When did you give your baby sugar?

[TheBeesKnee]

As in, sugar from sources other than fruit?

DS is almost 11 months and the sweetest thing he's probably had is an orange. He was trembling with excitement and his head nearly popped off! He has fruit for dessert after lunch and dinner. He eats well. Is breast fed and drinks water sometimes. He's had Calpol, which obviously contains sugar but I'm not sure if that counts.

My parents and in-laws keep making comments about giving him a taste of chocolate or juice etc etc. I'm not comfortable but when I complained about this in my "mums" group I got lots of comments about how the babies have tried biscuits, chocolates, brioche etc and I'm now second guessing myself.

Am I being unreasonable? Am I too strict? I don't actually know how long I'm going to keep this up for, I know he will try sweets and chocolate etc at some point... but I don't know when!

Just looking for some experience, feedback, insight etc.

DS had his first taste at around 1. He's 2.2 now and has chocolate as a treat, not every day. Today he has had his first taste of jelly sweets! We were given them, it's not something I will be buying for him until he's older, so this is a one off.

I think you're fine not to introduce it when your child is a baby and they're too young to know what it is. Babies do not need extra sugar and you can probably manage to avoid it from sources around you until he's 2/3, he gets sugar from fruit anyway.

But when he's say, 3 or so, you may want to sometimes provide a small treat with meals (better for teeth if with a meal) so he learns it's not a big deal. My mother restricted all sugary items when we were kids to the point there were never biscuits, cakes, sweets in the house EVER. If we wanted them we had to buy them with pocket money which restricted the amount we could have.

I'm now an adult who has struggled with binging on chocolate, sweets and moderation for years and am now overweight because of it. My mother's thing about sugar really fucked up my relationship with food, so just a word of caution about carrying on with that when he's no longer a toddler.

My eldest is 16, he was in a very strict crèche, so he was nearly four before he had sweets, I do remember making cakes with apple juice at some stage. Restricting sugar wasn't a conscious decision as such, we just followed the crèche and family are predominantly healthy eating. My late mum used to freeze bananas on ice pop sticks for him.

He is very healthy eating, vegan very little upf and rarely has some dark vegan chocolate.

His younger brother (10) was one when he had cake and is the polar opposite. He was in a different childcare situ. He is the eat the steak raw type and blue lollipops!

I do think keeping them eating as little processed foods has to be of benefit their gut and hopefully food habits. No child is denied by being fed a healthy diet!

I thought that, made me chuckle.
I don’t know op, 12 months, maybe more like 18 months? He’s now 2.5 and just eats what I do, so normally pretty good, some days are better than others. He doesn’t have sweets at all and chocolate very rarely but I don’t really like the idea of banned or forbidden foods.

Do they? I didn’t have a cake for my ds 1st birthday, it’s not like he would remember.

Uh... probably a bit of cake at his first birthday dinner? But like PPs have said above we're not a sweet-tooth household.

I don't deny my son sweet things however and we'll share a slice of cake when we go out for lunch etc without it being a big deal or described as a treat but equally I'm not purposely buying chocolate and Haribo for the household.

He also bakes with his dad every weekend but is never interested in eating the final product 😂

I am more relaxed about DD's eating after she turned 18 months. If someone is having cake or biscuits or chocolate etc around her she is allowed to have a bite. We are trying to keep
It obviously minimum with sugar.

My first child was nearly 3 when she had a carefully controlled piece of cake. My second found a Malteeser under the table at a party when he was 9 months old and shoved it in his gob before I could stop him. They are both in their 20s now and neither appears to have suffered....🤣

My 8 month old loves a fromage frais which I know contain some sugar but that’s it for now, I imagine cake on her birthday etc. everything in moderation but also each to their own.

With my first around 2, second at 18 months the 3rd I genuinely cannot remember.

But that was only occasionally. I don't see the need for giving them sugar until they demand it. I let them have stuff at parties or friends houses but wouldn't buy it in until older

I feel like I live in a different universe sometimes.

I agree with this. Great response.

I am totally on the fence in that I don’t think it’s sad my DD won’t have an Easter egg (she’s 1 this summer) as she has no idea what one is yet. But I also don’t think it’s awful if an under 1 yo is given a taste of icecream or dessert while out with their family in a restaurant. In fact, I think it’s lovely but I know many will not agree given the emphasis on UPFs. My line has always been everything in moderation. I’ve had an eating disorder though where “clean” eating caused it and I still feel guilt if eating a dessert sometimes so I’m really conscious to not have off limit foods with my DC, while still teaching them about a healthy, balanced diet.

My oldest was 3 and youngest is over 1 and hasn't had sugar yet. We had a lovely cake made of fruit for 1st birthday which was loved!

To be fair the orange was VERY sweet and juicy, not the bland citrusy kind you normally get.

Thanks for your responses everyone.

Calpol is sugar free.

I once had an argument with a parent on my ward who asked for some honey to dip her 3 month old babies dummy into. I was 🤯. And pointed out that it wasn't safe, due to the risk of Botulism. She even googled it to prove only one back had apparently died from. I just could t believe anyone could be so dim. And eventually someone else gave her some jam.🙄🙄

Trembling with excitement at an orange.

The piss that is taken by some is colossal.

I genuinely can’t remember, we were very moderate with sugar but certainly it was before 1.

I generally let her try most things I ate, so she had some ice cream at about 9 months I think and some cake at a party. She definitely had cake at her own birthday party at 1 and some chocolate fingers as I’ve got that on a photo.

She eats incredibly well now at 4.5, we didn’t deny anything- but it’s all in moderation and combined with very strict teeth brushing.

We don’t believe sugar is the devil in this house though. But nor do we go mad for it.
I think I was more careful about salt to be honest.

🤣🤣🤣

Ten months and that was only because we were at a party and the host had baked a cake especially for my baby (couldn't eat dairy) so I'd have felt terrible saying no. He loved it.

Second baby accidentally had a biscuit at 6 months!

On the whole I'm actually really careful and the dentist always says they both have great teeth.

I had my first in the US so it was even in the bread! Some premium baby snacks would advertise that they contained ‘organic cane sugar’ presumably as opposed to high fructose corn syrup. So total losing battle even though I wasn’t letting her snack on candy bars or anything. 2nd child in the UK, meh, well his toast was sugar free so what’s the harm in a chocolate hobnob?!

🤣 in fairness my youngest, who we’ve never really kept away from sugar would always take a juicy orange over cake or biscuits!

I can’t remember but I’d guess somewhere between a year and two years old. We didn’t buy sweet stuff in but as she got older I’d sometimes bake biscuits with her helping and I’m sure she will have shared ice creams out and about and had biscuits at nursery and then with grandparents from about 3 years old.

I can believe a baby might have a big reaction to their first taste of an orange. People are being mean about that. It’s a huge flavour hit plus that sweetness with the citric acid tang. SM is full of babies’ comical reactions to their first taste of things like ice cream, lemon or chocolate. A good orange is a wow.

2ish. I make their first birthday cake without refined sugar etc. because I’m trying to hold off the sweet tooth acquisition for as long as possible!

First DC - about two and a half.

Subsequent DC - from about 6 months.