If you are a chocoholic, the chances are you are going to be itching to share your love of chocolate with your baby. But before you introduce a shared chocolate addiction to your baby, you might want to keep that Hershey's bar under wraps. Most healthcare professionals will advise on waiting to give this delicious treat to your baby.

With any food, chocolate-based or otherwise, you should be cautious about introducing new items into your baby's diet. This is because you will be better able to identify any food allergy reactions if you are able to backtrack a new food's introduction and your baby's reaction to that food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends, "Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods."

Related: 10 Chocolate Surprise Ideas For Your Small Child

Additionally, the CDC notes, "The eight most common allergenic foods are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans." And often the ingredients of common chocolate products may contain traces of soy.

The main sticking point of introducing chocolate to your baby (and the continued consumption of chocolate for your baby) is the amount of sugar in a serving of most chocolate products. According to Hello Motherhood, "(babies and) toddlers should limit their intake of sugar to between 5 and 15 percent of their total caloric consumption."

If you are unable to keep track of your child's sugar consumption, it might be best to hold off on introducing chocolate to your baby until they are able to curiously ask for it themselves. After all, what they don't know about won't hurt them. Additionally, Parenting suggests, "While there are no specific guidelines on how you should be introducing chocolate to your little one, it is best to start with a taste after he is one year old. If he has no negative reaction to it, you can gradually increase the quantity little by little."

Not All Chocolates Are Created Equally

When introducing chocolate products to your baby, know that not all chocolates are created equally.

Milk chocolate is the most common and attractive chocolate for young children. The smooth taste and variety of chocolate bar forms this item comes in makes it easy to obtain and consume. Be aware of the sugar count and serving size when introducing milk chocolate into your child's diet.

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate's health-conscious cousin, is chocolate in a more pure form than milk chocolate. When you are considering introducing chocolate to your child, you might want to introduce dark chocolate first. This will help narrow down if your baby purely has a chocolate allergy versus a lactose or soy allergy (which can be agitated in the other chocolate forms).

White chocolate, the close family friend of milk chocolate, is in its own category to be introduced to your baby. According to Bon Appetit, "White chocolate is made with a blend of sugar, cocoa butter, milk products, vanilla, and a fatty substance called lecithin. Technically, white chocolate is not a chocolate—and it doesn't really taste like one—because it doesn't contain chocolate solids." Though it is not technically chocolate, white chocolate still may contain traces of soy which you should be weary of when introducing this food item to your baby.

Chocolate ice cream, the cryogenically frozen relative of milk chocolate, is a double threat to watch out for when introducing this item to your baby for the first time. If your baby or a relative has shown signs of a lactose allergy or intolerance in the past, you might want to try a dairy-free version of this chocolaty treat.

Chocolate syrup, known for its compatibility with milk and ice cream sundaes, would generally be safe for your baby to consume if your baby has not had a reaction to chocolate previously. The main point of contention when it comes to any brand of chocolate syrup is its high sugar count. High consumption of sugar, in any form, can lead to weight, physical health, and dental issues down the road for your growing baby.

As a general rule of thumb you should know the less sugar your children consume, the better off their health will be.

Read Next: Chocolate: The Super-Food for You and Your Baby

Sources: CDCHello Motherhood, ParentingBon Appetit