Due to the fact that I love to talk about veg led weaning, I’m often asked questions about HOW, when and even IF fruit should fit in when it comes to feeding babies and toddlers. Therefore I’ve decided to write a blog all about fruit for babies (and toddlers) so that you can have all your questions on this slightly confusing topic answered.
When can my baby have fruit?
Traditionally, pureed fruits or baby rice have been offered as a baby’s first foods. Babies have an innate preference for sweet foods and therefore they often willingly accept these foods when first starting weaning, which has therefore made them a popular food to start weaning with.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with offering these foods first when starting weaning, but there is a growing amount of research that suggests that giving babies more of a variety of flavours, including more neutral, savoury and bitter flavours (that you might get in a variety of veggies, for example), right from the beginning of weaning, can help babies to accept a wider variety of flavours later on. You can read more all about the veg-led weaning approach in my blog.
So, WHEN can babies have fruit? Right from 6 months of age or when you start your baby on solid foods, is the easy answer. Fruits are a safe, suitable and nutritious food. However, as per my Veg Led Weaning approach to weaning method, I tend to recommend starting with more savoury tastes for the first 10 days of weaning before moving on to more of a variety of foods such as carbohydrates, proteins and also including fruits. My book How to Wean Your Baby gives much more detail on this approach.
What about the sugar content of fruit?
Many people often worry about fruit having a high sugar content and therefore not being suitable for babies and young children. Fruits do contain carbohydrates, which include sugars, but they also come alongside a real variety of nutrients, including all important fibre.
When fruits are eaten whole, the sugar content is considered “natural” and not a “free” sugar as the sugar is fully contained within the fruit’s cellular structure, and is therefore broken down more gradually in the body. Whole fruits also contains all of the fibre content of the fruit which help to slow down the digestion and absorption of the sugars in the fruits too, making it “slower release” and less likely to result in a “sugar spike” into the bloodstream. Fibre is also important for a number of other reasons too, including for helping keep our digestive systems healthy.
You can read more on sugar for babies in my blog.
Can my baby have too much fruit?
If you’re offering whole fruits, you don’t really need to worry about the sugar content of fruits or how much fruit is “too much.”
However, as babies do have a preference for sweeter foods, it’s a good idea to vary the types of fruits you’re offering and to ensure that you’re also offering plenty of veg. I often say it’s good to keep your ratio of VEG to FRUITS slightly higher for veg, to help little ones be more familiar and accepting of all the flavours that are associated with veggies and to not reinforce their preference for sweeter foods.
The reason for this is that children like what they are familiar with, and so if they are having much more fruit than veg it COULD (and in my experience often does!) lead them to start rejecting the varied tastes of vegetables in favour of the sweeter tastes of fruit.
SO how do we get around this?
I normally:
- Ensure I offer plenty of veggies to my kids most days.
- If I feel that I’ve offered fruit a lot some days, I just try and up the amount of veg and offer a little less in the way of fruit the next day.
- Offer a variety of fruits AND veg as these will all have different taste profiles and they won’t all simply be super sweet.
- Keep the ratio of VEG to fruit higher on the veg side…most of the time.
- Don’t worry too much – fruit is still a delicious, convenient and nutrient rich food and if kids are having a nice varied diet, it really doesn’t matter too much.
- Keep offering veggies regularly, even ones which are refused.
- So basically offering VEG over FRUITS isn’t about FRUITS being bad….it’s about helping kids to ALSO love their veg, which they are less inclined to enjoy because humans have an inborn preference for sweeter tastes.
Could my fruit-loving child be missing out on other foods?
Diet is all about balance, so if you’re finding that your kids are eating lots of fruits and are filling up on these and refusing other foods that make up a balanced diet:
- Carbs
- Vegetables
- Protein/iron rich foods
- Dairy/alternatives
Then, that’s not ideal. Variety is ALWAYS key and those other food groups all contain other nutrients that are essential to your little one’s growth and development. So however important fruit and veg are to health (and they are!), balance and variety is even more important.
So basically eat plenty of veg and some fruits and let your little ones eat plenty, as long as they aren’t displacing other foods and food groups.
Can I give my child fruit juice and smoothies?
Where possible, it’s preferable to offer whole fruits to babies and children. When fruits are processed through juicing or pureeing, the sugar content is somewhat ‘released’ from the cell structure in the fruit and it is then considered a “free” sugar. Free sugars are the type of sugars that we ideally want to limit in our little one’s diets as these are more easily consumed in excess and can increase the risk of tooth decay.
Processing fruits often also results in less of the fibre being maintained. Offering your little one a whole piece of fruit as part of a snack is a more filling option than offering fruit juice.
NHS guidance states that babies under 1 “don’t need fruit juice or smoothies.” If you do offer them to your child over the age of 1, you can dilute them – 1 part juice, 10 parts water and ideally offer them at mealtimes as this can help to reduce the risk of tooth decay. If making a smoothie, you could include vegetables, yoghurt, ground nuts and seeds or oats and offer as a smoothie bowl with a spoon.
