To not understand why any child under school age (ish) is given anything other than milk/water on a regular basis?

[Sarah1611]

I see it a lot out and about- tiny dots with bottles and beakers full of juice, squash or fizzy drink. I know it's not the worst thing that a young child can be given but I don't understand why it's necessary. I'm an avid squash drinker and happily drink it in front of my charges but they never ask for it. I don't drink tea/coffee so squash keeps me going!

If we were at a party then I don't see a problem with having other things but not on a normal day at home or on a trip out.

It's not even just the teeth element, but the habit it creates (I should know!!) and also the dependency on sugar- there's enough sugar in most foods in a normal diet without the almost saturate of a soft drink.

[tapdancingelephant]

blimey there are some really smug posters on this thread. I hope that it doesn't come back and bite you on the arse one day.

all this 'if you don't ever give a child anything else, they will drink water' crap is just that - pure bullshit.

as I said before, I had a child who drank just water. it was piss easy - beaker of water alongside meals, and then when I finished bf a smooth transition to water only (cow's milk intolerance so no milk).

then along came dc2, who never touched water and was always repulsed by it, even at 6 months old in that beaker-alongside-the-meal way. of course, it didn't really matter then, as I was still bf, so fluids were going in. I bf for longer than I was planning to, as no other liquids were acceptable. eventually she self weaned anyway (at nearly 2), and still no other fluids were allowed to pass her lips.

for 6 months (seriously), not a drop of fluid passed her lips willingly, and we were concerned we were making a battleground out of it all. we had tried everything by this point - different cups, beakers, bottles. playing games with water (not keen), even lots of swimming (in our paddling pool so not chemical water) and long baths in the hope that she might end up drinking some. not a chance. we managed to stave off dehydration with lots of wet foods in the diet, but again, not sustainable long term.

so we offered other drinks. it was not a case of 'I bet she'll love pure juice' and giving it to her at 6 months old. even when we offered other drinks, it took a long while to find one acceptable to her. Eventually she was ok with chocolate rice milk and pineapple juice. and she drank about 50mls a day. yes, a DAY. it took us years ot even get her to an acceptable level of drinking, let alone start thinking about watering it down.

we too had pre-school and then school insisting it was water or nothing, and had to get our GP involved to state otherwise.

it was not us pandering to the whims of a slightly fussy baby. It was w a real issue.

maybe instead of all the self-satisfied "I did it this way, and my perfect children drink water only" posts, some of you might actually start thinking 'blimey, thank god I didn't have to go through that' because believe me, it was no picnic.

[Damnautocorrect]

Yabu to wonder anything about anyone else's child.
You are judging on a 'picture'. It may be their child needs to drink plenty of liquid for kidney reasons and they just won't drink water. Or in my case my ds will not eat any fruit or veg but happily drink fruit juice and smoothies so that's what he has.

[LtEveDallas]

maybe instead of all the self-satisfied "I did it this way, and my perfect children drink water only" posts, some of you might actually start thinking 'blimey, thank god I didn't have to go through that' because believe me, it was no picnic

Yes this 100%
Sorry you went through that too tapdancingelephant.

[AmberSocks]

my older 3 all drink milk or fruit juice,2 of them will drink water but one really wont,and ive spent weeks offering him nothing but milk or water,all he drinks is milk.Dont really do squash,dont know why.

It doesnt bother me tbh,they have a varied diet and brush their teeth twice a day.

[WallaceWindsock]

After being hospitalised with tonsilitis DD had HUGE issues with drinking. She refused EVERYTHING. I would frequently get to a point where she was dehydrating, going floppy and being rushed to OOH/A&E because she just refused to drink. One day randomly she picked up a cup of my squash and drank one sip. I cried with relief.

She now drinks squash by the bucket load but give her water and she will refuse until floppy. It isn't stubbornness, she is petrified. She will sob and shake and really freak out. She is still small, 2.5 and I'd rather go with it in the hope that as she gets older she will eventually try other things. You can be smug if you like OP, I will be quietly smug that I'm doing what I feel is best for my DD as opposed to what other people think is best.

[MadeOfStarDust]

Mine have squash with breakfast and with their snack after school - they are 10 and 12 and in real life it is what most of the kids I know do....

They brush in the morning before breakfast and at night before bed and have lovely teeth.


(but we don't have fizzy drinks, high sugar yoghurt, high sugar cereal bars or dried fruits which are all really bad for teeth ...)

[RacheyMo2]

My ds has never really drunk water, he did as a baby but as he got older and started to walk he needed more burn wasn't interested. He'll guzzle a beaker of weak juice which doesn't bother me one bit! If we go anywhere for the day he will have a carton if kids juice or a fruit shoot! As people have already said, he cleans his teeth and its bit all the time so why worry? Everyone deserves a treat :) x

[Fakebook]

I was like that with my pfb. Unfortunately, dc2 gets squash, fizzy drinks and juice whenever we drink it. I brush his 4 teeth with a muslin cloth and he's learning to brush himself every morning. It's all good. He also loves plain water and milk.

