Salt intakes should be much lower than this for babies and children. Babies under 12 months old should have less than 1g of salt a day. The daily recommended maximum amount of salt children should eat depends on their age: 1  1 to 3 years – 2g of salt a day (0.8g sodium). 2  4 to 6 years – 3g of salt a day (1.2g sodium). 3  7 to 10 years – 5g of salt a day (2g sodium).