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Best Honey for Kids
A parent guide to honey for children: the 12-month rule, mild varieties for picky eaters, what the cough trials found, and how much sugar honey adds.
Quick Answer
Once a child is over 12 months old, clover, acacia and wildflower honey are all fine as food. (Buckwheat is also safe, but its strong, malty flavor is usually too intense for young kids.) Clover is the easiest starter honey because its mild sweetness appeals to young palates. For a nighttime cough in a child over 1, a 2007 Penn State trial found parents rated buckwheat honey better than no treatment, with no significant difference from dextromethorphan; ask your pediatrician first. Never give honey of any kind — raw, pasteurized, or in cooked food — to a baby under 12 months due to infant botulism risk.
What to Look For
Safety first: no honey of any kind for children under 12 months. For toddlers and young children, choose mild-flavored honeys that will not overwhelm developing palates. Raw and pasteurized honey are both fine after 12 months. Look for pure honey without added syrups. For a cold cough, the trials used buckwheat (Paul 2007) and eucalyptus, citrus and labiatae honeys (Cohen 2012); none showed one honey works better than another.
Top Recommendations
The mildest, most widely liked honey. Its gentle sweetness appeals to children without the strong flavors that can put off young eaters. Widely available and affordable. A good first honey for kids over 12 months.
A squeeze bottle makes it easy for older kids to serve themselves on toast and pancakes.
The honey in a 2007 Penn State trial of 105 children aged 2 to 18 with colds: parents rated it better than no treatment for nighttime cough, and its difference from dextromethorphan was not statistically significant. Strong, malty flavor.
Ask your pediatrician before using it for a cough. Its strong flavor is easier in warm milk.
Crystal clear and extremely mild, which suits picky eaters who reject darker honeys. It stays liquid, so it is easy to drizzle. It is still sugar like any honey.
Acacia honey stays liquid naturally, which kids often prefer over crystallized honey. Good for smoothies and yogurt bowls.
Slightly more flavorful than clover, which helps children try new tastes. Local wildflower honey connects kids to where food comes from. Its pollen has not been shown to help a child's immune system or allergies.
Visit a local beekeeper with your children—seeing where honey comes from makes kids much more excited to eat it.
Safe for children over 12 months like any other honey. No study shows Manuka prevents or shortens colds in children. The earthy flavor is not a favorite with most kids.
If you buy it, a low grade such as UMF 5+ is the cheapest. A higher grade costs more and has no shown benefit for a child.
Get the Honey Buyer's Cheat Sheet (free PDF)
16 varieties on one page — color, flavor, best use and what a fair price looks like — from the 304 honeys we track.
How to Use
For everyday use, many parents mix honey into warm milk, oatmeal or yogurt, or spread it on toast. For a cough in a child over one year, ask your pediatrician before using honey. Frozen honey pops (honey mixed with yogurt, frozen on a stick) make a treat. Honey also works as a dip for fruit slices.
What to Avoid
Never give honey to infants under 12 months old—this is critical due to the risk of infant botulism from Clostridium botulinum spores. Do not use honey as a pacifier dip or put it on pacifiers. Honey is concentrated sugar, so keep amounts small and brush teeth afterward; ask your pediatrician about a sensible amount. Do not use honey for severe allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, or high fever in children—seek medical attention. Skip very dark or strongly flavored honeys for young children who may reject the taste.