Chocolate has to be one of the most popular foods out there, and for a good reason! This delicious treat appears in so many forms – whether it’s atop a dessert, in a bubbling fountain, wrapped in colourful foil and placed in a pretty tin, or even in drink form, topped with marshmallows. That’s right, chocolate is everywhere!

If you yourself are a chocolate-lover, you may wonder whether your tiny tot might also enjoy this delicious food.

But is it safe for them to eat it? Let’s find out.

When is it safe to feed my baby chocolate?

The general recommendation when it comes to chocolate is to wait until your baby is at least 2 years old before introducing it. But why exactly is that?

Why is it best to wait until my baby is at least 2 years old before introducing chocolate?

While cocoa and chocolate can cause an allergic reaction in some, this is not the reason parents are told to avoid giving their babies chocolate. In fact, experts actually recommend introducing allergenic foods to babies to reduce the risks of severe allergies later in life.

Instead, the reason we don’t give chocolate to babies is that chocolate, or the substances within chocolate, pose certain risks to babies. So what are these risks?

Caffeine. While there isn’t a ton of information when it comes to caffeine and how it affects a child’s brain, experts have expressed concern that caffeine consumption can have negative effects on babies. It’s thought that caffeine may interfere with a baby’s sleep, could cause elevated blood pressure, and even impact bone health. Given that many of the foods that only contain small amounts of chocolate still hold varying amounts of caffeine, most experts will recommend that parents hold off until their little one is over the age of 2.

Added sugars. Although many children (and a lot of adults) feel they can’t get enough of it, sugar is known to cause obesity, tooth decay, and high cholesterol. So, experts will almost always tell parents to avoid giving their children sugary foods, especially when they’re under the age of 2. While it is true that we all need some sugar, this should ideally come from natural, whole foods, many of which already supply us with rather a lot. So, it’s generally best to refrain from giving your baby extra sugar, which chocolate will surely provide.

Choking hazard. What’s more, the hardness of chocolate means it could pose a choking hazard.

Allergies. While it is a good idea to introduce your baby to allergenic foods earlier rather than later, you should always introduce them one at a time to identify the source of any allergies. However, chocolate often contains a few substances or traces that are known to be allergenic, including nuts or milk. Therefore, it’s safer to introduce this food once you’ve introduced your baby to more allergenic foods and identified any potential food allergies.

Can my baby eat chocolate?

Unii looks at how much confectionary a healthy baby is allowed.