Salt and Sodium for Babies & Kids: What’s Too Much?
October 2022
Last reviewed: October 2022
Author:
Hyemyung Kim, RD, CDN, CNSC, CLC
Coauthors:
Charlotte Scott
Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN
About Kids Eat in Color
Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
Author:
Hyemyung Kim, RD, CDN, CNSC, CLC
Coauthors:
Charlotte Scott
Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN
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Inside: Is salt bad for babies, toddlers and kids? Find out from our child nutrition expert, who discusses sodium and salt for babies, toddlers and kids. Learn how much sodium they need, what the most common high-sodium foods are, and how to reduce the amount of salt in your child’s diet.
Does your child love salty foods and snacks? Are you worried that they’re getting too much sodium?
In this article, we discuss sodium and salt for babies, toddlers and kids. Get the scoop on how much they need, what’s too much and which foods contain the most sodium. Plus, get tips for reducing your child’s salt intake.
Sodium is an essential nutrient that helps the body to maintain fluid balance, regulate blood volume and plays a role in muscle and nerve function.
While sodium is important to the human body, too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and can increase the risk of disease.
Salt is made from sodium and another mineral called chloride. One teaspoon contains about 2300 mg sodium. (1)
Sodium occurs naturally in some foods (like celery and beets), but most of the sodium people consume comes from foods with salt added to them.
Related: Dealing with picky eating? Learn how to help your picky eater and minimize mealtime stress with our free picky eating guide.
Can babies, toddlers and young children have salt?
Sodium is important for the body and everyone needs it – including babies. However, it is one of those nutrients where a little goes a long way.
Age
Adequate intake for Sodium (mg/day)
Adequate intake converted to gm of salt
0–6 months
110 mg
.275 g
7–12 months
370
~ 1/8th tsp. (.925 g)
1–3 years
800
⅓ tsp. (2 g)
4–8 years
1,000
~ ⅓ tsp. (2.5 g)
9–13 years
1,200
½ tsp (3 g)
14–70 years
1,500
1 ½ tsp. (3.75 g)
Salt for babies
Babies under 6 months of age meet their sodium needs from breast milk and/or baby formula.
Once they start to eat solids, it is very easy for babies to meet their sodium needs from the foods introduced on top of breast milk and/or formula.
There is no need to intentionally add salt to foods as there are many foods that naturally contain sodium. Additionally, many processed foods contain added salt, which can lead to babies consuming too much sodium.
How much sodium can babies have?
The recommended amount of sodium for babies 7-12 months is 370 mg. For reference, ¼ teaspoon of salt contains around 575 mg sodium.
If you add salt to your baby’s food, it will be easy to exceed the recommended amount of sodium for babies.
Please note: Processed foods tend to have higher amounts of sodium. If you are serving your baby processed foods, choose foods with “no added sodium” or “low sodium” if possible.
Also, it has been suggested that early continuous exposure to sodium-rich foods may lead to an increased preference for salty tastes later in life. And, too much sodium intake can negatively affect health in the future, leading to issues with high blood pressure and heart disease.
Babies are still developing their taste buds, and there are many other ways to season and flavor their food without using salt!
Toddlers from 1-3 years of age are recommended 800 mg sodium per day, and children 4-8 years of age can go up to 1000 mg sodium daily.
As with babies, a little goes a long way with salt and sodium and many foods a child eats can meet their needs. For example, 3 oz. of hard cheese can have 800-1000 mg of sodium.
Salt in food is a great preservative and can enhance texture, flavor and even color. There is no need to try to avoid foods with salt. Instead, be mindful of added salts in your child’s diet.
Common foods high in sodium
Bread: 473 mg per slice
Pizza: 1248 mg (12-inch cheese pizza)
Canned soup: 377-681 mg per 100 g
Hot dogs and cold cuts: 500-1000 mg per 2 oz. serving
Canned beans and veggies: 300 mg per ½ cup
Cheese: 800-1,000 mg per 3 oz. or about 2 servings (cheeses like cheddar, American and cottage cheese)
Sauces and salad dressings: 190-900 mg per 1 Tbs. (barbecue sauce, ketchup) (2,3)
Why it’s important to be mindful of excessive exposures to added salt in young kids
Salt is known to enhance the flavor of food. When we always add salt, it can make it harder for kids to love the natural flavor of food.
