When can a baby eat ice cream?

When you start offering solid foods to your baby around six months of age, you are introducing him to a variety of flavors, aromas, and textures. Before you begin, it is important to know how to safely introduce allergenic foods.

Ice cream may seem like a fun food, but the added sugar makes it unhealthy for your growing baby. While it's safe for your baby to eat ice cream after six months, experts recommend waiting up to 24 months to include added sugars in your baby's diet.

Introducing your baby to ice cream

You should only give your child one new food at a time. By doing this, you can identify an allergic reaction if they have one. Because dairy allergies are common, this is especially important when offering ice cream to your child.

If you decide to offer ice cream to your child, be sure to read the labels and avoid two specific ingredients:

Honey. It's not safe until 12 months of age because your baby can get a type of food poisoning called botulism.

Added sugar. Many yogurts contain sweeteners, so avoid artificial sweeteners.

You can also watch for these signs of an allergic reaction:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Skin rash
Swelling around the lips or eyes

While experts advise against adding sugar, you can find a healthy alternative to the most popular ice cream options. Try to choose ice cream for your child that is low in sugar and free of ingredients such as nuts that can cause choking.

The nutritional benefits of ice cream for your baby

Ice cream is often referred to as a dairy product because it is high in calcium, which helps strengthen bones. However, ice cream is more of a dessert, as it usually contains a lot of added sugar.

A serving of regular vanilla ice cream contains 21 grams of added sugar, which equates to about 1.5 tablespoons of sugar. While this may not seem like much to you, it's a lot for your baby's tiny stomach and young digestive system.

If you still want to give your child a cold sweet treat, consider frozen yogurt. Of course, you still have to read ingredient labels, but you might be able to find a healthier alternative to traditional ice cream.

How to prepare ice cream for your child

If you find ice cream that is safe to feed your baby, consider adding fresh fruit for extra flavor and sweetness. Cut or mash the fruit so that the pieces are small enough that there is no risk of choking.

Great fruits to add to yogurt include:

Strawberry
Blueberry
Peaches
Banana

You can also add a spoonful of nut butter such as peanut, almond or cashew butter. If you choose to do this, make sure your child has not previously had an allergic reaction to nut butter. You can either feed your baby with a spoon or let him hold the spoon and try to eat on his own.

General nutrition tips for your baby

Before offering solid food, ask yourself the following questions:

Can my child hold his head on his own? This is an important stage in the development of solid food consumption.
Are they interested in food? Your child may watch you eat with interest and may even try to grab your food and taste it. When you offer them a spoon, they must open their mouths to eat.
Can they push food through the throat? If you offer a spoonful of food, the child may first nudge it with their tongue. This is called the tongue thrust reflex. Over time, your child will learn to use their tongue to push food deep into their mouth and swallow it.
Are they big enough? Your baby must be twice their birth weight and weigh at least 6 kg before they start eating solid food.

Offer variety. When your child starts eating solid foods, he needs to diversify his diet. This helps ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need and also helps expand their palate for new flavors.

Once you've introduced your child to a new food, try to introduce it again at least twice a week. Your baby is watching you as he learns to eat, so be sure to offer him the same foods as the rest of the family to cheer him up.

Think about allergens. By the time your baby is twelve months old, they should be introduced to all the common foods that cause allergies:

Boiled egg
Creamy peanut butter
Cow's milk (dairy product)
Nuts (such as cashews or marzipan)
Soya
Sesame
Wheat
Fish and other seafood

By introducing these foods early in your diet, you can reduce your child's risk of developing food allergies. Introduce only one new food at a time so that you can monitor your child's reaction to the product in case of an allergic reaction.

If you suspect an allergic reaction, write down what happened and talk to your child's pediatrician.