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Honey for babies: when and how?
In the first year your baby doesn't get honey yet. Honey can contain botulism spores and is off limits for the whole first year, says the BfR, even in traces and even boiled.
Everything here comes from the food catalogue inside the HeyFini app: the traffic light, how to prepare it at 6, 9 and 12 months, and the source behind every safety statement.
Not suitablenot in the first year
What you need to know
Sources: the German BfR.
How to prepare it, by age
All three stages stand side by side. We don't know how old your child is, so read the stage that fits you.
At 6 months
Off limits for the whole first year, even in traces and even boiled.
From 9 months
Still off limits. Nothing changes about that at nine months.
From 12 months
Allowed from the first birthday. It is not needed though, honey is sugar.
Sources: WHO and UNICEF on texture stages, ESPGHAN 2017 on the lumpy-food window in months 8 to 10 and the German BfR.
This page gives general information and does not replace medical or dietetic advice. Every child develops differently. When in doubt, talk to your paediatrician or a registered dietitian.
The ages are rough guides. What counts is not the calendar but what your child can already do with mouth and hands.
The five safety rules
- Quarter round food lengthwise. Grapes, cherries and cherry tomatoes never go on the plate whole.
- Cook hard food soft or grate it finely. Raw carrot and raw apple break into hard pieces otherwise.
- Nuts are never whole, only as a butter or finely ground.
- Eating happens sitting upright, never lying down and never on the move.
- Stay with your baby while they eat. Choking happens silently.
Sources: AAP, the German BfR and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben. All dangerous foods at a glance
All 234 foods in the app
HeyFini shows the preparation that fits your own child's age, plus the food passport and the allergen companion for all 14 main allergens.
Common questions
When can my baby eat honey?
Honey can contain botulism spores and is off limits for the whole first year, says the BfR, even in traces and even boiled. Surprisingly many people do not know that.
What changes at 9 months?
Still off limits. Nothing changes about that at nine months.
What changes with honey from 12 months?
Allowed from the first birthday. It is not needed though, honey is sugar.
Does my baby have to sit while eating?
Yes. Babies eat sitting upright, never lying down and never on the move. Stay with your baby while they eat, because choking happens silently.
Read on
General guidance, not medical advice. For questions about your child, talk to your paediatrician or midwife. In an emergency call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US).