This is probably a dumb question. I have been very careful never to give honey to my son, and have avoided all products that have "honey" in the name. But when is it okay? He is 17 months now, and today when I was grocery shopping I thought maybe he would like honey nut cheerios since he is getting tired of multigrain but I didn't get them for this reason. I have also passed over the honey wheat bread over and over again. Is it safe now? And if not, do products that contain honey pose any risk or is the danger in straight honey?
Thank you! My son is so picky...I am excited to try giving him some new foods!
He can have honey nut cheerios Babies cannot have raw honey untill they are 2 yrs old. any thing baked with honey is fine it is heated so any bacteria would be killed off
Most pediatricians advise no RAW honey before 12 months because of the risk of infant botulism. Processed foods w/honey (crackers, cereal, etc.) can be given at any time, so long as the child can eat that particular food.
Raw honey has gotten a serious bad rap--it is not the only source of infant botulism. Corn syrup, for one, has been documented to be a source. Also, botulism in general (adults & children) is incredibly rare in this country, with an average of 110 people annually. (BTW, the survival rate for infant botulism is 99%.)
ANY and all food we consume carries a risk of a foodborne illness. Your child's risk of getting ill from a restaurant meal is exponentially greater than from eating raw honey.
I am always careful to avoid foods with honey, nuts, and anything else "banned". My DS (now 21 months) had a cold over the winter and I asked what to give him since he cannt have cough syrup and a pharmacist and DR said honey was OK.
I believe they say to wait until 1 year to give honey to children. And that is for straight honey. You can give them honey nut cheerios and honey bread as soon as you want to, it's the raw honey that they suggest you wait on.
Straight honey is okay after your child is 1 year old. Products that contain honey (like honey nut cheerios)don't pose the same risk as straight honey.
Dr said that honey over a year old is o.k. Also there isn't enough honey in Honey Nut Cheerios or Honey Graham Crackers to worry about, also they have been baked so the botulism should be killed.
JMO,
Renee
After one year, honey is fine.
Foods that contain honey, like graham crackers, honey nut cheerio's, etc are totally find for kids before age 1 as long as they can eat the solids. Its raw honey you need to avoid for as long as possible.... straight raw honey contains botulism that can make babies really sick.
But cooked honey, like that in graham crackers, honey nut cheerio's, other cooked honey foods, is totally fine. You can feed a 10 mo old honey grahams or honey nut cheerio's because the honey is cooked and once its cooked there is no threat of botulism.
I'm not sure about honey "straight-up" but I called Cheerios directly and asked because I have a one year old and they said that the processed stuff is fine for kids, like honey Cheerios and Honeygrams...stuff like that...but like I said...I'm not sure about the straight honey.
Honey is considered safe after 1 year.
K.,
The concern is with infants and raw honey. If it is baked in something like honey nut cheerios, there isn't a concern. My doctor always said it was okay after the baby turns one.
S.
Our peditrician actually recommended we give our daughter honey as soon as we did her one year check up. It would help identify if we had food allergies. The only thing she says not to try until at least 2 is peanuts/nuts. My daughter is a huge fan of honey, so let your little guy have some!!!
Once a baby is 1 yr, it is okay to give him/her honey. Due to the botulism in honey, it is not safe to do so before 1 yr. I couldn't wait until my kids turned 1 yr so they could have honey and my daughter asks for it by the spoonful.
Unless things have changed, call your doctor's office, honey is okay after age 12 months.
I was always told they could have honey at or after 12 months.
