Yogurt for babies: when to start, best types and added sugar

Yogurt can be one of your baby's first foods from around 6 months. Australian, UK and US guidance all include pasteurised, full-fat yogurt among the dairy foods babies can eat in their first year, and the NHS guide to feeding from around 6 months says full-fat, unsweetened or plain yoghurts are a good choice because they don't contain added sugars.

The choice in the supermarket fridge is where it gets confusing. Plain, Greek-style, flavoured, pouches and yoghurts marketed for children all look similar, but differ a lot in added sugar. Yogurt is also made from cow's milk, so it's one of the ways babies meet a common allergy food, and it sits alongside milk feeds rather than replacing them. This guide covers each of those.

When can babies have yogurt?

From around 6 months, once your baby has started solids. See starting solids for the readiness signs.

Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby, which lists the national Infant Feeding Guidelines among its sources, includes full-fat yoghurts, cheese and custard among foods to introduce before 12 months, and lists unpasteurized milk and dairy foods as unsuitable. The Australia's ASCIA guide to introducing solid foods names yogurt, cheese and cow's milk on cereal as dairy foods for the first year.

The NHS first solid foods guide says full-fat dairy such as plain yogurt or fromage frais can be given from around 6 months, choosing products with no added sugar. In the US, the CDC's foods to encourage lists pasteurised yoghurts without added sugars, including fortified dairy alternatives, for babies aged 6 to 12 months. The AAP's starting solids page says there's no evidence that delaying dairy beyond 4 to 6 months prevents allergy.

Which yogurt is best for babies?

Plain, full-fat, unsweetened and pasteurised. Here's how the common options compare:

Why full-fat?

The NHS guide to feeding young children recommends full-fat dairy, such as yogurt and fromage frais, up to the age of 2, because young children need fat and energy to grow. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne toddler guide, from Australia, also lists full-fat dairy including yogurt for 1 to 2 year olds, with reduced-fat dairy from 2.

Greek-style yogurt

The AAP's sample menu for babies aged 8 to 12 months describes Greek yogurt, like cottage cheese and eggs, as an excellent source of protein. Plain Greek or Greek-style yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt, which helps it stay on a spoon your baby holds. As with any yogurt, choose plain, full-fat and unsweetened.

Honey

Some yoghurts are sweetened with honey. The CDC's foods to avoid or limit says honey given to children younger than 12 months may cause botulism, a severe food poisoning, so check labels. Honey and babies explains more.

How much sugar is in flavoured and kids' yoghurts?

Often more than you'd expect. The CDC lists flavoured yoghurts among foods that can contain added sugars, and says infants and young children have no room in their diet for added sugars. The NHS lists yoghurts among the foods sugar is commonly found in, and recommends unsweetened or plain yoghurts for babies. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to add sugar to your baby's food and to avoid store-bought foods that are high in sugar.

How to read the label:

1. Check the ingredients list, not just the front of the pack. Look for sugar, honey, syrups or fruit juice concentrate.
2. Don't rely on the "sugars" line alone. Plain yogurt contains lactose, the natural milk sugar, which shows up there too. Australia's ASCIA describes lactose as the sugar in milk.
3. Be wary of claims. "No artificial sweeteners", "made with real fruit" or a picture of a baby on the pack doesn't mean no added sugar.
4. Compare the plain and flavoured versions of the same brand before you choose.

To sweeten plain yogurt, stir in mashed fruit. Mashed banana, strawberries or stewed apple work well (see strawberries for babies and banana for babies). Prepare fruit to your baby's stage: the CDC's choking hazards list includes uncut berries and hard pieces of raw fruit.

How do I serve yogurt at each stage?

Yogurt is already smooth, so the main changes as your baby grows are what goes into it and who holds the spoon.

Around 6 months. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says 1 to 2 teaspoons is plenty when a baby first starts solids. Let your baby open their mouth for the spoon, or hand them a preloaded spoon to bring to their own mouth.

8–9 months. The AAP suggests that at about eight months you can introduce slightly coarser soft foods, including yogurt. Its sample menu for 8 to 12 months includes 2 to 4 ounces (about 60 to 115 g) of yogurt or cottage cheese as one option at a meal, which is an example rather than a target. Mix in mashed fruit with soft lumps, and offer thick yogurt as a dip for soft finger foods such as toast fingers or soft cooked vegetables.

