Which yogurt should I choose for my baby?

This is one of the most-asked weaning questions anywhere, and the honest answer is shorter than the aisle suggests.

Plain, whole, unsweetened. Full fat, because fat matters at this age - roughly 40% of energy in the 1-3 year frame. Unsweetened, because added sugar is a firm no across every source we follow.

Yogurt is a milk product used as a food, not milk as a drink. That distinction is what people trip on. Cow’s milk as a drink is gated to 12 months. Yogurt and cheese as ingredients or as a food fall in the normal complementary-feeding window, well before the first birthday.

What to actually look at on the pot

• Added sugar in the ingredients. Many yogurts sold for children have more than a plain adult one. This is the whole decision.
• Whole rather than low-fat. Reduced-fat versions are formulated for adults.
• Plain rather than flavoured. Fruit belongs in it, added by you.

What does not matter

Whether the pot says “for babies”. A plain whole yogurt is a plain whole yogurt. The label is marketing; the ingredients list is the information.

Where we stop

How much yogurt a day, and whether it replaces a milk feed, are portion questions. No Italian authority publishes fixed portions - the Ministero della Salute deliberately defers to your own paediatrician - so we do not print a number.