What age are you giving chocolate from and how often??

Hello, I give my little boy chocolate now and then(he’s almost 2 ) im a dental nurse so I was concerned about sugar but it’s all about frequency (from a tooth perspective) I still haven’t given him sweets as there is higher sugar in them and they are sticky, meaning it can stay on teeth A lot longer.

However I was advised everything in moderation you’ll be surprised how much sugar is in everything xxx

Ironically my mum is diabetic and I’ve decided to do the opposite with mine as growing up it was I couldn’t have this or that which gave me a really unhealthy relationship towards food. My mum would say she’d give me a currant bun instead of chocolate and that’s just as bad. Everything in moderation is key. I don’t quite remember what age I did give chocolate though.

He didn’t have any until over 1 and even then it was sparse as a treat (usually offered by a grandparent with my permission of course)

We gave first taste of chocolate at her second Christmas (around 18 months). I used to work for a chocolate shop so I went back there and got some higher cocoa good quality milk chocolate, which comes in tiny buttons. Since then we only do it a couple of times a week max, but there might be a week where she doesn’t have any. Easter is coming up, last year we said no to choc eggs from family but this year we’re happy for them to get her a small one as we’ll ration it or use it for baking so she’ll still get to enjoy it. She is nearly 3 now.
Eats a lot of fruit and a good varied diet, I make a lot of lower sugar bakes and biscuits and as she’s getting older I’m relaxing more on the amount of sugar I’m offering, especially if it’s something we’ve made. We don’t offer much in the way of overly processed or added sugar foods for her so I’m happy to let her enjoy chocolate in moderation.

My boy was about 11 months, i let him try a couple teaspoons of homemade chocolate custard (sugar free) he loved it 🥰

He didn’t have any chocolate until he was older than 2, he’s 3 now and has a little bit maybe every other week

My daughter had an advent calendar at christmas when she was 13 months and that was the first introduction. Now she has chocolate as a treat and once every other day or so. I want her to have a healthy relationship with food so explain why when she cant have it. My son has a milk allergy but was 8 months at Xmas and had half and advent chocolate every 3 days or so before we knew that he had a milk intolerance. X

My daughter does want it constantly - she would have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she could, however I have firm rules in place.

If she misbehaves, she doesnt get any. If she doesnt eat breakfast, or what I explain as healthy food eg fruit and veg as snacks in the day then she cant have it. And not before bed.

She also will leave it if full and I encourage that and show her she can save it for a different day - ie we gave her some mini eggs - maybe 10 from a big bag. She said she was full after 6, so she saved them for about 3 days later. X

The vast majority of the time we do no added sugar for our kids until age 2. I’m not going to be insane about it - like I will give my 13 month old bread from a restaurant which I’m sure isn’t free of added sugar in most cases.

We did give her the tiniest taste of frozen yogurt recently. Between age 1-2 we would offer very small tastes of sugary stuff. After age 2 it’s just everything in moderation.

I will say, my oldest is 4 and he will still eat things like plain oatmeal and plain yogurt, so while of course he does like chocolate and ice cream and fruit snacks, I think he still has a fairly well rounded palette and doesn’t only reach for sweets.

My daughter yesterday got a Easter egg and try a bit of chocolate, so 21 months old.

Mine is 2 in June and we give chocolate, always have from about 1 ish
As long as it’s not loads and they are still eating plenty of fruits and veggies i think it’s okay
For example I made her pasta for lunch today she ate it all which is great! So I gave her probably about a quarter of a flake
We always brush her teeth everyday as well

A little bit before 2 I started to give him chocolate, cake or whatever "unhealthy" food because he definitely started asking for it and I don't want him to have a bad relationship with food.

16 months and none yet. Probably won’t until after 2 at the earliest.

She is 18 months old, and not allowed to have it until 3.

