Golden syrup for 1 year old

[Cc201602]

Bit nervous, I have been googling and getting different answers. Can I put a tiny bit of golden syrup in my daughter porridge? She is so fussy at breakfast, I want to try and get her eating as the rest of the morning is such a struggle until lunch.

It's very sweet but not dangerous
You could try mixing in fruit puree as an alternative

I would go for honey over golden syrup. My 1 1/2 year old isn't a great eater so I'll mix different things up in her porridge to vary it a bit- honey and squashed blueberries, banana, raspberries...

I wouldn’t put anything in. All that will do is get her used to sweet foods. Toddlers have very undeveloped taste buds, please don’t develop a sweet tooth!

Is it porridge or Ready Brek? If porridge, try her with Ready Brek before giving her golden syrup as it's finer and has no lumps.

Have you tried fruit? Stewed if not fresh, apples and pears gently stewed with cinnamon, no sugar can make porridge more interesting. I wouldn't give golden syrup to my 4 year old for breakfast tbh.

Agree with others, stewed or fruit purée would be a good idea to try instead. Or different foods - it’s good to offer a range and not stick to same things. Toast, fruits, yoghurts, eggs some days as well as porridge? You can also get sugar free fruit flavoured porridges.

And ps does she still have milk at night? That may be why she doesn’t want to eat in the morning.

I 'used to' purée dried apricots and freeze them for porridge.

I say used to but dd is 16 (years!) and I still have to do it now. Whereas I have golden syrup as that's what I used to have growing up. She thinks I'm mad. And maybe I am as I've had to purée apricots for over a decade.

You may as well just put sugar in as that's all golden syrup is.

It's not a great thing to get her used to.

As others have suggested, could you try fruit - maybe some puréed berries?

It's still sugar but at least has health benefits.

Maybe she just doesn't like porridge? I don't but I do like overnight oats. I think it's the texture of porridge. If overnight oats are too lumpy at the moment ( my DS is 22 so can't remember what a one year old can cope with) as pp suggested could you try other foods? I remember really liking Weetabix with hot milk when I was little and that's smooth.

I would agree with those saying don't give her a taste for sweet things. What about some lovely single cream on top? Not sugary but delicious healthy fats and calcium.

I avoided introducing extra sugars for as long as possible, fruit and an occasional ice cream/biscuit was fine but why add extra sugar when there's no nutritional value?

So many people wish they'd never introduced chicken nuggets to kids as they'll then refuse real meat etc.

It’s a slippery slope. I’d try a completely different breakfast. An egg, or even less typically “breakfasty” foods, like hummus on toast or leftovers from day before. My DD used to like a bit of canned tuna at breakfast time when she was that age - I just went with it

Would she prefer Ready Brek? I’m an adult and wouldn’t have plain porridge but I like plain Ready Brek. Or unsweetened Weetabix.

Porridge made with milk is sweet enough. She probably just doesn't like porridge.

Oats are notorious for sticking to teeth so anything sugary on them really gets right in there. I definitely wouldn't.

Slippery slope, they don’t need added sugar.

No, golden syrup is highly processed. You're better off with honey, or agave syrup. But my favourite topping is a few frozen raspberries chucked in the microwave for a few seconds to make a sauce.

Butter and a splash of milk fed mine in the morning. No sugar needed.

Try mixing the porridge with mashed banana and a bit of cinnamon.

Or you could just try a completely different breakfast e.g. a low sugar cereal, scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter or avocado, scotch pancakes, yoghurt with fruit etc.