When can or should you introduce your baby to chocolate?

Well – Amber is 6.5 months old, and she has tried rice cereal, pumpkin, pear, zucchini, porridge, and carrot. So I guess now’s probably not the chronologically ideal time to introduce her to chocolate, but then it’s just been Easter, and everyone in our house is hiding some chocolate in a nook or cranny.

It has to happen at some stage, and it’s one of those foods you want to be around with a camera to capture the moment.

Being a responsible parent, I believe it’s best to only start with a small piece of chocolate – just so the situation doesn’t get out of hand. A chocolate frog is ideal. I also find that infants can’t hold things very easily, but a frog is big enough and long enough for an infant to grasp. Make sure they have a firm grip, as you don’t want the whole frog to go in their mouth and have the little one gag.

Make sure you peel the wrapper so your baby doesn’t confuse it with food. They often can’t tell the difference, and if they get in a bit of a frenzy, who knows what will get eaten!

Then, just make sure they have a small taste and watch to see if there is an allergic reaction. If not, then I don’t think it’s a problem to let them eat the frog. You are guaranteed to have 99% of it will be smeared all over their head anyway. Don’t try to stress your baby by being over controlling with food. It might cause a negative association with chocolate, which could cause life-long issues.

We used a Haigh’s milk choclate frog (thanks Oma and Opa!). Nothing but the best! She didn’t eat much, but Tom helped with the rest.

So, some photo’s of Amber with her first chocolate experience.