Eventually kids can get used to higher salted foods, making it more difficult to introduce foods plain or seasoned with just herbs and spices.
Kids who eat excess sodium are also 35% more likely to develop high blood pressure compared to kids who eat salt in moderation. (4)
Blood pressure is needed to keep our body running smoothly. When blood pressure is too high for a long time, though, it can increase the risk of disease. (5)
Managing the amount of added salt your kids eat
Packaged convenience foods, pizza, cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon, chips and pretzels, chicken nuggets/tenders, canned soups and condiments like ketchup can all be high in sodium.
If your family goes out for pizza, you can keep that in mind as you plan the rest of the day. We don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying a pizza, nuggets, or other high-sodium foods.
However, if a child just eats pizza all day, though, they might not feel their best. If this happens a lot, a child may be consuming too much sodium.
So, if you have pizza for lunch, you could choose to serve less sodium-heavy foods at other times.
Of course, sodium can be consumed however it makes sense for your family, but this is one way that has helped a lot of families make sense of balancing meals with high-sodium foods.
To limit salt, you might need to get a little creative in both the kitchen and the grocery store! We are all about finding fun, nutritious ways to make food more delicious. Here are some of our favorite ideas for reducing sodium in your child’s diet.
Cook at home. Most excess sodium comes from processed foods and eating out at restaurants.
Add flavor to foods by using other seasonings like garlic, herbs and citrus fruits.
Rinse canned vegetables before using to reduce the extra sodium that comes from the liquid in the can.
Choose reduced sodium or low sodium options if available.
Purchase frozen poultry without broth, saline or sodium solution on the label.
If your child is already used to eating salty foods, you can start to slowly reduce the amount you serve. If trying low-sodium versions of your favorite foods, you can also start out by combining the two kinds to get used to the difference in flavor.
Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
Hyemyung Kim has been a registered and certified dietitian and nutrition support clinician for 10 years. She initially started her career as an inpatient dietitian with the adult population but fell into the role as a neonatal and pediatric dietitian after a co-worker needed to go on maternity leave. This led to her falling in love with this population and working with parents. She continued to progress her career working in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units as the nutrition support dietitian and in the nutrition clinic as the outpatient dietitian. During this time, she also obtained her certification as a certified lactation counselor to promote breastfeeding and provide education and support for mothers.
It was while working as a clinical dietitian that Hyemyung got to meet and talk to parents about their struggles with picky eating, finding her passion for teaching and educating parents on tips to help their children to eat. She is passionate about working with parents on this common but tough issue and finds it rewarding when she hears about progress. Now as a new mom to a 1 year old boy, she is also dealing with selective eating and can empathize how parents feel when they are experiencing this. In her role as the dietitian and weaning specialist, Hyemyung strives to approach each parent with empathy, understanding and compassion as she educates and provides support.
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Inside: Is salt bad for babies, toddlers and kids? Find out from our child nutrition expert, who discusses sodium and salt for babies, toddlers and kids. Learn how much sodium they need, what the most common high-sodium foods are, and how to reduce the amount of salt in your child’s diet.
Does your child love salty foods and snacks? Are you worried that they’re getting too much sodium?
In this article, we discuss sodium and salt for babies, toddlers and kids. Get the scoop on how much they need, what’s too much and which foods contain the most sodium. Plus, get tips for reducing your child’s salt intake.
Article contents:
What is sodium?
Can babies, toddlers and kids have salt?
How much sodium can babies have?
How much sodium can toddlers and kids have?
Foods high in sodium
Why to watch for too much added salt in young kids
Managing added salts
How to reduce the amount of salt your kids eat
What is sodium?
Sodium is an essential nutrient that helps the body to maintain fluid balance, regulate blood volume and plays a role in muscle and nerve function.
