Do you give your baby sweeties?

[carron81]

Hi

I'm just wondering if you give your baby sweets?

I've never bothered giving my daughter sweets since she is that young she doens't need them and doesn't know what they are. Theres plenty time in a couple of years for her to start having sweets so i don't see it as something she needs in her diet at the moment as she doesn't know any better.

I spend a couple of days a month making home made meals and freezing them so she has a good diet

My daughter was 1 yesterday and we had a party with family and a few friends. The amount of people that wanted to give her sweets from the buffet was unreal. I had things like tablet, chocolate coated marshmallows with buttons on the top, malteser cake with white choc on top. and folk were wanting to give her that and i was like no

then someone said i might as well start her off on sweets or she'll rebel when shes older and binge on them!!!!!

what do you do? obviously she'll gets sweets when she's a bit older but i think theres no need at the moment. also on my boyfriends side of the family there is hyperness in the genes. my daughter is so mellow i don't want the hyper gene to kick in!!!!!

[k8bailey]

Hi Carron, my daughter was one a couple of weeks ago and I've never given her sweets or chocolate, she can't have cows milk or soya so I have to be v.careful about her diet but even if she was 'normal' I wouldn't give her stuff like that.

On her birthday, I made a cake and gave her a tiny slice and she went nuts straight away, bouncing around etc. I also work with kids who have ADHD and diet plays a huge part in their behavior.

I think what you're doing is great, I don't understand why people are so desperate to give kids sweets and chocolate - we had the same problem at easter, my partners family were desperate to give her chocolate buttons and looked offended when I said she was allergic to milk, but even if she wasn't I thought she was a bit too young!

It's the same with pets - they do't know what chocolate is, why give it to them?!

[gossipgirl]

my daughter is 16 months and if she does get sweets then its concidered as a treat, she doesnt get them on a regular basis. I think a small funsize bar of chocolate or a few chocolate buttons now and then is pretty harmless as long as your child is having a balanced diet of fruit and veg, protein etc, to which my child does.

[ummmm]

I waited until my daughter was in nursery...and that was only because they had parties for kids. I found she couldn't even finish a packet as it made her feel sick.

It was harder with my younger 2 as she came home from school with them.

[KARL]

A response from decades of experience may be of interest. We have two sons, neither of which was given sweets as such unless very rarely until three or four. My (late) mother thought we were being very cruel to deny them sweets at first and then continue limiting them up to school age. In particular, lumps of boiled sweets (hard candy) were an absolute no-no at all times. Now aged 30 and 22 (well, almost 23), neither eats much of sweets of any kind and neither is keen on anything other than chocolate (I am somewhat addicted to the stuff). In particular, the younger one detests all the various sugary ones (anything from pick and mix type jelly babies through hard lumps to toffees, and Mars bar types are yuk). On chocolate, both can be quite discerning. Both enjoy food proper and the same one is particular about avoidance of junk food. Both eat more than they should and exercise less than they should and are therefore overweight, but not because of binging on sweets because they put their weight on after reaching their twentieth birthday. I believe the excess is derived from more cake than is healthy - something they got in small but regular measure from early childhood. Their mother is a good cook and her baking is superb, all home made from raw ingredients. Both boys are living alone, cook for themselves and the younger one is particularly capable in that respect. One interesting point is that neither drinks either tea or coffee - but then neither do I (around 5kg heavier than when I was 18, then not overweight). In short, I think it is entirely reasonable to go against the trend and not give children sweets - I would even urge all to follow that rule.

[upsydaisy]

Hi Carron - well done on not giving her sweets so far but don't stress too much about it, sounds like she has a great diet and once in a while really won't hurt. As has been said either at nursery or school she's going to have them. Maybe you shouldn't have had sweets on the buffet (sounds like an amazing spread you laid on!) then people wouldn't have tried to feed them to her! :-) x

[carron81]

i was just speaking to a friend of mine who's friend has just had twins.

they are 3 months old and too her horror she was at a wedding and had been to the toilets only to come back to the table to find her partners mother feeding her two 3 month olds cola bottle sweets. she nearly flipped.

she seems to be like me, they'll get sweets eventually but are just to wee to be getting sweets at the moment

[gossipgirl]

that ridiculous, not only could they have choked but at 3 months they should only be having milk! even though i do treat my daughter with some chocolate buttons occasionally, i wouldnt dream of giving her them!

[tigwig]

I didn't give my daughter chocolate until she was around 18months. Sweets were probably nearer 3! I can't remember exactly. I think you are right, 12 months old is still really a baby and like you say there is no need. I remember my mum in law wanting to buy her grandaughter an easter egg for the first time and she was only 9 months, I refused to let her!