 15 months

Just to add they both had fruit which obviously had sugar in it but I was answering from a processed sugar point of view

I didn't give chocolate, biscuits etc whilst at home with my 1 year old because there was no need, she didn't know what she was missing. However as soon as we went to playgroups, she started nursery and we went to others' houses (maybe around 15-18months) she was given cake, biscuits and ice cream. I find it quite hard to avoid unless you're singling your child out to be the only one who doesn't have those things. My mum was that person and I was obsessed with sugary foods so don't want to go down that route. It does surprise me a bit how often other people seem to crack our the biscuits for little ones though!

I didn't give my DD sugar until her 1st birthday (cake). She's now 2 and we're not as worried about it. She is still given the sugar free baby snacks but our go to snack is generally fruit. She does have things like ice cream at nursery sometimes but in my mind as long as she's eating good food most of the time, a little bit doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. We're more focused on good eating habits (not eating when she's bored for example).

What sugars do you mean?

Specifically sucrose or are you including others?

Or do you simply mean very sweet foodstuffs and actual sweets?

I'm not carping for the sake of it. I've often wondered what people actually mean - given that babies have lactose from day one, and fructose from few months, and many others tucked away in so called 'health' foods

A good bit of homemade cake (including sucrose) might well have fewer and better ingredients than many bought items (including what's in many brands of baby food)

We've gone with not giving stuff ourselves much but not restricting it either. DD is three, she would've had some of her first birthday cake and probably cakes from other family birthdays around the same time. I remember being disappointed she didn't eat much, I wanted the photo of the baby covered in cake

Nursery would've given the odd chocolate button or bit of biscuit which I didn't mind as the cooked food was so healthy.

Now she loves chocolate and sweets but doesn't get much and is very good at self moderating - we've just had a run of birthdays and she was given a load of Easter eggs, she'll happily stop eating a slice of cake or whatever halfway through and ask to put it away for later. Most of the time she then forgets about it. The Easter eggs listed ages, she'd have a small bit after dinner every couple of days when she thought to ask.

Dd has a huge, 5 layer iced cake for her 1st bday. My pfb so I went all out!

I’ve never really restricted anything, I’m more of the everything in moderation mindset. She’s 4.5 now and can take or leave sweets so it seems to have worked.

Always from weaning. Everything in moderation, I’ve never restricted anything. My daughter self regulates sugar intake way better than I do I was always restricted.

Our little boy is 11 months and we're just going without sugar for as long as we can! He loves fruit and doesn't know chocolate and biscuits exist so I'd like to keep it that way for as long as poss

I might stick to a sugar free birthday cake this year.

I find this daft.

Exactly what kind of a 'sugar free' cake are you planning? If it's a cake, sweetness has to come from somewhere & that might be more problematic than just a usual cake.

Having a cake for a first birthday is fine. Your 1 yo is a baby & will only have a tiny amount. They are not being served the full amount.

I am conscious of diet with myself, and with my DC.

I didn't tie myself in knots about it: I make my own healthy, home-cooked meals & treats. When they were little & friends with babies were coming, it was a real pleasure to bake biscuits, buns etc alongside my kids. More for parents than the kids!

I avoid processed junk & excessive treats, don't buy fizzy drinks but there are no absolute rules, just common sense.

My kids are sporty & active as am I, and I think this is something to focus on. Also they all cook / clean up for meal times (14,12, nearly 10) & have had roles in this regard since they were tiny. It's important to make the connection between where food comes from & how to make it - and that it takes time & cleaning is required.

I also have a really sweet tooth (chocolate). I have to manage this but like with my kids, try to think holistically about it, rather than banning it.

DS is 2.5 and only this week had pudding at nursery for the first time before now he's had fruit or yogurt but they were baking and he only has dinner there once a week so I've told them pudding is fine now (low sugar recipes anyway). Other than that he's had a tiny bit of home made cake on his birthday. He eats really well and has very varied tastes, I was more concerned that the earlier he had sweet things or junk he'd get a taste for it and refuse to eat other things as that's what's happened with my DNs, they've both had squash, sweets, even fizzy drinks from a young age and are terrible eaters. DS had a tiny chocolate rabbit from hotel Chocolat at Easter about half the size of my thumb, he's not fussed about sweet things. We don't give him dried fruit or raisins because my friend is a dentist and says they are terrible for teeth. He happily drinks water or milk.
It actually means DH and I eat fewer sweet things and I feel better for it tbh.

@EarringsandLipstick

I might stick to a sugar free birthday cake this year.

I find this daft.

Exactly what kind of a 'sugar free' cake are you planning? If it's a cake, sweetness has to come from somewhere & that might be more problematic than just a usual cake.

