is chocolate bad for babies?

Question

i am trying to give my daughter only food that is good for her (she is five months) and all my in-laws keep trying to give her chocolate which as far as i know has no nutritional value but is it actually bad for her

Answer 1

The issue isnt just the chocolate which is a processed food with high sugar content. The main issue is that your in laws dont respect your rights as a parent to decide whats best for your child. If you want to be comfortable leaving your child with them knowing your wishes will be respected you need to address that urgently. I have the same prob-email me if you like. Good luck x

Answer 2

I was the opposite to you, very relaxed with feeding my baby most foods but its the relatives that frown on me for what i give her lol, but she's 7 months and i give her chocolate baby desserts from the jar maybe once a week, she has more fruit and veg so this isn't an issue. I've given her a taster of my chocolate muffin, shared white chocolate buttons with her, she has tuna mayo sandwiches,cheese and ham sandwiches, she's banana crazy so at least one a day.
I try not to make a fuss of food because if you make an issue of it then its likely that food will become an issue for your child, i could disagree with many things my parents did bringing me up except when it came to food they hardly discussed it or got us involved in it, i used to get annoyed that i had to stop play just to eat my ruddy dinner. And we as most normal kids are were sweet toothed but we were taught the value of money and it was only a treat when mum n dad were a bit flush that we'd get a chomp.We didn't moan as life was far too busy- hardly ever watched tv or sat at a computer, always outside. So just because she has a little bit of chocolate now isnt going to make her obese later in life, its how you educate her and what lifestyle you create for her.
If it really upsets you then you have to tell them, thats the only way!

Answer 3

Why do babies need chocolate?

Ask your inlaws to give you the chocolate so that you can pass it on to your child at an appropriate time.

This would be an excuse, you wouldn't actually give your child all of the chocolate, just the amount you feel is right, if any at all.

Make an excuse if it eases the situation, something like "last time baby had chocolate he/she had constipation, we was up all night for 2 days...." etc.

It's bad manners to give other people's children something without checking with the parents first. Start as you mean to go on. It doesn't get any easier as they get older.

Answer 4

i have averaged 2 eating routine cokes and a cup of tea because that 12 weeks this time round, very last time i did not actually have a eating routine coke till the superb few weeks. My toddler is high quality and that i'd have a number of both. Chocolate extremely fairly facilitates constipation :-) keep the caffeine to at least a million-2 cups or a million-2 sodas an afternoon in elementary words, yet do not challenge too a lot about the chocolate, there is little or no caffeine in it. take excitement in :-)

Answer 5

Well I wouldn't recommend it or say it was good, really your in laws should be following the rules you are setting for your child not doing their own thing.
Maybe you should explain this to them and say when she is older it will be ok but not right now.
My daughter is 13 months now and I have offered her chocolate a few times but have given up now as she tastes it and spits it out which I would prefer her to do rather then want sweet things all the time and as the health visitor said 'don't push it on her its better if she doesn't eat it'

Answer 6

I'm pretty easy on what food I give my daughter - BUT I still only gave her Milky Bar Buttons when she was about 11 months.
If you think of it this way .... they're not meant to have cows milk until they're 1 year old - and chocolate will have milk in. (I doubt they'll be giving her dark chocolate, will they? Much too rich.
I'm sure a little bit won't hurt - but the other reason not to give chocolate & other sweets... is so she doesn't get too used to it ... and of course, her teeth.
Good luck,
Bev

Answer 7

Definately NO chocolate for an infant that young. The sugar and coco will upset the babies tummy....Tell your inlaws that you would appreciate if they would not give the baby anything to eat. I went through this with my inlaws...they always thing they know what is best! The bottom line is...you are the mommy/daddy and you make the decisions about what goes into your childs mouth.

Answer 8

Milk chocolate contains mainly milk, cocoa and lots of sugar. Yes, cocoa is good for you but unfortunately it's the other ingredients that tip the balance towards 'harmful'. To benefit from cocoa, the advice is to eat dark or black choc, where the percentage of cocoa is usually 70+. But there are other foods that are better than chocs which contain antioxidants, etc., so you child can wait till she's older for chocs.
Tell your in-laws you appreciate their love, but you do NOT want your child to have chocs. They are understandably indulgent but people can act daft when they are indulgent. It's not good to give your child a 'sweet tooth' as it may lead to obesity in later life. You must take control of your child's up-bringing.

Answer 9

Well done for trying to keep your daughter away from chocolate, she doesn't need it. As far as I know dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants but it is kind of rich so she may not like it or she may throw it up.

Don't let her get a sweet tooth, politely ask relatives to give her fruit if anything.

Answer 10

I had the same problem when my son was little. They don't seem to understand that you don't want your baby to have certain things...just tell them that it goes straight through her and she gets an upset tummy during the night if she has chocolate....that should stop them from giving it to her...then when she is older you can try her with it when you are ready. But, chocolate won't hurt her in small amounts.