Ok to Give 1+ Year Old Raw Honey?

We are pretty cautious and my child's DR said he was OK with my DS having honey at the age of 1. We give it to him at bedtime when he is coughing a lot.

Personally coming from a family with some food allergies, I definately would not give honey until at least age 2.

I get where you're coming from, I really do. I felt this way about peanut butter because our family happens to like it and treats made with it and it was frustrating to wait to give it to my now 2-year-old son.

The thing is, HE doesn't know what he's missing. HE isn't sitting around wishing Mommy would give him some honey. If you take care of him and heed your doctor's advice, he will have decades of life in which to enjoy the sweet taste of raw honey. If you are selfish and impatient to get your OWN satisfaction from seeing him eat the honey early, he may NOT have those "decades of life" we were just talking about because you just couldn't make yourself wait.

In the end, YOU are the adult here. You are the informed Mommy who has been told by his doctor not to give him this food. If you give it to him anyway and something happens, will it be worth it to you?

If your answer is yes, then by all means give the kid some honey. I hope you enjoy your moment of satisfaction, but since it will be new to him he'll probably spit it out and not live up to your expectations anyway. If your answer is no, then this is a moot question. :-)

We've given our kids honey since they were around 1 1/2. (They are now 4 1/2 and 2 1/2.) Although we purchase honey straight from the Amish so it is PURE ORGANIC HONEY. NOT the junk you buy in the store...... We've never had any troubles with it. They eat it on cereal (because we don't buy sugary cereals) and on toasted Ezekiel bread and they both love it.

I felt free to give this to my children at that age and in fact sooner than that for one because I felt my children had strong immunities built-up from all the breastfeeding they had done. I think you should just go with your instincts. The doctor probably said that just because it would be dangerous professionally not to.

If my doctor said wait I would wait why take the chance if your child could get sick . Ask your doctor if your little one can have things with honey in it like honey butter or other things . If not I would wait it is not the end of the world to wait is it ?

Hi,
I'm not for sure on this but I think the concern is honey can affected an infants breathing. Maybe you can get more info searching the web. Good Luck!

Before the age of twelve months, a child’s intestinal track is not mature enough to inhibit the growth of Clostridium botulinum, which is often found in honey. Even at the age of 1 year there is still a high degree of this happening until the child is at least 5 years of age. After the age of 1 you can probably get away with cooking with it but I would definetly not give it in it's raw form before that. I wouldn't take a chance with my child having intestinal issues if means endangering my childs health. This can be a very serious issue and can cause death. Please be cautious and heed the word of your Dr.

I have never heard of a restriction on honey past 1 year of age. Call back and ask the doctor why the increase to age 3. Maybe the doctor has a special concern with your child. I gave my daughter honey after she turned 1 1/2.

At one years old children haven't had the exposure to a lot of different allergins yet. If he would have raw honey and end up being allergic to bees, it could be life threatening.. that is not even taking into account of the botulism. I know my mother in law is allergic to bees and can't eat honey at all. It is better to wait then to give it to him and be wrong.

wow things sure have changed in the last 28 yrs.i use to put raw honey on my kids pacifiers when they were infants like new born on up.never had a problem with either one of them..so i really dont know what to tell you.it was great in aiding constipation-or if they were just real crabby.so guess you just need to decide.good luck

Why in the world you take that kind of chance with your child's health, maybe even his life!! Experiencing the taste of "raw" honey is something he should be able to wait for until he is three as the Dr. suggested and you should too!

I actually know an adult with a bee sting allergy who reacted to some honey walnut cream cheese because the stingers were in the honey. I don't know if this is your drs rationale, but it's another potential reaction.

I have never heard of a restriction on honey past 12 months of age. I might call back and ask the doctor why the increase to age 3, is there a special concern with your child? I gave my daughter honey after she turned one.

The Mayo Clinic, again, states the concern is for babies less than one year old: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-botulism/HQ00854

Not all doctors are up to speed on every aspect of health and nutrition. I have had a doctor tell me conflicting and contradicting things from another doctor, for example. They are human and have limitations. It is up to us to ask questions and clarify, or get a second opinion.

Our Dr. gave us the go-ahead for honey just a few months ago when our son turned 1, so I don't know if new research has come out since then, or just different degrees of cautiousness depending on the doctor. My son loves decaf mint tea and I give him some with a teaspoon of honey at least a couple times/week. After reading some of the comments though, I think I'll be doing more research before I give him more! So far, we have had no problems "digestively" with either one of our kids, who both started eating honey at age 1.

I'd ask the doctor for more clarification (and written research). Since they'd take cough medicine on the shelves for children, I've been using a honey/water/lemon mixture for my kids, once they turned one. Some also feel that some exposure is good and keeping things away from children (ie tree nuts) actually doesn't help aleviate allergies. My younger (18 mo.) has had almonds and cashews (by mistake) and didn't react. Everyone is different, but I'd get more credible information.

I'd listen to Cindy D. My husband is a microbiologist and he said the same thing. There are some things you can fudge the numbers on, this just isn't one of those times.