Having a cake for a first birthday is fine. Your 1 yo is a baby & will only have a tiny amount. They are not being served the full amount.

I am conscious of diet with myself, and with my DC.

I didn't tie myself in knots about it: I make my own healthy, home-cooked meals & treats. When they were little & friends with babies were coming, it was a real pleasure to bake biscuits, buns etc alongside my kids. More for parents than the kids!

I avoid processed junk & excessive treats, don't buy fizzy drinks but there are no absolute rules, just common sense.

My kids are sporty & active as am I, and I think this is something to focus on. Also they all cook / clean up for meal times (14,12, nearly 10) & have had roles in this regard since they were tiny. It's important to make the connection between where food comes from & how to make it - and that it takes time & cleaning is required.

I also have a really sweet tooth (chocolate). I have to manage this but like with my kids, try to think holistically about it, rather than banning it.

Most ‘sugar free’ cakes for that age group involve pureed apples, dates, or bananas.

Most ‘sugar free’ cakes for that age group involve pureed apples, dates, or bananas.

You can't solely make an edible cake by a substitution of sugar with any of those items.

They can provide the sweetness, but the recipe will have to be altered for consistency (so it's not a collapsed lump) by using oils for example.

It's doable but not easy to make a nice cake. (I've done this plenty, when making different types of cakes, for different reasons).

Making a normal cake, with sugar, and letting the baby have a tiny amount, doesn't turn them into sugar addicts.

One of the most damaging tropes around food is this classification as 'good' and 'bad' IMO - and I say that doing it myself, to a degree as I view (largely) processed food as 'bad' (well, not ideal) and avoid it. But it's not done in a demonising way, just practically.

I was careful with DC1 because once they start having sugar, they’re going to want more of it. I also took the approach that if we were more careful at home, I could be more relaxed out of the home. He definitely had a first birthday cake. I was quite surprised to find chocolate in a party bag when he was 11 months old but I did let him have a taste. Prior to 2, I would let him have things like home made cake if we were having it, or ice cream in the park. But I stuck with plain Greek yogurt, etc.

I would encourage you not to make it a forbidden thing. I actually used to let mine have chocolate very occasionally as a 2/3 year old as I wanted it to become just another nice food rather than a massive forbidden and desirable thing. It worked and he still has chocolate in the cupboard from Easter!

Ironically, we had no issues about “sweet things” until he started reception and started asking for a sweet thing or pudding after every meal because you get one after school lunch.

DC2 helped himself to a fistful of chocolate cake at 7 months. He was allowed a small amount of Easter chocolate at 14 months (DC1 didn’t get any until he was 2.5). He eats really well overall and is allowed the odd biscuit or bit of home made cake if everyone else is having some. I have been more relaxed with him, partly because he wants what he sees us eating and we do things like bake at the weekend.

With DC1 (4) we have been quite strict about sugar, allowing it as a treat only. He had his first taste of cake on his first birthday (proper cake containing sugar!) We have allowed small amounts of occasional cake, chocolate and sweets since then. It hasn't really worked, DC1 asks for treats all the time. In hindsight I think it was an error to make it special food and I think we probably should have just served it from time to time without making a big deal of it.

My mother restricted sugar, desserts and treats and I have a massive sweet tooth and very little self-control Obviously I have to take responsibility for my own eating habits as an adult, but I don't think it's a coincidence.

I read this quite recently and it's made me think differently or at least try to change my mindset
www.feedinglittles.com/blog/how-to-stress-less-about-sugar

@mummysharkk

I'm still funny about mine having sugar!

1st birthday was first cake (little fairy cake).

I do have treats in like cake / biscuits because I hope to teach they can sit in the cupboard and eaten in moderation - usually twice a week at home.

Managed to keep mine away from sweets so far- I wouldn't take into a shop and say 'pick your chocolate/ sweets' yet.

On the flip side though I realised how harsh I was when in the supermarket dc pointed to coco pops and said they're only for grown ups aren't they...? So now every few weeks I get a little variety cereal pack so they don't miss out.

Meals out/ parties are no restrictions at all as it's about enjoyment.

It's a balance and teaching good choices but I do see friends dc's who were given sweets age 1-2 demanding sweet drinks nowadays and only eating chips/ nuggets etc and I do think it's related.

Or maybe they feel the same as you and let them choose what they want when out and about. Maybe your friends kids eat healthily at home

The kids that are denied sugar are usually the ones that go mad for it when they get a chance!

My cousins weren't allowed sugar, and when they came to my house, they would gorge themselves on the bowls of sweets we always had (it was always available to me, so I wasn't bothered. At Easter I'd still have 80% of the Xmas chocolates left!).

You're better off teaching them a tiny bit often is better than binging.