Do your kids drink juice?

[Logan Sapphire]

I was just wondering what the prevailing sentiment was on fruit juice. My daughter will be going to daycare when she''s almost 1.5 years old, and they give juice with the afternoon snack. Right now, she only drinks milk and water, and likes both. We think she could have a bit of a sweet tooth and worry she could become a juice addict! She''s already going to have a different diet from the rest of the kids, as she''s a vegetarian and will be packing her own lunches. I don''t want to make a big deal out of juice once a day, but then on the other hand, I don''t really think it''s necessary for her to have it.

Any thoughts?

 

[D&T]

yep, also at daycare, at home when she''s with us, Mostly I give her water, and on the weekends for breakfast then she gets juice. She doesn''t have a problem with sweets as I rarely give them to her, But it can be addictive. My DD will keep asking for juice only to realize that all she gets from me is water until the weekends and its not a problem with incessantly asking/wanting juice and she knows when I tell her to stop asking she pretty much stop.

 

[somethingshiny]

My son started drinking juice when he could drink it out of a cup. It was never more than half juice because I diluted it at least by half. Even now at 3.5 I get Motts for Tots when we''re on the go because it''s pre-diluted. He''s only allowed one serving a day, other than that he can have real fruit. I don''t want all that sugar on his teeth and I don''t want him getting used to the sweet drinks because I don''t want him wanting soda.

Yesterday he had his first Capri Sun. He immediately wanted water.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Much to my MIL''s dismay my DD only gets milk and water. I know Curly has a similar situation with her daughter (where the daycare kept giving her juice against her wishes) so hopefully she will chime in.

 

[TravelingGal]

No, and she won''t for awhile (some time past 2, possibly 3). She doesn''t know what she''s missing and loves water, so I am not messing with it at this stage.

Juice is the ONLY thing my mom did wrong with me. I LOVED juice as a kid and actually remember refusing milk. I pretty much did not drink milk (except for whatever was in my cereal) for the rest of my life. I probably have weak bones and I will tell you now that the apple juice I drank as a kid probably has something to do with my f''d up teeth. My baby front two teeth DID decay too much and came out early.

So figuring that the apple did not fall far from the tree, I am definitely all about NO JUICE for my kid while she is very young. Absolutely, positively not.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/15/2009 1:31:10 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Much to my MIL''s dismay my DD only gets milk and water. I know Curly has a similar situation with her daughter (where the daycare kept giving her juice against her wishes) so hopefully she will chime in.

DD is the PICTURE of a beautiful and healthy little girl, MIL only needs to look at her to know she lacks NOTHING in her diet or care.

 

[LitigatorChick]

Miller didn''t get juice until my ex and I split. Then Ex started giving him juice at his house. And he let the nanny give him juice. Now he doesn''t want plain water anymore. It makes me so angry.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/15/2009 1:57:12 PM
Author: LitigatorChick
Miller didn''t get juice until my ex and I split. Then Ex started giving him juice at his house. And he let the nanny give him juice. Now he doesn''t want plain water anymore. It makes me so angry.

What a bummer.

I think Jas12 mentioned it somewhere, and I agree. Kids have to learn to enjoy water because it''s necesssary for hydration. I don''t think it''s good for them to be consuming so many calories every time they need to hydrate.

 

[LitigatorChick]

I couldn''t agree more TGal. Juice is entirely unnecessary. I believe that my poor son may as well be given a can of Diet Coke. It angers me to the core.......

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/15/2009 2:04:18 PM
Author: LitigatorChick
I couldn''t agree more TGal. Juice is entirely unnecessary. I believe that my poor son may as well be given a can of Diet Coke. It angers me to the core.......

I can understand that some moms give it to their kids as a treat (like anything else) and many kids like juice AND water (as well as milk) just fine. But it IS unnecessary. It''s a treat, like cake and cookies are. Fruit is better than juice, obviously.

I also stay away from juice because diabetes runs in the family. The doc says it is the worst thing you can drink under the guise of "healthy" (meaning obviously a can of coke would be bad, but most know it.) It catapults your sugar levels - it''s like injecting sugar directly into the blood stream and is bad for highs and crashes.

