Allergen note
Salt isn't an allergen; the concern is sodium. A baby's kidneys can't handle much of it, so experts advise no added salt before 12 months (under 1 g of salt a day in total, mostly from milk) and at most 2 g a day from 1 to 3 years.
How to serve
Don't add salt to your baby's food or cooking water before 12 months; breast milk or formula supplies the sodium they need. After 12 months, cook family meals with little salt, set your toddler's portion aside before seasoning the rest, and keep the shaker off the table.
Preparation
Flavor food with herbs, spices, garlic, lemon or unsalted homemade stock instead of salt, and watch for hidden salt in stock cubes, soy sauce, cheese, bread and ham. Sea salt and kosher salt have about as much sodium as table salt gram for gram and are often not iodized, so when you salt family meals for older toddlers, a little iodized salt is the better choice.
Texture and choking risk
With salt, the bigger danger isn't choking: swallowing a lot, say from a shaker, homemade salt dough or very salty water, can cause dangerous salt poisoning in small children. Keep salt out of reach, never use salt water to make a child vomit, and call poison control if you're worried.
Starting ages are typical guidance for healthy, full-term babies who show signs of readiness. Your paediatrician may advise differently, especially where there is a family history of allergy.
Track first tastes and reactions
Log when your child first tries salt, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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