We tried introducing it at his first birthday but he didn’t want any. It was around 16 months and now that’s his favorite treat lol. He probably has a little sweet every other day. I try to not make sweets too much of a big deal as long as he knows to eat other foods too and to have them in the smallest portions.

I don’t give added sugar at home, like someone else said on the rare occasion we’re at a restaurant I don’t mind and I let her have a bit of vanilla cake at her cousins birthday but that’s it, she’s 19 months. Guidelines is no added sugar before 2.

Got a one yr old here - he’s been having tastes of choco since about 8 months. Never had a whole choco bar but if we’re having g something tasty and he’s around, we’ll give him a bit. As long as it’s not too much and he’s eating a balanced diet I’m not worrying too much. If he’s had something naughty the day before, we’ll probably avoid sugary things the next day. On his birthday he had some choco cake. 😊

My little boy was 2 in January and he will not eat it. We've offered little bits to him but he refuses. Yet give him crisps and they're gone like there's no tomorrow 🤣

Our LB is 20 months and occasionally has a little bit of chocolate, small piece of cake etc. he eats a balanced diet

Crikey.. Mine was two at the end of December (so around 27 months) and he's never had chocolate. Doesn't ask for it. I personally think it's wild to give toddlers sweets 😅 and am surprised at some of the responses here. Like why would you do it? It doesn't offer any nutritional value at all. Mine does have baby biscuits and he'll have healthy treats so he does have some sugar but I see no need to give him stuff that's meant for (much) older children and adults. There'll be plenty of time for crap food when he's older.. no need to encourage it when they can't even speak properly yet. ... Actually just remembered he had a brownie on his 2nd birthday and he liked it (of course he did) but that's it and it was a total no no before then. My mum tried giving him cake beforehand and I just said no. If you feel it's too early, just say no and I think someone else wrote above that it's addictive. The more junk they eat the more they'll want it.

Age 3, before that mine had extremely minimal intake of sugar at all, maybe twice (both a tiny bit of cake at birthday parties where it was hard to avoid), age 3 I loosened up a bit but generally a pretty low level allowed. Chocolate only has maybe once a month-fortnight and not much

so I wouldn't introduce it as I don't think it's a food that needs to be introduced. I won't ban it when he's older. E.g. at kids' parties, it would be a bit rubbish if he was the only kid that wasn't allowed it. I don't think about it tbh. I just say "no" to my mum. I also don't think it means he'll overindulge when he's older as I'm not going to ban it or call it a bad food. I imagine he'll eat it at parties and special events once he's at school. don't stress and don't worry about people thinking you're being strict. it's wild that people are encouraging their kids to eat it when kids go mad with a bit of sugar anyway. it's not meant for them.

We have allowed chocolate after his first birthday but not uncontrolled. We have homemade cake at my grandmas house every Friday, those were his first “sweets”. Chocolate we started with dark chocolate and cookies with dark chocolate glazing. He’s now almost three and when we offer chocolate, he gets to choose how much he wants (until the portion on the table is empty), we do this with every food we offer. I’ve found that even though it’s hard for us, he will freely stop eating and leave some in the bowl and prefers other snacks. I think he knows there’s no scarcity and he can ask for it when he wants some. We don’t offer any m candy, no gummy bears etc as it’s often à choking hazard so he knows he will be allowed it when he is older. When others give him stuff like that we take it away and exchange it for something like chocolate that is safe, while still being a treat :) it doesn’t always work without tears tho 😅

We are a very pro sugar family😂 my husband loves sour and fruity candy. I love chocolate of every form. We will still limit sugar intake so he learns proper balance. But probably by 1 he will have something with sugar in it garunteed. I also love baked goods. Growing up we honestly didn’t have much sugar around except for like Easter and Halloween and other holidays. And I would probably gorge myself on it. And I still kind of do now. I think it being around but moderated is probably better.

Im personally not giving sugar until her first birthday (so she can have a cake for a treat) but other than that she wont have much of it until a little older