Happy Friday! I hope all my readers have had a good week. Those of you in the United States and Canada, how did you celebrate 4th of July and Canada Day?
Many of you know that Littlest Buddy is 18 months old. His teeth have been slow to come in, but now that he has about eight, he is able to eat more mature foods. I thought of a discussion question that I would be interested to hear your thoughts on. When do you think babies should start having sweets?
With Little Buddy, we didn’t give any sweets but fruit until age two. Our plan is to do the same things with Littlest Buddy. So far, he has had an animal cracker by mistake, but other than that we have been able to stick to our goal.
What are your opinions on the topic?
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My opinion is you will never get completely away from sugar or sweeteners. They’re in almost everything – read labels. They’re even naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables. I would not obsess about it. Exposure to sugar in some form going to happen sooner or later. Worry about the things you can control, like are your kids eating candy bars for breakfast.
We did that my first and it went well. My second was knawing on Oreos as soon as she started teething. 🤣 Gotta do what you gotta do.
Oh my, he had an animal cracker by mistake. How does something like that even happen? lol Well, so much for a piece of birthday cake on their first birthday.
When you say “sweets” (and show a bag of sugar) do you mean things with ADDED sugar? Because milk has 12g of sugar per serving, but it’s a naturally occurring form of sugar. I can’t imagine you’ll withhold milk until after age 2 because of “sugar.”
Yes. My 1 year olds drink the daily recommended amount of whole milk.
Sweets are fine in moderation – I don’t want to villanize them and make them seem extra appealing/cause disordered eating down the road. I do agree on holding off on them during infancy and toddlerhood. Healthy habits start young and if they have no idea what sweets taste like, why not expand their palate with just healthy foods?
Well, actually breast milk is pretty sweet-tasting! I wouldn’t say babies don’t know what sweet tastes like. But why not give them more natural sugars anyway – honey, maple syrup, Rapadura, etc. There’s certainly good reasons to stay away from corn syrup and refined sugar for the rest of one’s life… not that I have been able to do it! 🙂
Your poor kids! Are you saying they did not have cake on their first birthdays or never had ice cream on a beach vacation? Everything in moderation!
They both had beautiful cakes on their first birthday, sweetened with applesauce and decorated with fruit and cream cheese. It went over very well for both of them. And they do get ice cream on the beach, after they turn 2. My reasoning is that children do not crave sugar until it is introduced. Neither of my kids have shown interest in sweets until around age 2, when I have started offering it to them (in small quantities). So I see no reason to introduce it until that point. When they are young, their little bodies and brains are growing rapidly and benefit more from healthy food.
I usually do not commend — this is just to say that honey is not suitable for small babies (just in case someone here doesn’t know — no offense).
Just do what your instincts tell you, and you’ll do just fine!!!! I think animal crackers or grahmn crackers are fine at that age. Moderation.
For your sons’ birthday cakes, did you make an icing with fruit-sweetened cream cheese? If so, will you please post the recipe?
I didn’t get that fancy. I just used a thin layer of cream cheese and added fruit for decoration. 🙂
Thanks for answering about the icing!
I think this is such a good topic to think about. I am far from having littles anymore, but I know more and more research has been done about diet, sugar specifically and life long eating habits. I think we are all aware now that the first 5 years of a child’s life are the blueprint of the adult to come and diet is one of those key ingredients for a child’s growth and development. I think it really is beneficial to focus on optimum foods and hold back on sweets. I cant even remember our children enjoying sweets at early ages. Bday cakes at even one yrs old had fruit as our children were all born from spring to summer months. Something like a sponge cake with strawberries. I think you and Mr H are making great choices for your children that they will benefit from in their lives. Eileen
Thank you, Eileen!
Thanks for answering about the icing!
I feel similar to you, Ellie, I am aware that sugar isn’t the best (for anyone) and I’d rather my kids not eat it.
I have a 6 and 4 year old and I feel like when they were babies we did a great job of keeping them mostly refined sugar free.
Now that they’re a little older they have plenty of sugar in their diets but I try to be mindful and smart about it. I realize granola bars and yogurts w sugar are essentially dessert. We don’t do any sugary beverages like pop or juice (except for a party etc) and rarely have candy in the house. I try to give them healthier cookies for treats like the natural ones from Trader Joe’s – or one with almonds or peanut butter to give them some kind of protein or nutrients in it.
My daughter has been eating the trader Joe apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast and I don’t love it; but I figure it’s better than a bowl of fruit loops 🤷🏻♀️
Becareful giving your kids food from Trader Joe’s. They just had recall on cookies from their with rocks in them.
I reather give my kid fruit loops then Oatmeal
Kids need sugar in their diet. And juice. They have capri sun that has no sugar in.,juicy juice that is good for kids, I give that to my kids.
Sugar free stuff know gives you diaherra so stay away from sugarfree stuff
Good for you! It’s not easy to stick to that resolution sometimes – I’m remembering holding my 13 month old daughter while eating an ice cream cone; couldn’t resist giving her a little lick. But really, kids do not “need” sugar! You’re right, they won’t crave it if they don’t have it.