Find a Healthy Yogurt for Your Kids

Kids’ yogurt tends to come in smaller single-serving containers than adult yogurts. This makes sense, given that children have smaller appetites, but it can cause confusion and make it appear that kids’ yogurts are nutritionally different in a side-by-side comparison. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids between ages 2 and 18 get less than 25 grams—about 6 teaspoons—of added sugars per day. Toddlers and babies under age 2 shouldn’t eat any added sugars at all. “Sugar has no nutritional value and fills kids up with empty calories,” says Keating. “Parents should try to limit added sugar in their kids’ diets to prevent weight gain, tooth decay, and chronic health problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.”

Yet, most kids in the U.S. get more than the recommended amount of added sugars. For instance, research has found that about 85 percent of children younger than 2 and about 75 percent of those ages 5 through 13 exceed the daily limits. 

Parents may not expect a food like yogurt to contribute much to that sugar tally, but it could. In our review, three of the yogurts contained 7 to 11 grams—about two to three teaspoons—of added sugars. For instance, Yoplait Kids Low Fat Yogurt Strawberry has 11 grams in a 4-ounce cup. That’s the same amount in about five Hershey’s kisses. And it’s even higher in added sugars on a per-ounce basis than Yoplait’s regular low-fat strawberry yogurt, which has 13 grams in 6 ounces.

True, unlike the chocolate, you’re getting important nutrients from even the sugariest yogurt—the Yoplait kids’ yogurt has 3 grams of protein and 120 mg of calcium, for example. And yogurt contains live active cultures that are beneficial. “These ‘good’ bacteria support a healthy gut microbiome, which has been associated with benefits such as lower rates of obesity, reduced inflammation, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” Keating says.

But you don’t have to go overboard on added sugars to get these benefits. Half of the yogurts we looked at had 4 grams or less per serving. That’s a good cut-off for added sugar in kids’ yogurt because they tend to come in smaller containers/serving sizes than other yogurts. 

Or, even better, opt for plain yogurt. You can add fresh fruit to reduce the tartness or mix in no-added-sugar frozen fruit—as it thaws, the juices help to naturally sweeten the yogurt. You can also make the food prep interactive. “Plain yogurt can be made more palatable by adding nuts, seeds, granola, and cereal,” says Simona Lourekas, RD, clinical nutrition specialist at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston. “Kids are more likely to try something they help prepare.”

Kids’ yogurt labels make healthy-sounding claims to attract parents to buy them. But many of these claims aren’t all that meaningful. Here are a few common ones we noted:

• Made With Real Fruit: This may be true (though there may be very little), but it doesn’t mean that the yogurt contains no added sugars, so you should always check the label.

• Gluten-Free: Most dairy yogurts are naturally gluten-free, so there’s no difference between a yogurt that has the claim and one that doesn’t. What’s more, there is no compelling evidence that gluten causes health problems in people who do not have celiac disease (an autoimmune condition that’s triggered by gluten) or that gluten-free foods are healthier. 

• No Artificial Flavors and/or Colors: Half of the yogurts made this claim (or “naturally flavored”), but none of them had artificial flavors or colors. The majority relied on vegetable or fruit juice for coloring and contained natural flavors, though these can be similar to artificial flavors in terms of processing.

• No High-Fructose Corn Syrup: This doesn’t mean no added sugars. “The kind of added sugars in your diet doesn’t matter as much as the amount of added sugars,” says Keating. “You want to keep them all to a minimum.”

“Infants and toddlers require fat for their brains to develop,” says Amy Reed, RD, a pediatric dietitian and education specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. As soon as a baby starts solid foods, around six months, they can have full-fat yogurt and continue with it until at least 24 months. At that age, it’s okay—though not necessary—to switch to lower-fat options, Lourekas says. Talk to your pediatrician or a dietitian about what’s best for your child’s needs.

The bottom line is that there’s really no reason why you and your kids can’t eat the same yogurt. Instead of buying one for your children and another one for you, choose a healthy yogurt the whole family likes. CR recently tested regular vanilla and berry yogurts and there are good options in our ratings to choose from.

Here’s the nutrition information on the 12 kids yogurts we evaluated. They’re listed in order of their added sugars content, from lowest to highest. We also provide calories and other important nutrients—saturated fat, protein, and calcium. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of calcium for kids rises with age: 260 mg a day for babies 7 to 12 months old, 700 mg for 1- to 3-year-olds, 1,000 mg for 4- to 8-year-olds, and 1,300 mg for those age 9 and older. (Note that plant milks are low in calcium, so yogurts made with them have far less than dairy milk yogurts unless they’re fortified.)