At what age did you let your lo's eat sugar?

[Tinkjon]

I gave DD no sugar at all until she was 2, in the hopes that it would prevent her developing a sweet tooth. I turned out to be utterly wrong So I'm not bothering to try that with DS (nearly 9mo) as I've decided they just like what they like, regardless of what you give them. So I'm not sure when to let him have a bit of sugar and wondered at what age other people let their lo's have any. I don't believe it's unhealthy when given in moderation but obviously little babies don't need it at all, so I'm not planning to use it in cooking etc. But there are some things I'd like to give him, like Weetabix, that has some in. I was thinking I might wait until a year but it's so arbitrary....!

overmydeadbody, yes added sugar gives energy, but it's the 'wrong type' of energy, for want of as better phrase. With sugar you get an instant energy rush and then your blood sugars fall very quickly - this dramatic change is blood sugar levels isn't good - what kids need (as does everyone)is slow-release energy foods, so their blood sugar levels are more stable.

I asked everyone not to give dd sugar until she was at least 1. Naturally MIL ignored me, and dh gave her the odd lick of ice cream. We don't have a sweetie day, just buy her sweets as and when. She usually gets about halfway through a packet and forgets about them. We have never given her squash; occasionally she has lemonade. MIL has tried to get her into coke but it hasn't worked so far. DD herself was propagandised into awareness of healthy/non-healthy foods by her nursery and school, and at the moment is quite happy with a couple of squares of chocolate. Every day. Ummmmm slightly but not very.

I was talking about the impact on teeth - obviously cake and biscuits have other nutritional value but I did say as far as your teeth were concerned.

I take your point about chewing and swallowing but surely it depends on the cake. A nice piece of sticky honey flapjack isn't chewed and then gone. It sticks. Of course it is nutritionally better than a bag of Haribo but the damage to your teeth is still the same.

You can stuck a lolly for 10 minutes, rinse your mouth out with water, damage is greatly reduced whilst the sticky oats are still in the crevices until you brush your teeth.

By the way, there is a difference between the sugar that occurs naturally in food like fruit, and the refined stuff which occurs in sweets etc.

at the end of the day, too much of everything is bad for you.

Fruit might contain natural sugar which is better than refined sugar but fruit also contains a lot of acid which is equally as bad for your teeth. And a lot of dentists advise children shouldn't drink fruit juice.

As long as they have a healthy diet and sweets and biscuits aren't their main staple I just can't get too precious about it all.

The only absolute no-no for me atm is coke. But ds doesn't like it anyway so it's not an issue.

I also refuse to buy sugar-free anything as the replacement chemicals are far worse than sugar imo.

I know tinkjon, I know all about the different sugars and their affect on blood sugar levels etc

and I would rather DS was eating raisins than haribo and got his energy from natural sugars and complex carbohydrates, but it is all about balance.

From a different point of view, I do a lot of sport, and when I'm participating in competitions and races I eat a lot of sweets, drink lots of sugary drinks, and eat entire packets of dates so also see it from the point of view of my body needing instant sugar sometimes. Same with DS.

He never usually has sweets and chocolates, but if we're on a long cycle ride I'll happily give him a snickers bar.

overmydeadbody, sorry, I thought you were saying that there's no difference between fructose and glucose etc. I must have mis-read!

Barnstaple, at your MIl trying to get DD into Coke!! It's hard enough trying to keep them away from it when they want it, why on earth would you actually encourage them to drink it when they're not bothered about it?!

all I meant was that it all gets broken down into simple glucose by the body, even pasta. Obviously the time it takes to break down has an effect on the body, as diabetics know all too well. Somtimes our bodies need instant sugar, most of the time the slow release carbos are better.

It's all in the dose.

But some fruits (e.g. tropical) get broken down into simple sugars very quickly, Whereas chocolate doesn't. That's why I say everything in moderation except for fruit juices / fizzy drinks and sweets (which we try to avoid)

im not as strict this time round, but im very wary of salt. but my 6 year old gives the baby (7 months) a bit of ice cream or whatever every now and then, and must admit i bought him some jelly because he seems to love it

I thought I was feeding dd (7 months) healthily till I read this thread.

Most of the things she has are homemade, pureed fruit, pureed/mashed meat and veg, scrambled eggs, ready break etc.

I do give her weetabix every now and then as a change - I didn't realise it had sugar in it.

The main problem seems to be that I give her yoghurts - I thought they were fine for her, and where she only wants 2 bottles, I thought they would be an extra source of calcium. The yoghurt's she has are Muller little stars, the ones for baby weaning. She normally has one a day - is this too many?

I also thought that when she got older I would give her healthy snacks like raisins, are raisins not healthy?

there is very little sugar in weetabix. I also used muller little stars as it was easier than faffing about with a big carton of yoghurt and sorting out fruit to put in it. 1 a day is not going to do much harm. Raisins are ok and count towards a fruit/veg portion. I just wouldnt give them at the exclusion of other fruits, etc.

If your lo has teeth then just make sure you brush them regularly.

Thanks Seona