While sodium is important to the human body, too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and can increase the risk of disease.
Salt is made from sodium and another mineral called chloride. One teaspoon contains about 2300 mg sodium. (1)
Sodium occurs naturally in some foods (like celery and beets), but most of the sodium people consume comes from foods with salt added to them.
Related: Dealing with picky eating? Learn how to help your picky eater and minimize mealtime stress with our free picky eating guide.
Can babies, toddlers and young children have salt?
Sodium is important for the body and everyone needs it – including babies. However, it is one of those nutrients where a little goes a long way.
Salt for babies
Babies under 6 months of age meet their sodium needs from breast milk and/or baby formula.
Once they start to eat solids, it is very easy for babies to meet their sodium needs from the foods introduced on top of breast milk and/or formula.
There is no need to intentionally add salt to foods as there are many foods that naturally contain sodium. Additionally, many processed foods contain added salt, which can lead to babies consuming too much sodium.
How much sodium can babies have?
The recommended amount of sodium for babies 7-12 months is 370 mg. For reference, ¼ teaspoon of salt contains around 575 mg sodium.
If you add salt to your baby’s food, it will be easy to exceed the recommended amount of sodium for babies.
Please note: Processed foods tend to have higher amounts of sodium. If you are serving your baby processed foods, choose foods with “no added sodium” or “low sodium” if possible.
Also, it has been suggested that early continuous exposure to sodium-rich foods may lead to an increased preference for salty tastes later in life. And, too much sodium intake can negatively affect health in the future, leading to issues with high blood pressure and heart disease.
Babies are still developing their taste buds, and there are many other ways to season and flavor their food without using salt!
Related: Top 25 First Foods for Babies
Salt for toddlers & kids
Toddlers from 1-3 years of age are recommended 800 mg sodium per day, and children 4-8 years of age can go up to 1000 mg sodium daily.
As with babies, a little goes a long way with salt and sodium and many foods a child eats can meet their needs. For example, 3 oz. of hard cheese can have 800-1000 mg of sodium.
Salt in food is a great preservative and can enhance texture, flavor and even color. There is no need to try to avoid foods with salt. Instead, be mindful of added salts in your child’s diet.
Common foods high in sodium
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Lunches for Toddlers
Why it’s important to be mindful of excessive exposures to added salt in young kids
Salt is known to enhance the flavor of food. When we always add salt, it can make it harder for kids to love the natural flavor of food.
Eventually kids can get used to higher salted foods, making it more difficult to introduce foods plain or seasoned with just herbs and spices.
Kids who eat excess sodium are also 35% more likely to develop high blood pressure compared to kids who eat salt in moderation. (4)
Blood pressure is needed to keep our body running smoothly. When blood pressure is too high for a long time, though, it can increase the risk of disease. (5)
Managing the amount of added salt your kids eat
Packaged convenience foods, pizza, cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon, chips and pretzels, chicken nuggets/tenders, canned soups and condiments like ketchup can all be high in sodium.
If your family goes out for pizza, you can keep that in mind as you plan the rest of the day. We don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying a pizza, nuggets, or other high-sodium foods.
However, if a child just eats pizza all day, though, they might not feel their best. If this happens a lot, a child may be consuming too much sodium.
So, if you have pizza for lunch, you could choose to serve less sodium-heavy foods at other times.
Of course, sodium can be consumed however it makes sense for your family, but this is one way that has helped a lot of families make sense of balancing meals with high-sodium foods.
Related: Best Snacks for Toddlers & Kids
How to reduce salt in your child’s diet
To limit salt, you might need to get a little creative in both the kitchen and the grocery store! We are all about finding fun, nutritious ways to make food more delicious. Here are some of our favorite ideas for reducing sodium in your child’s diet.
If your child is already used to eating salty foods, you can start to slowly reduce the amount you serve. If trying low-sodium versions of your favorite foods, you can also start out by combining the two kinds to get used to the difference in flavor.
Read more about child nutrition
References