Dates are sold in soft and drier styles. In our range, Medjool and Mazafati are very soft, Ajwa is soft, and Deglet Noor, Sayer and Piarom are semi-dry. For a baby, that difference matters more than the variety name. If you want to introduce dates to your kids , the questions are when to start, how to prepare them, and how often to offer them.
When babies can start on dates
The NHS says introducing solid foods should start when your baby is around 6 months old, and that breast milk or first infant formula will still give them most of their energy and nutrients at that stage (NHS, Your baby’s first solid foods). The NHS doesn’t name dates, but it says it is good to introduce lots of different fruit and vegetables from around 6 months, “whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried” (NHS, What to feed young children). So a six-month-old baby can try dates once you have started giving solid foods. If your baby was born prematurely, the NHS asks you to check with your health visitor or GP on when to start solids.
How to prepare dates for a baby
For fruit at this age, NHS Best Start in Life says to mash with a fork or blend soft ripe fruits to a suitable texture, or give them as finger foods. It adds that harder fruits will need to be cooked to soften them, and that you should wash fruit and remove any pips, stones and hard skin (NHS, From around 6 months). For dates, that means taking the stone out every time and starting with a soft date mashed or blended. A dry, hard date should be softened by cooking before it goes anywhere near a baby.
Don’t stay on purées for long. The NHS advice is to move your baby on from puréed or blended foods to mashed, lumpy or finger foods as soon as they can manage them, because this helps them learn to chew and swallow. Always stay with your baby when they are eating in case they start to choke. Your baby will show you when they have had enough by firmly closing their mouth or turning their head away.
What one date contains
USDA FoodData Central lists one pitted Medjool date at 24 g. Working from its per-100 g values (FDC 168191, Dates, medjool), one date with all its components gives roughly:
- Calories – 66
- Fibre – 1.6 g
- Iron – 0.22 mg
- Calcium – 15 mg
- Potassium – 167 mg
- Total sugars – 16 g (about 8.1 g glucose and 7.7 g fructose)
- Small amounts of niacin (0.39 mg), vitamin A (1.7 µg RAE) and folate (3.6 µg)
These figures are for a Medjool date, which is a large date. A small date such as Ajwa weighs less, so one gives less of everything. Almost all the sugar in a date is the fruit’s own glucose and fructose, which is why the next section matters.
Sugar, teeth and mealtimes
The NHS is clear that babies do not need sugar added to their food, and that sugar can cause tooth decay. For children aged 4 or younger it says to avoid food and drink with sugar, including “the natural sugar found in honey, syrup, fruit juice and smoothies”, and then adds “Eating fruit is ok” (NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children). A mashed whole date is fruit. Date syrup is a syrup, so keep it for later.
Timing matters too. NHS Best Start in Life says not to feed your baby snacks until they are 12 months old, and the NHS says dried fruit, such as raisins, should be given to toddlers with meals rather than as a snack in between, as the sugar they contain can cause tooth decay. Offer dates as part of a meal, not as something to nibble between meals.
You may try several creative ways to introduce dates to your kids. Make sure you wash the dates and take out the stones. From around 6 months the NHS suggests introducing a cup and offering sips of water with meals, so give your baby water from an open or free-flow cup at the meal where you serve the dates (NHS, Drinks and cups for babies). As you introduce dates to your kids , keep offering a variety of other foods too; the NHS says variety alongside breast or formula milk from around 6 months helps set a child up for healthier eating. For more ideas, see our benefits of dates page or browse the our products range. This is general nutrition information, not medical advice.
References
- NHS. Your baby’s first solid foods. nhs.uk
- NHS. What to feed young children. nhs.uk
- NHS Best Start in Life. Weaning: from around 6 months. nhs.uk
- NHS. Foods to avoid giving babies and young children. nhs.uk
- NHS. Drinks and cups for babies and young children. nhs.uk
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (SR Legacy, FDC 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov