Sweeteners for babies and toddlers

The short version

• Added sugar: none up to age 4, including honey, maple syrup and other syrups (US Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030, NHS).
• Honey: never before 12 months, in any form, because of infant botulism.
• Low- and no-calorie sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, stevia, saccharin and others): not recommended for babies and young children (US Dietary Guidelines, CDC, NHS).
• Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol): can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea.

Natural sugars in whole fruit and plain milk are fine. The NHS says eating fruit is OK.

Added sugar: none up to age 4

The 2025–2030 US Dietary Guidelines call on parents to completely avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under (HHS). The NHS says to avoid food and drink with sugar or sweeteners for children aged 4 or younger, including the natural sugar in honey, syrup, fruit juice and smoothies.

Babies and toddlers eat small amounts and need a lot of nutrients, so there’s little room for sweet extras. For how much sugar hides in everyday foods and how to spot it on labels, see salt and sugar for babies and baby teeth and sugar.

Honey and syrups

Honey waits until 12 months, even cooked or baked into food. The NHS says honey can occasionally contain bacteria that produce toxins in a baby’s gut, causing infant botulism, a very serious illness. See honey and botulism for the signs and what to do.

From 12 months, honey no longer carries that risk, but it’s still an added sugar. So is every syrup: maple, golden, agave, rice and date syrups, and molasses. “Natural”, “raw” or “organic” on the label doesn’t change that: the NHS names the natural sugar in honey and syrup as something to avoid up to age 4. See honey and maple syrup.

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners

These are the sweeteners in “diet”, “sugar-free”, “no sugar added” and “reduced sugar” products. The AAP lists yogurts, puddings, fruit cups, jams and drinks among the products that often contain them.

What they are. In the US, the FDA has approved six as food additives: saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose, neotame and advantame. It has also accepted highly purified stevia extracts (steviol glycosides) and monk fruit extracts as generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Whole stevia leaf and crude stevia extracts are not permitted as sweeteners in the US (FDA).

Are they safe? The FDA says approved sweeteners are safe for the general population under their conditions of use, and the NHS says approved sweeteners are considered a safe alternative to sugar. The FDA disagrees with the 2023 decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to label aspartame “possibly carcinogenic”, and the AAP says no studies have found a link between these sweeteners and cancer in humans.

Why young children should still skip them. Being approved as safe isn’t the same as being good for a toddler:

• The US Dietary Guidelines say no amount of added sugar or non-nutritive sweetener is recommended as part of a healthy diet (HHS). The CDC’s choking hazards page adds that foods with low- or no-calorie sweeteners are not recommended for infants and young children.
• The AAP’s 2019 policy statement says children are eating more of these sweeteners without strong scientific evidence for or against their safety, and the AAP’s parent page says it’s unclear whether they have long-term health effects in children. The AAP advises avoiding stevia- and artificially sweetened drinks: their risks for children aren’t well understood, and a taste for sweet drinks can lead children to refuse plain water.
• The NHS says children aged 4 or younger should avoid food and drink with sweeteners, and that diet or reduced-sugar drinks are not recommended for babies and toddlers (NHS Best Start in Life).
• The WHO’s 2023 guideline recommends against using non-sugar sweeteners to control weight, because they gave no long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. The WHO says people should reduce the sweetness of their diet altogether, starting early in life.

Aspartame and PKU. Children with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited condition, must avoid aspartame. Labels on products that contain it carry a phenylalanine warning (AAP, NHS).

Toothpaste and medicines. The WHO guideline doesn’t cover toothpaste or medicines that contain sweeteners. If your child’s medicine contains one, keep giving it as prescribed, and ask your pharmacist if you have questions.

Sugar alcohols and diarrhea

Sugar alcohols (also called polyols) include sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, mannitol, erythritol and maltitol. The FDA says they’re used mostly in sugar-free candies, cookies and chewing gum.

The FDA explains that sugar alcohols aren’t fully absorbed and are fermented in the large intestine, so they can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea in some people. Foods with sorbitol or mannitol must carry the warning “excess consumption may have a laxative effect” (FDA). The NHS says polyols can have a laxative effect in large amounts, and UK labels must warn of this when added polyols make up more than 10% of a product. Some fruits contain polyols naturally (NHS).

Sugar-free candy and gum aren’t suitable for young children anyway: the CDC lists hard and gummy candy and chewing gum as choking hazards. If your toddler has diarrhea after a sugar-free food, stop it and see diarrhea and feeding.

Slush drinks. The NHS says children aged 7 and under should not have slush ice drinks, because they can contain high levels of glycerol, used instead of sugar, which can make young children unwell.

Sweet without sweeteners

You don’t need to sweeten a baby’s food at all. If porridge or plain yogurt needs a lift, stir in mashed ripe banana or soft cooked fruit. For drinks, offer water and plain milk: the AAP says sweet drinks, even calorie-free ones, are best avoided. See water for babies and juice for babies.

Where US and UK advice differs

• Added sugar age. The US Dietary Guidelines (2025–2030) and the NHS agree: avoid it up to age 4. Some AAP pages, written before the new US guidelines, still say to avoid added sugar under age 2.
• Sweeteners. The US Dietary Guidelines say no amount is recommended, and the AAP says the evidence on their safety in children is limited and advises avoiding stevia- and artificially sweetened drinks. The NHS says to avoid sweeteners up to age 4.
• Stevia. The US permits only highly purified stevia extracts as sweeteners (FDA). The UK lists steviol glycosides (E960) among approved sweeteners (NHS).
• Sugar alcohol labels. US labels must warn about a laxative effect for sorbitol and mannitol (FDA). UK labels must warn when added polyols are more than 10% of the product (NHS).