honey and infant?

Question

My mother gave my grandson honey last night will he be ok?I have told her not to before with my kids but she tells me to shut up that we(her kids)survived.I know she didnt forget she is only 56 so she has no memory problem she just likes control and does what she wants.

he is 6 month old and my Grandson my mothers Great grandson.

She had me when she was 16.My daughter was born when I was 21 and my grandson was born when my dd was 16.

Answer 1

You are advised not to give honey to infants as there is a tiny chance of them getting infant botulsim which is a *really* nasty kind of food poisoning. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism#Infant_botulism for more info.

He'll probably be fine, but do give your mother the information and make sure she doesn't give your grandson honey (or food containing honey) again until he's older.

I guess they didn't know about the potential problem of honey when you were a baby - remind your mother that we have more information about diseases now than we did 30 years ago!!

Answer 2

If he has not yet had a reaction to it, it is highly likely that he won't. Just monitor him, but don't worry too much. Most reactions occur a short time after ingestion.

The reason they say honey should not be fed to infants under one year of age is because of the risk of infant botulism. In the United States, most honey products are labeled to indicate this, although the reason why is not spelled out, which confuses some consumers. In addition, the label does not specify that infants should not be fed any honey products, including baked goods with honey in them. Infant botulism is a type of food poisoning that can result in death.

Botulinum spores are widely found throughout nature, although honey tends to harbor them more than other foods. In fact, botulinum can appear in other sweeteners, such as maple syrup, as well as corn syrup. Botulinum can even be found in dust, indicating that it is an extremely widespread toxin. As a result, most humans adapt to it and are able to fend off small amounts of the toxin, such as those present in honey.

Infants, however, do not have a completely matured digestive system and are susceptible to botulism food poisoning. While honey does not always contain the spores, it is more likely to contain botulinum than some other food products, and therefore parents are recommended to avoid it unless it is pasteurized. Pasteurized honey is also crystallized, however, due to the heat process, and is therefore rarely available. As a result, parents need to be cautious about processed foods containing honey, which is probably unpasteurized.

Just keep your eye out and do remind your mother that they are YOUR children and you have the right to tell her not to give them something. (My baby was given honey by accident as an infant too, and though nothing happened, it's safe to obide by the regulations).

Love and happiness to you!

Answer 3

Infants younger than 12 months are at risk of infant botulism from eating honey. Infant botulism is a rare but serious form of food poisoning.

Honey is a known source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These bacteria are typically harmless to older children and adults. But when ingested by an infant, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism. It's unclear why this occurs in infants and not in older children or adults.

Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

Persistent constipation
Floppy arms, legs and neck
Weak cry due to muscle weakness
Weak sucking and poor feeding
Tired all the time (lethargy)
Botulism spores may also be found in undercooked food, corn syrup and even maple syrup. For this reason, feeding an infant any of these foods is risky as well.

Answer 4

Most likely he'll be alright. But you need to explain that its not recommended to give infants honey due to the bacteria that can be in the honey. The infants immune system is not mature enough to fight off the bacteria if they happen to get it like an older child is.

You also need to tell your mother, if she's not willing to abide by what you tell her, she just can't see the kids anymore. Tough love, but she needs to understand these are not her kids, not hers. Your daughter may choose to raise her children differently than she did and she'll jsut have to deal.

Answer 5

There is nothing you can really do besides check with the doctor. He should be fine.The chances of infant botulism is pretty low, but you might want to print out some info on it and give it to your mother. Tell her that alot of things have changed since she had babies(ex:sleeping on the back, no solids still 6mo, rear facing car seat for a year) and you're just trying to be the best mother possible and you need her help to do that.

Answer 6

Botulism is the bacteira the infant can get if under 12 months old and having honey....
Go to search and type in infant+honey and look at all the info you get...
Don't allow it anymore if the child is under 12 months of age..

Answer 7

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give honey to a baby under a year old! honey is not pasturized and can cause botulism and kill babies! I'm an nurse if that makes me more credible. your mother needs to abide by your wishes, whether she thinks she knows better or not, this is your child. a lot of things were done "in the good ole days" by parents to their children but we have more an better information now and we know not all of those remedies were acceptable. if she can't abide by your wishes regarding your children and their safety, I'd reconsider having her watch them alone.

Answer 8

I remember well putting honey on baby's soothers. BUT it was not the honey in your regular kitchen cupboard but a specially processed one.
Yes....we all lived but now adays they know more. We put our babies to sleep on their stomachs, some moms smoked through pregnancy and drank, took asprin, smoked in the house afterwards....nobody knew better.
Tell your Mother that you are the child's mother and if she won't go by your rules, then she will be limited to supervised visits at your leisure. It may tick her off, but you are a mother protecting your child.
With your Mom's controlling behaviour you have to stop it early. Tell her she'll have to play by your rules or not play at all. Don't put up with her putting you down.
But don't worry....your son will be okay.

Answer 9

Groan, of course he should not have honey.

When my 2 kids were lil they had one grandma that would do whatever she liked and one grandma that would follow my instructions to the letter. Both my kids had reflux and it was very important that instructions be followed. The funny thing was, the grandma that would follow instructions is the one that was much better educated and much more opinionated as to how things should be done, but she acknowledged that the kids were MINE,not hers, and I could be comfortable when they were with her because I knew she was not doing something damaging to their health.

I say this to say, if someone puts your child's health in danger, they should not be allowed to watch your child.

Answer 10

NO.....kids under 1 year of age have not developed the antibodies to fight off food poisoning. Honey is notorious for holding botulism.

After one year, honey is fine. But not before that.