When is honey given to children?
Can it be given to infants, or does it cause some harm to them?
In this article, we will talk about reliable scientific sources about the possibility of using honey for children and what age is best to start offering them natural honey.
If you have a young child and you want to start a honey tradition for him, you definitely need this article.
And do not forget that the health of your child is very important, so you should read the topic very carefully.
Now let’s get started quickly with…
When is honey given to children?
Honey for infants is completely excluded without any discussion, This was the statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics , but if your child is over a year old you can start feeding him honey without any problems, it is safe for him.
This is not only the statement of the American Academy, But also many nutritionists and pediatricians around the world.
Therefore, here at Assaloun, we advise every mother:
Do not start feeding your child even a drop of honey until you celebrate his first birthday at least
Now let’s get to know you…
Benefits of honey for the baby
Despite the above warning, after exceeding the age mentioned above, honey can provide your child with great benefits, including:
1- Mehdi Zabeei for coughing
In our topic about eating honey as a start to your day , I talked about honey as a very popular folk remedy for colds.
In fact, it is the most famous natural remedy for children to calm their cough.
Therefore, even the World Health Organization advised to use it as an effective natural recipe to calm the diseases of the upper respiratory tract for children.
2- Helps heal wounds
You may find it somewhat strange, but honey may help your child heal some minor wounds that he may be exposed to.
It is also a simple natural Mahdi for the pain resulting from those wounds…
But even here, you should never put honey on a wound of a child under 18 months, at least.
3- It is a good source of energy
Honey certainly contains some glucose in addition to fructose.
And both can be used by the body as a source of energy.
And unlike table sugar, honey also contains vitamins and minerals that are very useful for the body.
Therefore, honey will certainly be an excellent choice for your child or an alternative to sugar that helps him to complete his day with more activity and vitality.
Why not give honey to children under the year? (damage)
Honey as a natural ingredient contains one of the bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
In most cases, the immune system of an older child or us, the elderly, can resist and eliminate them. But in the case of children under 6 months, these bacteria may be the cause of one of the most important rare diseases called botulism.
Spores of these bacteria are transmitted by either eating honey directly or placing it on wounds and delivering it to the bloodstream.
This disease causes many serious symptoms for children, the most important of which are:
- blurred vision
- eyelid picker
- Weakness and lethargy
- Dry mouth
- Also, depending on its severity, it may reach general weakness and lack of food.
Although most children recover completely from this condition, care must be taken to ensure that your child does not reach this condition.
The period of keeping the child in the hospital in the event that these bacteria reach him and start work is 44 days, and the death rate is also 2%.
So again, always avoid feeding babies honey bees at the age of less than 12-14 months.
Tips before you start feeding honey to children
Despite the basic advice you already knew above, there are a few other things:
- It is preferable to use fresh honey for your child who has not been kept for more than two months (although it does not spoil , but this is the best).
- It is best to give your child a small amount of it after the appropriate age due to the high sugar content in honey.
- It is also important to know the history of honey production before purchasing it.
- Of course, you should not forget the container for honey is open for a long time, because this may cause the presence of some harmful bacteria for your child in it.
This was our answer to your question “When to give honey to children” with the benefits and harms that may occur.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.