 

[LitigatorChick]

I am super sugar conscious, and more so since my BF entered my life - he has diabetes. I see sugar in everything, and am working hard to eliminate it were it is unnecessary.

I understand treats - kids need ice cream, cookies, and other yummies, but as a treat. It shouldn''t be a daily or regular thing!

 

[puffy]

he drinks milk and water only. but there was a time when i gave him diluted white grape juice because he had a horrible stomach virus and the pedi told me to give him some white grape juice. after that, he hasn''t had any juice, and he loves his water and milk. i don''t plan on giving him juice until maybe 2 or so, which will be in a few months.

 

[vespergirl]

My son drinks juice, and I am happy to give it to him. He is 2.5, and has always been on or around the tenth percentile for weight, and 95% for height, so as you can imagine, he is very thin. He''s from a very thin family (DH''s side), so our doctor told us that it''s fine for him to eat sugar as long as it''s in moderation. If my child was obese I probably wouldn''t give him as much juice, but since he''s totally healthy and doesn''t have a weight problem, I give it to him since he likes it.

He primarily drinks milk, because it''s his favorite. I''d say he has about 5 cups of milk per day vs. one cup of juice.

 

[mrssalvo]

it's funny b/c I did let my kids have juice (one cup a day) when they were toddlers and they both hate it now. they drink water most of the time. neither of them even drink milk, both stopped liking it around 3. I let Jake have one cup of juice a day with his liquid vitamin. He drinks milk or water the rest of the time. I don't mind him having the little bit of juice though. He's a great eater, tons of fruits and veggies and eats his meats so he's not just using it for empty calories etc.

ETA; i think it's interesting so many day care's give juice. the pre-school my kids went to is milk or water only. I'm really grateful for that.

 

[neatfreak]

I think as long as my kids have no food issues I won''t freak if they have juice occasionally. It certainly won''t be an all the time drink-but if they want it as a treat when we go out to dinner or to a party that''s fine with me.

 

[lili]

she gets 1-2 oz of OJ in the morning w/ her breafast.
other times, it''ll be milk and water.

 

[Allisonfaye]

I mix it with water 1/2 water/ 1/2 juice. I wasn''t giving any juice but we were at the beach and the girls wouldn''t drink milk or water and I was worried about them getting dehydrated. I try to limit it and if I feel they are drinking too much, I say no more.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 7/15/2009 1:40:56 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/15/2009 1:31:10 PM

Author: Tacori E-ring

Much to my MIL''s dismay my DD only gets milk and water. I know Curly has a similar situation with her daughter (where the daycare kept giving her juice against her wishes) so hopefully she will chime in.

DD is the PICTURE of a beautiful and healthy little girl, MIL only needs to look at her to know she lacks NOTHING in her diet or care.

Thanks so much! She does get her fair share of sugar though. Have you seen my new pics of her?

 

[curlygirl]

Tacori is right, I never give juice at home but I know DD is getting it at daycare. It''s not every day and I''m told that they water it down but I don''t know for sure since I''m not there to monitor. I''m not convinced that she''s a fan though. At the birthday party of one of her friends, they were serving juice and she knew what it was (although she says "apple juice" for any kind of juice!) but she wasn''t interested at all and asked for water instead. I think a little bit of juice probably isn''t the worst thing on earth if you can''t avoid it at places like daycare, but I would make sure not to have it or offer it at home.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

NOOO!!! My kids do not drink juice. In preschool, juice was served as the snack beverage and I requested that my son only be given water or milk and that request was honored.

The boys' dentist said no more than 6 oz per day, but I decided that aside from special occasions, they will not get it.

On Thanksgiving it's okay. When at grandma's (about once a month) it's okay. Just not as a regular part of their daily food plan.

 

[luvmyhalo]

No juice here either. My daughter is 2 1/2 and she drinks milk and water. If we're at a birthday party or a special occasion like a 4th of July party, she can have some. The only other time I'll give her juice is if she's having some constipation issues.

