How many fizzy drinks, if any, do you allow your kids?

[Teessider]

And by kids, I mean older ones.

My youngest is 14.5 and he'd drink Diet Coke all the day long if I let him. I don't of course and he has a couple of cans at the weekend, probably a bit more what with half term next week. The only other drink he has is water and his diet overall is excellent and varied

I'm obviously soooo mean in only allowing a few cans on the weekend - but I think this is more than enough.

How about you? Do you restrict it or ban it completely or are you relaxed about it?

after

[quote Teessider]@1starwars2 ha I could try!

He had a couple of friends round the other weekend and they ordered on pizza etc and the boys brought some 2 litre bottles of Coke along. I think he had rather a lot becomes interestingly, he was asking for Diet Coke for a good few days afterwards and a little frustrated when I said nope. I think the increase in drinking it in larger quantities created a 'need' for it. It had worn off within a few days and he stopped asking but it got me thinking.

Anyway, it's hidden away and I'll just dole out a can as I see fit over half term [/quote]
Maybe it’s as simple as he likes it?

Mine are 12 and 9 - tbh DH and I drink far too much Pepsi, but the boys have hardly any. They’ll have sugar free lemonade with their dinner once or twice a week, otherwise they’ll have water.

Youngest has recently acquired a taste for Fever Tree tonic water which I will not be encouraging!

Once Dd was about 11 it was she could have it whenever she wanted, I'd buy cans for her.
I'm not keen myself but she liked it, before then a bit more limited, but not overly so.
As a 19yr old she drinks it occasionally, also coffee, and tea, plus water.
When I go to visit her they get out the glass teapot!

@JackieTheFart oh he likes it alright but I was saying that after a weekend of guzzling it with some pals in whatever quantities he fancied, I really noticed a 'need' for it in him which took a few days to pass

I buy it in bulk usually - currently have 150 cans in the garage (go to Costco) however he isn't aware of this of course!

He can have a can a day over half term and then I'm going to consider some cordial topped up with sparkling water

150 cans!

This is like one of those alcohol threads on MN where everyone claims to drink barely anything, but for kids’ drinks instead.

In our house, everyone is allowed nice drinks at the weekend. That means fizz for the DC and wine for the adults. Weekends start on Thursday evening...

We never have diet drinks of any description though. Artificial sweeteners are the devil’s work.

Mine were drinking far too much over lockdown. We bought a soda stream and now I just buy one bottle a week. They mostly drink fizzy water with cordial now.

DS only drinks Pepsi Max or water. Probably about 3-4 cans a day. He’s 23 and buys them himself.

When younger he was allowed fizzy occasionally and didn’t hanker after it. He mostly drank water out of choice and he never drinks hot drinks. It’s just his preference.

We don't monitor it to be honest.

Eldest is 19, so he can drink what he likes (usually my bottles of fizz!!). Youngest is 14 and will drink it when it's in (we buy two bottles a week) and whatever else he has when he's out.

I’m actually quite shocked at some of the responses, I thought fizzy drinks were a normal part of life but they are talked about here as if they are an imminent danger to a child if consumed x

I agree Worriesome

Ginmakesitallok
Isn't that still a fizzy drink though?

@Dntevenknowit

I do love mumsnet. I wonder why the aisles in the supermarket are always full of half empty fizzy drink shelves and yet nobody on here drinks them.

We keep ours in the safe and bring out a shot glass worth at Christmas as a treat if the butler remembers otherwise its just water for us all and even then we have it extra filtered just in case!

But it is very much a class thing, isn't it? And MN has a higher average of middle class educated users than most sites. That's why!

@1starwars2 I bulk buy everything! I paid £25 for those 150 cans so a bargain.

I don’t have an older one yet (mines 16 months)

But I have been a dental nurse and fizzy drinks and just the killer of teeth. If I was to allow DC to have fizzy it would be only during meals, or even just as a treat during meals, so not at every meal.

I’d be really disappointed if she was rebelling and buying cans of coke when she’s out and about with her mates though. I want to teach her the effects of it and let her make her own choices, I don’t just want to be a straight up “no it’s not allowed” I want to show and give her actual evidence of its ill effects. Obviously on occasions it’s nice to indulge in them a little more. I’ll have a day when ill buy a bottle of coke on a day out and sip it all day. One day won’t hurt but definitely not on the regulars

Once every couple of months or if away on holiday one a day.

They are not something the kids ever really drank as a normal drink. We just all drink a lot of water. None of us drink caffeine in our house (only just realised that actually!)

My 13 year old drinks water all day but will have a glass of fizzy with her dinner if she fancies it. Usually she will choose to have it 2/3 times a week.

@Teessider

I have a blanket ban on energy drinks and so far I'm certain he hasn't had any! I appreciate though that this will probably change but I certainly won't be buying him any. I have an adult DD aged 23 and she is very fond of a can of monster. Ugh

I was totally addicted to Monster drinks. So much so I could drink one and go to bed straight after with no trouble sleeping. I ended up in hospital having an emergency operation to remove my gall bladder. The surgeon actually came to see me after and begged me to stop drinking Monster as he had never removed a gall bladder with so many large stones and uncountable smaller grit size stones. Just let your 23 year old know, they are really really bad for your body

Mine have juice or fizzy drinks if we are having a McDonald’s or something like that.

They might get juice if we have a day out otherwise it’s water

Oh me and dh drink fizzy drinks but it’s cheaper for the kids to drink water so that’s that.

They have a beaker of water they have access to at all times and can fill as much as they like. So fizzy drinks are a rare treat

When they were younger we always had a ‘rule’ of, only one fizzy drink a day, if they had any. As they’ve got older they’ve stuck with that rule themselves, it’s like they’ve been programmed that way as that was the rule for years. 🤣
But they also have orange juice, cordial, cows milk, oat milk. And they both mostly drink water or tea now, a lot of tea! 😬

DS used to drink fizzy water at home. I rarely bought other fizzy drinks - only at Christmas in case visitors wanted it. DS was allowed coke on the rare occasions that we had a McDonald's or a meal out elsewhere. Other than that it was whatever he bought with his own money when out and about. He's at Uni now but he still drinks mainly fizzy water, double espressos or beer!

Dd went through the monster phase at around 14, it didn't last long, 3 months maybe but I let it go as she's a stubborn so and so and tbf, with her own money not much I could do about it anyway.
Last weekend she had a Eurovision party in her own home, and had one alcoholic drink, and that's it.
Allowing this stuff doesn't mean they'll all go mad.

11,13 and 14. I don't buy pop, unless it's a party/bbq or we're out for a meal so every few months unless they buy their own which is fine. DS13 buys a few cans a week, DS14 very rarely and DD11 prefers to spend her money on stuff rather than sweets etc.