Sugar, good or bad for babies

Sugar, an early favorite and a coveted treat for our children, presents a real dilemma when it comes to introducing our babies to new tastes. When and how should we introduce them to the simple pleasures of life, such as chocolate and other sweets?

Sugar is essential for our babies' bodies, and luckily, it's naturally present in the vast majority of foods. Whether it's fast-acting or slow-acting sugars, it provides our children with readily usable energy. While children understandably love it and shouldn't be deprived of it, there's no need to accustom them to it too early!

An innate fondness for sugar!

The preference for sweet tastes is innate . Studies show that even in their mother's womb, babies already enjoy sugar.

To get babies with poor appetites to eat, some mothers tend to offer them more sweet foods than savory ones. This is a natural reflex that pediatricians warn us against. It is the cause of many nutritional imbalances when sweet foods are consumed at the expense of vegetables or meat, which provide the fats and proteins necessary for a child's growth and activity.

The more sugar a baby eats, the more they will love sugar!

The goal isn't to eliminate or ban sugar, which remains an essential source of energy for your baby's body, but to offer it in moderation. Lightly sweetening fruit compotes or plain yogurt is perfectly fine. But why give your baby chocolate yogurt at 8 months when there are so many other flavors to discover that they won't seek out on their own later on!

The biggest risk with sugar isn't actually that your baby will gain too much weight, although you should still be vigilant. It's about not making chocolate and orange juice the same as fruit or mineral water... in short, about not giving them bad eating habits and stifling their culinary curiosity .

The link between excessive sugar in early childhood and later obesity remains controversial, but it is certain that there is no nutritional or taste benefit to introducing sugar too early to your baby .

Beware of snacking between meals...

As you've probably gathered, while chocolate, biscuits, and fruit juice shouldn't be forbidden, it's when sugar is consumed too regularly, especially between meals, that it becomes problematic. The main risk is the development of cavities, even in babies who don't yet have teeth.

Therefore, it is essential to avoid giving your baby a bottle of sweetened water or milk to help them fall asleep. Furthermore, snacking between meals, whether sweet or not, undeniably increases the risk of obesity.

Sugar and educational or emotional stakes!

"Eat your vegetables and you'll get dessert!" Who hasn't succumbed to this little blackmail tactic ten times? But be careful: sweets shouldn't become a tool for education or emotional connection, or they'll become the object of your baby's every desire. Sugar shouldn't be a reward or a bargaining chip, but simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in moderation.

Since your baby's attraction to sweets is innate, there's no need to encourage this inclination or specifically introduce them to sweet tastes; they will undoubtedly come around to it quite soon. In the meantime, take advantage of the period between one and two years old when your baby is still receptive to introduce them to all sorts of other flavors!