why should't i give my 10 months old honey?!!?

Question

my family always gave babies honey for many reasons including healing a cough or a cold.
my son has a cold and he is 1 months old, my mum has real honey and asked me to give him a spoon to heal his cold and cough but i refused because the doctor told me not to.
how come nothing bad happened to babies in our family including myself.
other thing, in my family they give babies water since birth but just a little bit, i didnt because my son's doctor said breastmilk is enough and water is bad for his kidneys, now my son refuses water even when it is mixed with syrup!!!
so the question is: are doctors always right?

yes there is fake honey, real honey is when the bees aren't fed sugar!

Answer 1

no the doctors are not always right...

but yours is when it comes to water and breastmilk... though at 10 months it is fine to give him a little now in a sippy cup when he's having his table food snacks.

and the honey thing is pretty true too... though at 10 months if you can bring the honey to a high enough temperature to kill the potential botulism spores that are the reason to keep raw honey from a child younger than 12 months, then it's ok.

honey in and of itself is not bad, it just needs to be cooked for a baby. at about 10 months I'd put a little honey in my daughter's oatmeal - but I'd put it in the pan of boiling water as I was about to pour the oatmeal in it. 2 minutes of boiling is enough to make honey safe.

and I've never heard of honey healing anyting... it can be soothing for a through that is sore from a cold or cough, but I don't think it has any real powers to heal - like garlic does.

Answer 2

If the honey has been pasteurized you can give it tot he baby, but most honey is raw and can carry botulism spores which could potentially kill your baby. I was also given honey and I am still here, but that doesn't mean it is safe. As for the water. If your baby was fed formula what would you be mixing the formula with? Water! So how can water be hard on the babies kidneys? I don't think there is any medical reason to not give babies water. It seems to be more of an opinion of some doctors. A lot of doctors recommend introducing water at 4 months of age. If your baby is breast fed and won't take the water I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you really want him to have water from a bottle then keep offering it. He may or may not take it, but he should be just fine either way.

Answer 3

There is a risk of botulism with honey. Nothing bad happened to the babies in your family because the honey was actually safe. Do you want to take that risk with your own baby? As far as the water goes, you should google water poisoning and read up on it. You should never give water to a baby under 6 months and after that, only a little. Babies get their water from milk. You shouldn't be giving your baby water mixed with syrup.

Are doctors always right? In these two cases, yes. Listen to your doctor.

New research changes how we raise our kids verses how our mothers did. When your mother makes a suggestion just smile and nod and then do what you and your doctor think is best. Good luck :)

Answer 4

Of course doctors are not always right, but:

Honey can contain a kind of botulism spore that can kill babies. An adult digestive tract is to acidic for the spores to grow, but a babies is not. Even though this is very rare, why take that risk?

Your 10 month old STILL doesn't need water, when he needs water he will start drinking it. Stop offering it with syrup, then he will expect that. Some babies may need water beginning around 9 months, but most breastfed babies do not need water until well past 1 year.

My son drinks a tonne of water, and he never got water until he was old enough. However once I started giving him water because he didn't really need it he would play with it and spit it out. Then he became thirstier because I was pregnant and nursing him less often and then he started draining a cup in 5 seconds flat. Babies know what they need. Offer him water, when he needs it he will drink it.

Answer 5

Babies do not need water. It's an old wives tale that babies should be given some from birth. All the liquid they need they can get from breast milk. Your doctor is right.

Honey is unpasteurized and can contain low levels of botulism. older children and adults can handle the low level but in infants younger than 12 months it can be deadly. Do NOT Give Your On Month Old Honey!

Answer 6

For the honey I was told its botulism. But with the water sips are ok. Well my two oldest didn't break from it. Although putting syrup in the water? I thought that was only for constipation. Doctors are not always right, thats why there are so many of them. Go with your instinct, pretty sure it worked for humanity for awhile now.

Answer 7

honey is taken straight from the hive and not pasteurized or treated for bacteria. (is there such a thing as "fake" honey. you said she has "real" honey) kids under 1 year should not have honey because of the bacteria that can be present. their immune systems are not developed enough to handle such a thing. your child does not need water until later either. that can cause him to not take in enough formula and not get adequate nutrition. at ten months, you can give him things other than formula but not since birth. and, yes, it can overwork his kidneys. sounds like your mom was lucky giving you these things when she wasn't supposed to. complications from giving honey or water are probably rare but in these cases, doctors are right.

Answer 8

If its real honey then no. Honey shouldnt be given until at least 12 months of age as it can make him ill. If its a medicated honey flavoured drink I would check with his doctor before giving it.

Answer 9

No honey until 1 year old, it can give infants Botulism.

"now my son refuses water even when it is mixed with syrup!!"

Why the hell are you putting SYRUP in your infants water????

"real honey is when the bees aren't fed sugar!"

OMG, will you please do some research before you stick things in your baby's mouth!!!

Answer 10

You shouldn't give him honey because honey has botulism spores in it and his immune system isn't strong enough to fight them,

Over the water, I don't know cause I've always heard it's okay to give babies water from birth.