Sugar and juice before age 2
Whether your child has juice or foods with added sugar in the first two years, and how strictly you hold that line.
Should babies and toddlers have sugar or juice before age 2?
In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: None; Occasional; Unrestricted. Evidence: well established. Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it. Best settled: 6–12 months.
- Evidence
- Well established
- Best settled
- 6–12 months
- Part of
- Pregnancy to first birthday
Sugar and juice before age 2: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 3 approaches.
1. None
No juice and no foods with added sugar before two.
2. Occasional
A little now and then, such as a birthday cake.
3. Unrestricted
No rules about juice or sugar.
Sugar and juice before age 2: what does the evidence say?
Well established. Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it. (Settled in direction)
No juice under 12 months; no added sugars under 2. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines, released January 7, 2026, keep that and go further: they advise no added sugar for children into roughly age 10 (secondary reports word the exact cutoff as "until age 10" or "under 11"; the primary document could not be opened)
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Guidance is to avoid juice in the first year and added sugar in the first two. Early tastes can shape later preferences. The practical question is how strict you will be and how you handle relatives and special occasions.
Questions to ask each other
- What rules around sugar and juice do we want in the house?
- How will we handle relatives who offer sweets?
- What do we do on birthdays?
More in Feeding the baby
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.