Towards 12 months and beyond. From 10 to 12 months, the NHS guide to feeding at this age suggests fruit or unsweetened yogurt as a pudding after lunch and tea. Keep choosing full-fat until 2.

Smooth yogurt isn't on the CDC's choking list, but anything stirred into it, such as fruit pieces, oats or nut butter, needs the same preparation as when served alone. Keep your baby upright and stay with them. Choking vs gagging covers first aid: if your baby can't breathe, cough or cry, call 911 and start back blows and chest thrusts, as the NHS choking first-aid guide describes, and start CPR if they become unresponsive. The AAP's choking-prevention advice recommends a certified CPR and first-aid course.

Can yogurt replace breast milk or formula?

No. Australia's ASCIA says breast milk or infant formula should be the main milk for babies under 12 months, and cow's milk shouldn't replace them, although dairy foods such as yogurt are fine. The NHS says breast milk or first infant formula should be your baby's main drink during the first year.

A small pot of yogurt is a food, eaten alongside milk feeds. As your baby eats more solids, Australia's ASCIA notes they may need fewer milk feeds, but that's a gradual shift your baby leads, not a swap you make with yogurt. From 12 months, cow's milk can become a drink; moving to cow's milk explains how much and how to switch. In the toddler years, the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne in Australia says more than 2 to 3 cups of milk and dairy products a day can crowd out foods such as meat and vegetables.

Is yogurt a common allergy food?

Yes, because it's made from cow's milk. Australia's ASCIA lists cow's milk among the most common allergy foods and advises introducing common allergy foods in the first year, starting with small amounts and offering one new common allergy food per meal. Introducing allergens has the full method.

The Australia's ASCIA cow's milk allergy page says more than 2% (1 in 50) of infants in Australia and New Zealand are allergic to cow's milk protein. Fast reactions usually happen within 15 minutes and sometimes up to two hours. Delayed reactions, two or more hours later, can show up as worsening eczema, vomiting or diarrhea. Australia's ASCIA explains that lactose intolerance is different: it can cause tummy pain, wind and diarrhea, but isn't dangerous and doesn't cause rashes or anaphylaxis.

A little redness only around the mouth where yogurt touched the skin, with no other signs, is not usually an allergic reaction, according to Australia's ASCIA's solids guide.

If your baby has a diagnosed cow's milk allergy, Australia's ASCIA says most children also react to goat's and sheep's milk, and that lactose-free milk and formula still contain cow's milk protein. Follow your specialist's plan, and ask an allergy dietitian about suitable alternatives.

What should I do if my baby reacts to yogurt?

For signs of anaphylaxis, follow the Australia's ASCIA first aid plan for anaphylaxis:

1. Lay your baby flat or hold them flat, not upright, and don't stand them up.
2. Give an adrenaline (epinephrine) device if one has been prescribed. Australia's ASCIA says if in doubt, give it.
3. Call 911 for an ambulance.
4. Start CPR at any time if your baby is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

For milder signs with normal breathing, stop giving dairy, stay with your baby, watch closely for any breathing change and get medical advice the same day.

When should I get help?

Call 911 now if your baby:

• has sudden swelling of the lips, tongue or throat
• has difficult or noisy breathing, a wheeze or persistent cough, or a hoarse cry
• becomes pale, floppy or drowsy, or collapses
• can't breathe, cough or cry because food is stuck, or becomes unresponsive

Australia's ASCIA classes lip swelling on its own as mild to moderate, while the NHS urgent-help guide lists swollen lips, tongue or throat with difficulty swallowing among reasons to call an ambulance, so this guide treats sudden lip swelling as an emergency.

Get medical help today if your baby:

• has hives or welts, or swelling of the face or eyes, after yogurt and is breathing normally
• vomits soon after eating yogurt or other dairy
• needed back blows or chest thrusts, even if they now seem well

Talk to your doctor or pediatrician if:

• eczema, vomiting or diarrhea seems to flare in the hours or days after dairy
• your baby has a diagnosed allergy and you'd like a plan for dairy
• your baby is on a dairy-free diet and you're unsure which yogurt alternative to use