HeySolids
Choking risk
Sugar is a low choking risk - it dissolves into food and is used only in tiny amounts.
Nothing to cut or shape here, so prep is about sweetening without added sugar. See how to serve for how to do that at each age.
Allergens
Sugar is not a food allergen, so there is no allergic reaction to watch for. The reason to keep it out of baby's food is its effect on their teeth and diet, not allergy.[1]
Why to avoid sugar
It takes up precious space. A baby's stomach is tiny, and every bite counts. Sugar fills that space with calories that don't bring anything - the sweet snack that goes in is the iron-rich food that doesn't fit.
New teeth are easy targets. First teeth come in with soft enamel, and sugar feeds the bacteria that cause decay, which starts earlier than most parents expect.
It sets the bar for sweet. Right now your baby is learning what food is supposed to taste like. A baby who knows plain yogurt thinks that's just what yogurt is - and that low bar is a gift that's much easier to give now than later.
Fruit doesn't count. The sugar in a banana comes wrapped in everything else baby needs - fiber, nutrients, actual food. Mashed fruit in oatmeal is fine, always was. It's added sugar that waits, and it goes by many names on a label: honey, syrups, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate.[3]
Honey is its own rule. Honey waits until 12 months - not because of sugar, but because it can carry the bacteria that cause infant botulism, which baby's system can't handle yet.
How to serve
Up to 2 years old
No added sugar
Don't add sugar to your child's food before age 2 - that's the US dietary guidance, and it means none rather than a little.
Sugar fills a small stomach without feeding it, and these are the years the taste for sweet gets set.
Sweeten with fruit instead
When something needs sweetening, mash in banana, stir in unsweetened applesauce, or cook fruit soft into the dish - sweetness that arrives with fiber and actual food. It covers more than you'd think: oatmeal, yogurt, baking, pancakes.
2+ years old
Keep added sugar low
From age 2, a little added sugar is okay - but keep it small and occasional. The current US guideline gives a hard number: no more than 10 grams of added sugar in any one meal, which is about 2 teaspoons. For scale, one small flavored yogurt can use that up on its own.[4]
In practice: water and milk are the drinks - sweet drinks stay off the menu.
Everyday foods stay unsweetened - plain yogurt, plain cereal, no sugar in your cooking.
And sweets are a sometimes-treat, not something that shows up every day.