At what age do you allow chocolate? - Page 2

[KristyDi]

I'm pretty sure DD was 10 or 11 months old when my dad gave her some chocolate chip cookie. It was earlier than I'd have chosen, but not a huge deal. Now at 2.5, chocolate gets lumped in with all the other sweets and DD gets small amounts occasionally. I'm not concerned with the caffeine because I wouldn't be ok with her eating enough chocolate for the caffeine to be a big enough dose to affect her.

[AndtheStars]

I voted Any Age but DS didn't have any until his first birthday. I don't give him straight chocolate but he's had chocolate cake, brownies and chocolate ice cream. Probably only a handful of times. Like PP's have said, it's a treat, not a daily food. And amen to the PP who said that her DC gets more caffeine from BM than they ever would from chocolate.

[mamakaikai]

Wow!! I am surprised at how young everyone allows chocolate! I don't think it's wrong or anything though. I think the first time dd1 had chocolate was at easter, at age 2. It was in a very limited amount. I figure she doesnt need it, so I don't give it, and she doesn't know what it is so she doesn's ask. I know the time will come when she does ask for it and I won't limit it as much then! I also expect dd2 will have more treats sooner in life!

[TamBuc2000]

We waiting until the kids were a year old. Both birthdays are in October so when they went trick or treating they were given thier first candy.

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by karika

I have also struggled with this as we are a strictly no caffeine family (well us girls anyway). There is only a small amount in chocolate however. I would not ever let them eat any mainstream candy, as it all contains GMO components, and a lot of it has dairy and soy. We eat Enjoy Life (an allergy free brand so no dairy)Chocolate Chips in peanut butter cookies, or on a spoonful of peanut butter.

I am patently against caffeine on any level. However the reality of living without chocolate was just not doable for me at this time. If I am going to eat it, I allow my children to have it, but only the Enjoy Life allergy free kind, and I only let them have some, like maybe 1 1/2 tbsp in a day at the most. I have gotten over most of my vices, but this one is still with me for now. If there was caffeine free chocolate, I would buy it instead to be sure I was not ingesting anything speedy. But like I said, from my own experiment there didn't seem to be any difference for us.

I also recently read that chocolate is harvested by child labor in poor conditions. I am investigating where Enjoy Life gets theirs from, since I try very hard to support the types of systems that do not use child labor in a cruel way.

Time to look into this about child labor. If this is true, no more chocolate for me. I usually only buy 100% cocoa powder to put into baked goods. I was chocolate free for many years, but I have added it back in for a treat, and instead if ea it like I used to , a mad woman craving more and more, I eat it with appreciation and enjoyment. I originally cut it out when I was eliminating all food craving as I don't like food to rule my life.

So I guess this is not what you were looking for, but about children, my ds had a chocolate cake for his first birthday. My dd had a carob cake for her first birthday, but I still wasn't eating chocolate around that time. I am now feeling that I was using carob as a replacement and now I can enjoy the real thing with moderation. I still have carob in the house, but no longer as a replacement, but as its own food.

[Sayward]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

Time to look into this about child labor. If this is true, no more chocolate for me. I usually only buy 100% cocoa powder to put into baked goods. I was chocolate free for many years, but I have added it back in for a treat, and instead if ea it like I used to , a mad woman craving more and more, I eat it with appreciation and enjoyment. I originally cut it out when I was eliminating all food craving as I don't like food to rule my life.

It's true of both chocolate and coffee. If you're not buying specifically fair trade, you're undoubtedly supporting child/exploitative labor.

You can find ethical chocolate pretty easily though (depends on where you live, but definitely online). Just look for certified fair trade. =)

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by Sayward

It's true of both chocolate and coffee. If you're not buying specifically fair trade, you're undoubtedly supporting child/exploitative labor.

You can find ethical chocolate pretty easily though (depends on where you live, but definitely online). Just look for certified fair trade. =)

Thank you for clarifying. Whats bought is bought, but once that is gone, I will only buy fair trade cocoa.

All this talk of cocoa, made me so in the mood for chocolate, that I made gluten free, dairy and egg free, maple syrup sweetened brownies. Oh so good!

[sunnygir1]

I am WAY more concerned about sugar, especially refined sugar, than I am about caffeine. My kids don't get sugar when they are little. I voted after 2, but I'm not sure what age I let dd have it. When they start to notice that a cracker is different than a cookie, I make them treats with maple syrup or honey, and later allow small amounts of sugar on occasion.

From my understanding chocolate doesn't have that much caffeine in it, and the young ones wouldn't be allowed to eat a lot of it anyway. I'm not sure what the big worry is? Will it harm them somehow?

[GoBecGo]

at about a year. it isn't poisonous.

[Mamja]

I tried to avoid all candy as much as possible, because I don't want DD to get a sweet tooth like I have. But she snuck some chocolate around Easter time, when she was about a year and a half. It wasn't a big deal. We try to have everything in moderation. Well, except fruits and vegetables

[Bettercare]

After 1 year.....no problem with chocolates....but of course the quantity is sumthing to watch out for...otherwise it cud lead to weighty issues at a young age....