From the age of 1, and even for adults, a 150ml serving of fruit juice counts as one portion of fruit per day – even if you have different types of fruit juice throughout the day, it will still only count as one serving, because of the loss of fibre through processing.
My blog on drinks for babies and toddlers has more on suitable drink options for your little ones.
Can I give my baby fruit pouches?
Fruit pouches are considered a “free” sugar, due to the high amount of processing the fruits go through, therefore freeing the sugars from the cell structure. When you mash fresh fruit yourself at home, it’s likely that more of the structure of the sugars in the fruits are maintained, as the intensity of the processing is less. While pouches can be a quick, convenient and necessary option at times, where possible mash fruit at home or offer whole fruits.
What about dried, canned or frozen fruits?
Dried fruit can be offered to children, but for younger babies it can be a choking hazard and it is particularly hard to chew. For older babies and children, offer dried fruit alongside meals, as opposed to as a snack, as it is quite high in sugar and can become stuck in teeth, increasing the risk of tooth decay.
Canned and frozen fruits are perfectly suitable to offer to babies and young children, and are a quick and convenient option for many parents. With canned fruit, choose varieties that are canned in juice as opposed to syrup to reduce the added sugar content.
Should I give my baby fruit as a dessert?
Those who follow me on social media will know that, most of the time, I aim to offer fruit alongside other, more savoury foods as opposed to after the meal or as a “dessert.” I do this for a variety of reasons, and you can read my detailed blog on offering fruit as part of the meal, but one of the main reasons is to avoid creating a sense of “food hierarchy” for children.
By offering fruit as a “neutral” part of the meal, alongside other flavours, it avoids making it into a more interesting or exciting food than the other foods you’re offering and can help children to explore all of the foods on their plate rather than only going for the sweet option.
However, it’s important to know that it’s probably best not to feel you have to offer fruit at EVERY meal time. Mainly in the name of variety, getting the ratio right and also not encouraging a preference for sweet tastes at every meal.
What if my baby will ONLY eat fruit and not vegetables?
This is a really common question and something that MANY babies and toddlers do. As we know, babies have a preference for sweet tastes and so it’s perfectly normal that many of them will choose those options if given the choice at mealtimes.
If you’re finding that your child will only choose the fruit option at all or most mealtimes, there are few things you can try:
- Don’t offer fruit at EVERY meal or snack – offer some meals or snacks with both fruit/vegetables and then offer only vegetables at others. This avoids restricting the fruit, but offers an opportunity for babies to explore vegetables without going for the fruit first.
- Avoid pressuring them into eating vegetables or commenting if they only eat the fruit – allow them the opportunity to try vegetables but don’t worry if they don’t.
- KEEP offering – continued exposure is SO important for children – don’t be put off if they refuse vegetables multiple times – it can take up to 10 exposures or more for children to accept a new food so keep giving them the opportunity, without the pressure to eat.
- Use role modelling from yourself or other family members to help encourage your little one to try the vegetables – always without any pressure on them to actually eat.
What if my baby will ONLY eat fruit and not vegetables?
This is a really common question and something that MANY babies and toddlers do. As we know, babies have a preference for sweet tastes and so it’s perfectly normal that many of them will choose those options if given the choice at mealtimes.
If you’re finding that your child will only choose the fruit option at all or most mealtimes, there are few things you can try:
- Don’t offer fruit at EVERY meal or snack – offer some meals or snacks with both fruit/vegetables and then offer only vegetables at others. This avoids restricting the fruit, but offers an opportunity for babies to explore vegetables without going for the fruit first.
- Avoid pressuring them into eating vegetables or commenting if they only eat the fruit – allow them the opportunity to try vegetables but don’t worry if they don’t.
- KEEP offering – continued exposure is SO important for children – don’t be put off if they refuse vegetables multiple times – it can take up to 10 exposures or more for children to accept a new food so keep giving them the opportunity, without the pressure to eat.
- Use role modelling from yourself or other family members to help encourage your little one to try the vegetables – always without any pressure on them to actually eat.
Summary
Hopefully this blog has answered most of the key questions you have about offering fruit to your little ones. As a summary, here are my take home points:
- Fruits are nutritious, flavoursome foods that can be offered from the beginning of weaning. Include alongside more bitter flavours to help expose baby to a variety of flavours and avoid developing a strong preference for sweet tastes
- Whole fruits contain more fibre than fruit juice or smoothies, and do not contain “free” sugars – opt for whole fruits where possible
- Canned, frozen and dried fruits can be offered – choose canned fruits in juice and offer dried fruit at mealtimes as opposed to as a snack to reduce the risk of tooth decay
- If you find your child ONLY chooses fruits – offer some mealtimes without fruit and role model eating vegetables – continue to offer and don’t pressure them into eating the vegetables
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