Ice cream

When to start

Ice cream can be offered once your baby has started solids. For regular servings, though, it helps to wait until your child is older. An occasional taste is fine. Eating foods with added sugar often and in large amounts can raise the risk of cavities as teeth come in. It can also lower a child's interest in trying other foods.

If you give your child a bite of yours, check that it is pasteurized. Avoid honey, uncooked egg, sweets, and nut bits in it. Ice cream may contain common allergens such as milk, egg, soy, and tree nuts. Introduce those allergens safely before sharing it with your baby.

Begin with a small taste. Your child can scoop with a spoon or with their hands, and ice cream that has softened a little is easier to scoop. One or two spoonfuls are enough, and eating slowly helps your baby avoid brain freeze. Brain freeze does no harm, but it hurts for a moment.

From 24 months, once your child has a full set of back teeth on at least one side and can sit and follow instructions at the table, ice cream with mix-ins is possible. Candy, chocolate pieces, and large bits of nuts are some of them. Mix-ins mean your child must manage soft ice cream and hard, crunchy pieces in the same mouthful. This is a lot to handle at a young age.

While teething

A small taste is fine while your baby is teething. Cold food can ease pressure in the gums. Ice cream melts fast in the mouth and does not press on the gums for long, so it helps less than other options.

Ice cream is low risk when prepared to suit your child's age and development. Still, any food could cause choking in principle. Many ice creams come with mix-ins like candy, chocolate pieces, nut pieces, dried fruit, and big seeds. These are risks. Firm, crunchy cones are a risk too.

Keep add-in ice cream and cones for older children. Stay within reach while your baby eats. Set up a safe eating space.

Most ice cream is made from cow's milk. Other common allergens can be in it as well, for example egg, wheat, peanut, soy, tree nuts, and sesame. Read the label carefully before serving.

When your child has a known food allergy and you buy from a shop, ask staff to open a new tub and use a clean scoop. That lowers the risk of allergen cross-contact.

Before sharing ice cream, introduce common allergens one at a time and see that there is no allergy. That way, if a reaction occurs, you can tell which allergen was responsible. And when you serve ice cream, you know your child has already eaten the allergens in it safely.

Give only a little at the first several servings. If there is no reaction, raise the amount slowly.