Honey for babies: why under-1s should not have it, and after that

None before the first birthday, in any form and any amount. The NHS is direct about why: honey occasionally carries bacteria whose toxins can form in a baby’s intestines, and the illness that follows, infant botulism, is a very serious one. After age 1 the NHS lifts its honey rule, and honey is judged as a sugar, about 21 kcal and 5.8 g of carbohydrate in a 7 g teaspoon. Sugar advice for young children is strict, as the sections below show. For honey as a food, start with the honey guide.

The rule comes from the NHS’s list of foods to avoid giving babies and young children: no honey for a child until the first birthday has passed. The reason is not allergy or choking but bacteria. Occasionally honey contains bacteria whose toxins can form in a baby’s intestines, and the result, infant botulism, is a very serious illness. The NHS states the rule for honey itself and lists no exceptions.

India’s own dietary guidelines add a rule from a different angle, breastfeeding. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians say a baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, and tell mothers to keep honey, glucose, water and dilute milk formula away from the baby before breastfeeding starts and at any time during those months. So the first six months are out on breastfeeding grounds, and the whole first year is out on botulism grounds.

There is a second reason, and it is the same one as for every other age: honey is a sugar. The NHS counts the natural sugar found in honey among the sweet foods and drinks that children aged 4 or under should not be given, alongside sweeteners, syrup, fruit juice and smoothies.

Once a child is past 1, the botulism rule no longer applies and honey counts as a sugar, so the numbers are worth knowing. Per 100 g, honey holds 82.4 g of carbohydrate and 304 kcal (USDA FoodData Central), so a single 7 g teaspoon carries about 21 kcal and 5.8 g of carbohydrate. Almost all of that carbohydrate is sugar, and the WHO guideline counts sugars naturally present in honey as free sugars. Its target covers children too: free sugars below 10 percent of daily energy, with a further cut to below 5 percent suggested.

Against a child-sized energy intake, one teaspoon is a bigger share of the day’s sugar budget than it is for an adult, and the WHO notes that higher free-sugar intakes threaten the diet’s nutrient quality by supplying significant energy without specific nutrients. The early years have stricter rules. India’s dietary guidelines list honey among added sugars and say added sugar must be totally avoided for children below 2 years, and for children of 4 and under the NHS advice is to avoid food and drink with sweeteners or sugar, which includes the natural sugar found in honey. The NHS adds the dental reason, since honey is a sugar and avoiding it helps prevent tooth decay. The full per-teaspoon and per-tablespoon figures are on honey calories.

Honey and children’s coughs have been tested in trials, and the results matter here because the studies begin exactly where the safety rule ends: children aged 12 months to 18 years. A 2018 Cochrane review pooled six randomised controlled trials with 899 children. On a 7-point cough scale, honey probably reduced cough frequency more than when children received nothing at all and more than a placebo, on moderate-certainty evidence, may have matched dextromethorphan, a common cough medicine, and may have beaten diphenhydramine. Given for up to three days, honey was probably more effective than placebo or salbutamol at relieving cough symptoms; beyond three days it probably had no advantage over them.

Read that with care. The evidence runs from age 1 upward only, so it changes nothing about the first-birthday rule, and the review summary gives no dose; most of the children in the trials received honey for one night only. In the two placebo trials, 12 percent of the children given honey reported gastrointestinal symptoms, against 11 percent on placebo. For an under-1 with a cough, honey is not the answer; a doctor is.

No health body prints a daily honey allowance for a child, so the frame is the sugar advice for each age. Below 2 years, India’s guidelines want added sugar, honey included, totally avoided. Up to age 4, the NHS advises against food and drink with sugar. For children generally, the WHO keeps free sugars under 10 percent of energy intake, ideally closer to 5 percent, and every teaspoon of honey counts in that. WHO’s complementary-feeding guidance sets the context for the early years: complementary foods start at 6 months, and by 12 months most eat the same kinds of food as their family, keeping nutrient-dense foods in mind and avoiding sugary soft drinks.

That leaves no place for honey as a daily habit in the early years. Before honey goes into an older child’s food, ask the paediatrician how it fits their diet. The recipes on this site are written for older children and adults; the honey recipes roundup has honey water, laddu and snacks for the rest of the family. Keep the jar where small hands cannot reach it, and use a clean spoon each time.

• Any honey before 12 months, in milk, on bread, on a soother or in homemade food. No kind of honey is marked safe for babies in the NHS advice.
• Honey for an infant’s cough. The cough evidence is for children of 12 months and up; below that age the risk side wins and a doctor decides.
• Honey-sweetened drinks and cereals for under-4s. The NHS counts the natural sugar in honey among the sweet foods to avoid at age 4 and under.
• A daily honey habit once the child is older. A teaspoon is about 21 kcal, almost all of it from sugar, and the WHO counts every spoon as free sugar.
• Thinking of honey as medicine. For a cough it may help some children over 1 for a few days; beyond that it is a food, not a medicine.

For most families the rule needs no doctor: no honey under age 1, and no added sugar, honey included, in the early years after that. The doctor comes in at the edges. If a baby under 1 has swallowed honey, tell your paediatrician; the NHS calls infant botulism a very serious illness, so that call is worth making. If you plan to use honey for a child’s cough, ask the paediatrician whether it fits and how much, since the review summary gives no dose. And if your child has diabetes or another long-term condition, agree any change in their diet with the doctor first. For questions about what a child eats, talk to your doctor or dietitian before adding honey to the diet.

Why honey is not good for babies?

Two reasons. Until a baby is over 1 year old, honey can occasionally carry bacteria that produce toxins in the baby’s intestines and cause infant botulism, a very serious illness, which is why the NHS says no honey before the first birthday. After that, honey is a sugar, 82.4 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, and the NHS notes that a baby does not need sugar or sweeteners.

Does honey contain sugar?

Honey is mostly sugar. Per 100 g it holds 82.4 g of carbohydrate (USDA FoodData Central), mainly glucose and fructose, and a 7 g teaspoon carries about 5.8 g. The WHO guideline counts the sugars naturally present in honey as free sugars, the kind to keep below 10 percent of energy, so for a child it is a sweet, not a health food.

At what age can a baby have honey?

Not before the first birthday. The NHS bars honey until a child is over 1 year old, because the bacteria behind infant botulism act in a baby’s intestines. Passing that birthday ends the botulism rule only: India’s dietary guidelines still want added sugar, honey included, kept out of the diet below 2 years, so check with your paediatrician first.

Can I give honey to my 6-month-old for a cough?

No. The botulism rule covers the whole first year, and the Cochrane evidence that honey helps a child’s cough was gathered in children aged 12 months to 18 years, so it says nothing about younger babies. For a cough in an under-1, take the child to a doctor rather than reaching for the honey jar.

How much honey can a 2-year-old have?

There is no published honey amount for a 2-year-old. The NHS advises avoiding food and drink with sugar, the natural sugar in honey included, up to age 4, and the WHO keeps free sugars below 10 percent of a child’s daily energy, closer to 5 percent if possible. A 7 g teaspoon of honey is about 21 kcal and 5.8 g of carbohydrate, so ask your paediatrician before adding any.

Is honey safe for a 1-year-old?

Past the first birthday the NHS botulism rule ends, but honey is still not advised as a regular food at this age. India’s dietary guidelines count honey among added sugars and say added sugar must be totally avoided below 2 years. The NHS goes further, advising against sugar, honey’s included, up to age 4. Ask your paediatrician before giving honey to a 1-year-old.