 

[D2B]

Milk and water her as long as we could. grandparents started to give him sweets and other bits in doses I am not too happy with, but kids are smart, even at 2 they quickly learn who will let them have it and who wont.

Litigator Chick, knowing from my son, I would say your son will quicky learn at mummies house it is water only, as long as you are consistent and stick to your guns the first few times he will try to get juice, but he will qucikly learn that at mummies there are one set of rules and at daddies another. in realitiy, this will probably only be the start of different things in diffefernt households for him, it will be much easier to learn now that diferent rules apply, much like my son when he is at his grandparents house. good luck

db

 

[DivaDiamond007]

My son gets only milk and water, and he just turned 1. We gave him prune juice once because he was so constipated and he didn''t even like it. He is long and lean, so I''m not worried about his weight, but I do not think he needs the extra sugar in his diet.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Thanks for your responses. We didn''t want her to have juice at daycare, but didn''t know if we were being unreasonable or silly. Hopefully her daycare will be accommodating since they''re already allowing her to bring in her own lunches (most other places we looked at wouldn''t allow that).

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/15/2009 8:39:44 PM
Author: Logan Sapphire
Thanks for your responses. We didn''t want her to have juice at daycare, but didn''t know if we were being unreasonable or silly. Hopefully her daycare will be accommodating since they''re already allowing her to bring in her own lunches (most other places we looked at wouldn''t allow that).

Bring a water bottle for her every day to make it easiest on the teachers.

 

[Burk]

We just do water and milk with DD (18 months). We provide her milk to daycare (organic) and ask them to limit juice and dilute it if they do give it to her and they have absolutely no problem with either request. I''m sure they''ll be fine with it!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/15/2009 4:20:28 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring

Date: 7/15/2009 1:40:56 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/15/2009 1:31:10 PM

Author: Tacori E-ring

Much to my MIL''s dismay my DD only gets milk and water. I know Curly has a similar situation with her daughter (where the daycare kept giving her juice against her wishes) so hopefully she will chime in.

DD is the PICTURE of a beautiful and healthy little girl, MIL only needs to look at her to know she lacks NOTHING in her diet or care.

Thanks so much! She does get her fair share of sugar though. Have you seen my new pics of her?

I just did, I so enjoyed them!!!!

And you are most welcome!

 

[Jas12]

My son just gets breastmilk and water at home but i know that my MIL puts a tbls or so in his water b/c it always looks a touch too yellow

She knows my preference but for *some* reason grandmas want to fill their grandkids with junk! Tacori, we are fighting the same battles--grrrr

I do however juice green vegetables (with a lemon and apple to cut the ''green'' taste) in the AM and my son gets 1/2 cup of that a few days a week (it is what i will wean him too instead of dairy)
But i consider this quite different. No added sugar, no shelf-time, preservatives, processing etc.

 

[atroop711]

I rarely give my children juice but when they were very small (my girls are 9yr and 5yr now) I would give them watered down apple juice or OJ when they asked for it. When they were in preschool the school would give them watered down juice also. Since they got their juice fix in school, I really never bothered having it at home. My son is 8mo and I have no plans on giving him juice for a very very long time (he will get it when he's in preschool). I'm not against juice but it does fill them and I would rather them get the juice from the actual fruit.

You will always find milk and water in the fridge in my house. My kids LOVE cold water. My 9 yr old never has tasted soda...that I'm really strict about.

 

[partgypsy]

Both of my kids for school or daycare get water for their drink. We buy OJ once or twice a month because I like orange juice. Regarding apple, grape, etc juice we rarely have it in the house. When we do it gets drunk quickly because everyone likes it; we usually add a splash of seltzer water.

I think EVERY KID has a sweet tooth, that''s just the way we are made, and kids will crave more more more the more you give them. I admit we are not perfect, and since I also have a sweet tooth pretty much after every dinner we do let them have some form of dessert; we have been having bowls of ice cream because it is warm out, but could also be rice pudding, other pudding, homemade cookies, etc. All candy they receive for holidays is put into a bucket in the cabinet. As a choice they can also pick a piece of candy out of the bucket for their dessert as well. They are still eating pieces of chocolate broken off of chocolate bunnies from Easter!