Ice creams and sorbets: from what age for my child?

Ice creams and sorbets, kids love it!

When can a baby eat ice cream? At what age ?

From food diversification! We are not going to give ice cream to a newborn baby, it is obvious, but medically and nutritionally, nothing prevents to make taste it with a small child of 6 months who started the food diversification. Obviously, for the cones, cones and other frozen delicacies in a crunchy version, you have to wait a bit… In any case, it’s a new experience for the taste buds. The cold sensation of an ice cream or a sorbet can not hurt a child, even very young.

Ice creams and sorbets: what risk for children?

One risk: allergy. Beware of almond, hazelnut or pistachio chips which are allergenic foods. Better to talk to your doctor when there is a family history. The same goes for sorbets made from exotic fruits, although cases of allergies are rarer.

Which ice creams and sorbets to favor?

Ice cream is above all a fatty product made from cream and milk, containing at least 5% fat (8% minimum for ice cream). Corn it does not generally provide more calories than a dessert cream. Better: because of its composition, ice cream provides protein and calcium (less than yogurt of course).

Sorbet is an exclusively sweet product, composed of fruit juice, water and sugar. It contains vitamin C, in greater or lesser quantity depending on the scent.

In video: Homemade raspberry ice cream recipe

When and how often should children be given ice cream?

The ideal: take your ice cream for dessert or at snack time. And not at any time of the day or the evening in front of the TV. Beware of snacking!

Ice cream is a pleasure product, it must be taken as such. In summer, during the holidays, nothing prevents to consume it once a day if you want to. Be careful that there is no escalation, going to two, then to three, which would of course be too much.

How much ice cream and sorbet can I give the children?

It is a matter of common sense : a few teaspoons will suffice for a 3-year-old. A little later, we will allow sticks and other eskimos, especially those specially designed for children, inventive and colorful, and whose size remains reasonable.

Note (also for older children!): Ice cream tubs are more suitable for consumption (it’s so easy to refill one or two scoops of ice cream when the tub is still on the table) than an individual portion.