Here at Cold Case Ice Cream, we pay close attention to who partakes of our specialty flavors—the better to crack the code of ice cream supremacy and figure out the ultimate flavors that will captivate each and every person.
Lately, we’ve been getting this question: “When Can Babies Have Ice Cream?” We must admit, most of our luxury ice creams are created with older children, teens, and adults in mind; they tend to appreciate the gourmet flavors and ingredients a bit more than babies. However, we’ve taken this responsibility to investigate whether babies can have ice cream quite seriously. It was one of our tougher cases to crack, but we’ve gathered evidence that every caretaker of babies should consider while attempting to come to their own final verdict.
Ice Cream Fanatic Parents: Prime Suspects Or Harmless Ice Cream Lovers?
If you’re an ice cream lover (which we certainly hope you are), then you likely have ice cream in your freezer at any given moment. It’s always better to be prepared, right? (If you don’t have any ice cream in your freezer, check out the rotating flavors we have available this week and order your Cold Case Ice Cream Box now, delivered straight to your door!)
If ice cream is a staple in your home, and if you regularly enjoy eating ice cream together as a family, it’s safe to assume that everyone would want a taste of that goodness anytime it’s brought out of the freezer. But is ice cream okay for everyone—even babies?
Any parent who loves something will surely want to share it with their child—but sometimes, certain things need to be shared at certain times. You wouldn’t want to share your love of surfing with a child who can’t yet swim, now would you? Of course, sharing a spoonful of ice cream is a little less extreme than riding a board in the midst of crashing waves, but the principle remains the same. Children need to be developmentally ready for what they are exposed to in order to stay safe and healthy.
Clue In: Key Ingredients to Avoid For Infants
If your baby is under the age of one, there are a few things that doctors recommend they should not be fed.
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Dairy
Infants under the age of one can have breast milk and formula, but cow’s milk should not be introduced until after their first birthday. This one recommendation alone is enough to rule out ice cream for babies under the age of one (despite their adorable faces and reaching hands as they watch you take bites of your favorite sweet treat).
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Sugar
Obviously, sugar is everywhere. Baby food does have low amounts of sugar, and there is no way to completely avoid all sugars when it comes to feeding your baby. However, high amounts of sugar should not be a part of your infant’s diet. Their digestive systems are not strong enough to handle it, and what may seem like a very small serving of sugar to you is, comparatively, a very large amount of sugar for a baby. You’ve probably heard that babies should not eat honey before the age of one, and while there are other reasons why honey specifically should be avoided, the sugar content is definitely a factor.
When Can Babies Have Ice Cream? We’ve Gathered the Evidence
According to our research, babies under the age of one should not be fed ice cream. Of course, it isn’t the end of the world if your baby licks a little off your spoon, but anything more than that should be avoided until your child is old enough and grown enough to be able to digest dairy and handle the scrumptious sugar content inherent in all ice cream.
So, when can babies start eating ice cream? According to our expert investigators, after a child’s first birthday is an appropriate time to start introducing your baby to ice cream. We might even go so far as to suggest ordering a couple Cold Case Ice Cream Boxes and throwing an ice cream party for their first birthday—what can get better than that?
As with most things, it is a good idea to first introduce small portions of ice cream to your child—just because the doctors say their bodies are ready to digest ice cream doesn’t mean they are ready to eat an entire pint, or even an entire bowl! Start small, letting them taste your ice cream, and as they continue growing up they can eat more and more. After all, a lifetime of ice cream loving can never start too soon!
