Do babies/ kids ever 'need' sugar?!

[DirtyDancing]

I am weaning my 8 month old DS. I've been doing a combination of BLW and spoon feeding and it's going well. I am doing my best to avoid sugar - I make my own sugar & salt free scones, banana cake etc. He doesn't eat rusks or high sugar foods. Has milk or water only.

However, my FIL (who's a good man, but tends to be a bit opinionated and a bit hard to disagree with sometimes!) said to me yesterday, that I will have to slowly start to introduce my DS to sugar and that he NEEDS sugar. I understand that sugar rots teeth, if you give a lot of sugar you can give your LO a taste for it etc. But diet-wise do kids need it?! Sorry if this is a bit of a stupid question :(

My DS is not a big baby (9th percentile) so I am always trying to get calories in him. But I don't think sugar is the way forward as there is no goodness in it at all IMO. I think I am better off giving him full fat yoghurt, butter etc

I know one day he will have a piece of birthday cake, eat the odd bag of sweets etc. But i want these to be treats and not the norm!

Thank you x

Nobody needs sugar. We can get all our carbs from more complex carbs which are slower to break down and therefore more sustaining.

No - nobody needs sugar, but I remember my idiot of an Aunt told me that kids needed sugar as it gives them energy. She didn't seem to appreciate my snorty response

No, no one needs sugar, especially not an 8 month old baby. Fil is misinformed.

No they don't need sugar. I have found that (not at 8 months obviously) allowing dcs to have sugar in their diet helps them to cope with the side effects it can cause many kids. My ds was the worst when he was little and would have something that was more sugary than normal, he could bounce for England on some things, horrible times when you're out. I have introduced artificial sugary stuff in order to help them build up an immunity (only way I could think to describe it) to it as natural sugar that your lo will be getting is very different. I also don't want them turning out like me, as soon as I was at secondary school and responsible for my lunch money etc I binged on sweets and chocolate as it was a big no no in our house and only as a special treat, I put on a stupid amount of weight and mucked up my diet no end.
In my house we have a bit of everything available and they no what's good and what's not, the majority of the time they would choose fruit over the biscuits etc

No they don't need sugar, it's not something I avoid now they are older though. Everything in moderation

I don't think they need sugar but neither do I think it's something to be avoided at all costs.

I'm going to get told off on here by admitting this, but even as just-weaned babies, mine had occasional bits of sugary food; for example they had chocolate buttons or scones baked with the sugar included. Overall they have a balanced diet, are not overweight and have healthy teeth. I do feel that, as they get older, the more you limit and avoid something, the more they'll be drawn to it. Everything in moderation and all that...

Having said that, they're your dc and you call the shots - you feed them the foods you want them to eat and don't listen to others who try to make you change it.

I'm in the "everything in moderation" camp too. If you're not carful it could lead to "binging" later on in life on "forbidden" food...

Agree with mumofboyo. Everything in moderation.
With my first 2 dc's I was beyond unreasonable about home cooked, no added salt or sugar, no fast food etc. one is a fruit an veg, eat anything child, the other would live on cake and sweets if allowed.
My third DC is given a taste of anything and everything we are eating (blw) nothing has been turned down. Not really keen on apples and pears.
My DH is desperate to add salt to stuff like mash and it is a constant battle but they really don't need sugar or salt added at any point.
I firmly believe they will be going to Mc D's on a Saturday with their mates as they get older, as long as I have set the bar then I will have done my job.

They get naturally occurring sugars in fruit, veg and milk so no need to add sugar to baby food. They will also break down starch in their digestion to glucose which the body uses for energy.

ask him how people managed before there was processed sugar

My 12mo dd doesn't like anything sweet and its actually become a bit of a pain. She is also on the 9th percentile and recently dropped weight. The hv said to make sure she has a full fat diet with a decent pudding after her main dinner but its really hard to find something she likes! She often has cheese and biscuits instead.

Thank you everyone! I feel vindicated!!

Bentley- it's a stress having a small baby sometimes. All my friends with big babies (and all babies seem bigger than my DS) are happily at the top of the percentile chart & I'm stressing about ever ounce! DS had a tummy bug recently and didn't eat solids for nearly a week. Argh. He's just not that hungry.

My parents were very controlling with food - they restricted sugary and 'treat' foods significantly. I've been overweight/obese all my adult life with a totally screwed up relationship with food.

My children have had much more access to sugary foods and while they don't have free access to them they have had chocolate and crisps etc fairly frequently (along with a healthy balance diet) and all have very healthy attitudes to food and are healthy weights.

My oldest is now 20 and is a slim 5'10. My 16 year old is a little shorter and weighs around 8 stone. My 7yo is a very active and healthy and definitely on the slim side.

everyone needs sugar, glucose fuels all our cells... however it is better to get this from metabolising carbohydrates and releasing the sugar slowly.

Mine did not have sugary stuff until they were much older. dd will still prefer to choose fruits (fructose) over sweets. they will also eat plenty of veggies. (sample size of two does not make a proper study)

they do have sweets and treats now, but in moderation. I am trying to teach them to make good choices. (i wss controlled and went off the rails a bit with sugar as a teen) dd will make good choices I think. I have more work to do with ds. however, at least the foundation for healthy living has been made.