FirstNom
Fruit
Dates for babies
Date paste is the most useful way to sweeten baby food without adding sugar, and it brings iron and fibre with it. Whole dates are a choking hazard and always contain a pit.
When can babies have dates?
From around 6 months, pitted and made into a paste or purée. Dates are useful as a sweetener in baby baking, where they replace added sugar entirely.
How do you serve dates to a baby?
The shape is what makes a food safe, and it changes as your baby’s grip and chewing change. Find your baby’s age band.
-
6–8 months
Soak pitted dates in hot water for ten minutes and blend into a smooth paste. Stir a small amount into porridge or yogurt.
-
9–11 months
Date paste in baking or stirred into food. Very finely chopped soaked dates.
-
12–18 months
Date paste, chopped dates in oat bars, blended into smoothies.
-
24 months+
Whole pitted dates from around 4 years, and even then supervised.
Prep tip
Blend soaked pitted dates into a paste and freeze it in an ice-cube tray. One cube sweetens a batch of pancakes or porridge with no added sugar.
Storage
Dates keep months in a sealed container. Date paste keeps two weeks refrigerated and freezes indefinitely.
Is dates a choking hazard for babies?
Whole dates are dense, sticky and chewy — a serious choking hazard for young children — and nearly all contain a hard pit that must be removed. Serve dates as a purée or paste, or very finely chopped, until around 4 years.
Whatever you serve, stay within arm’s reach, keep your baby upright in a supportive seat, and never let them eat in a moving car, buggy or carrier. Gagging is loud and normal. Choking is silent.
Is dates a common allergen?
Dates is not one of the nine most common food allergens. Any food can trigger a reaction, though, so offer it on its own the first time and watch for hives, vomiting, swelling or a change in breathing over the next two hours.
Is dates healthy for babies?
Dates are very high in fibre and potassium and carry a useful amount of iron. Their real value in infant feeding is as a sugar substitute: date paste sweetens oat bars, pancakes and porridge with fibre and minerals attached, which added sugar does not have.
| Fibre | Very high |
|---|---|
| Potassium | Very high |
| Iron (non-heme) | Good source |
| Magnesium | Good source |
| Natural sugars | Very high |
| Iron per serving | ~0.5 mg |
Common questions about dates
Are dates too sugary for a baby?
The sugar is intrinsic to whole fruit and comes with fibre and minerals, which is a different thing from added sugar. Use them as a sweetener rather than a snack and it is a clear improvement on sugar.
When can my child eat a whole date?
Around 4 years, pitted, and even then they are chewy enough to warrant supervision.
Reference material
Guidance on this page follows the sources listed below.
Foods parents look at next
Fruit
Prune
The most reliable food answer to a constipated baby.
Fruit
Raisins
Small, sticky and easy to inhale — one of the most commonly mishandled toddler snacks.
Fruit
Fig
Fresh figs are soft and sweet; dried figs need chopping and carry real calcium.
Grains
Oatmeal
An iron-fortified porridge is one of the simplest ways to hit a 6-month-old's iron target.