[Latara]

I had squash every day as a child and coca-cola, tango or appletiser as a teenager.... I only have 2 fillings aged 36 doncha know :)

[ButchCassidy]

I would say more rude and judgemental than confused.

YABU

[frissonpink]

I think it's interesting that so many young children "don't like" something that is so utterly fundamental to survival. You don't see any other species "not liking" water. Makes me wonder if it's because we wean them circa age one, so still very much babies, from breastmilk or formula, and expect them to go from sweet milk to tasteless water or relatively (compared to bm / formula) tasteless cow's milk. Maybe if they continued getting most of their hydration for longer from baby milks, they'd naturally be more inclined to graduate to water at an age where they have more understanding. (DISCLAIMER: this is just me rambling and of course it is probably a load of guff )

No, You're completely right!!! Carry on rambling!

[HorryIsUpduffed]

My toddler daily drinks squash because everyone else in the house does and he isn't thick. He was bf for over two years.

We managed to hide sweet drinks from DS1 for far longer

They both drink water every day too. I agree that it is a bad thing not to be able to drink just water - I can't unless it's hot (either the water or the weather).

[MummytoMog]

Well, neither of my two will touch milk or water. They used to have cows milk in bottles, but once we got rid of bottles they never drank milk again. So dilute squash or dehydration appear to be my options. Or cold, weak, sweet tea. That goes down very well after they've been poorly.

I do worry that they don't get enough calcium. I don't worry that squash is bad for them. I also love squash, as it happens.

[MummytoMog]

Oh and DD had baby/toddler milk until we weaned DS off it, so she must have been over three. Still wouldn't drink water.

[nethunsreject]

Yabu op.

Is this really worth starting a thread about?!?

[Miamiami]

frissonpink I agree with what you say, especially your post upthread about parents buying the crap drinks.
Apart from the exceptional cases as detailed by other posters, there is no need to introduce anything but milk and water.
Everywhere I look its always damn fruitshoots
Being given so much rubbish to drink its no wonder so many kids are badly behaved these days

[ElenorRigby]

DSD was given sugary drinks from a young age and so developed a taste for them and prefers sugary drinks. DSD had 9 teeth taken out under anaesthetise aged 6.

With DD I was walking down the isle in Tesco's looking at the juice they were marketing for babies and just thought why the hell do babies need juice of any type and that historically juice was never until v recently given to babies or children.

I gave DD milk and water. Now she wont have juice under any circumstances. People look confused when she refuses and try to push it on her lol.
Last check up unlike DSD the dentist said her teeth were perfect.
She's nearly 6 btw.

Also the empty calories in juice really arnt good and are contributing to obesity epidemic. Watch this..

or read this
Pure, White And Deadly: How sugar is killing us and what we can do to stop it

We don't have juice or any type in the house any more.

[Crowler]

It's quite possible to not give your kids squash AND not be smug.

Kids tend to pick up their bad habits from their parents. If you don't drink squash, chances are your kids won't drink squash.

Squash may not be a Bad Habit, but there is no doubt that turning to water when thirsty is a good habit.

My Bad Habit is diet coke. It was clear to me from the outset that I would never allow my kids to have this so it's been easy. If my kids as toddlers had refused water, I would have probably assumed that they were sufficiently hydrated and didn't need it.

[Summerblaze]

Really????? Is this all you have to worry about. Get a life, OP.

[stopgap]

I have tried everything to get my toddler son to try cow's milk, but no way will he drink anything other than water. I can disguise a runny "fake" milk, such as hemp or rice, in a smoothie, but I suspect a lot of people give their kids squash because, like my milk-refuser, they have water-refusers on their hands.

[MadeOfStarDust]

I do feel amused though, when younger - my girls had their squash and you'd see the faces of some smug mums saying "Oh mine only drinks water, squash is so bad for them" whilst stuffing down a pack of raisins or petit filous! sugar is sugar...

[Crowler]

I agree, MadeOfStarDust, but you can't compare raisins to petit filous.

Sugar is sugar. No reason to be pious if your kid eats it instead of drinks it. But, I think you'll find that a lot of people object specifically to drinking it because as the kid becomes an adults, s/he will have adopted a habit of drinking empty calories that the body does not really "register".

Most people who eat a doughnut, for example, feel fairly naughty and their sweet tooth may well be sated for several hours or even the day. Drinking squash all day long will exceed the calories and sugar and that person may not even include it on their mental tally of what they've consumed.

[MadeOfStarDust]

most people don't drink squash all day long though - they have a tumbler with breakfast and another after school with a snack - or that is my experience anyhow.

Whereas I watch toddlers snack on those vile little boxes of raisins all day long - and wonder why they need fillings age 5....

"but she never has sweets or fizzy drinks" was one of the favourite sayings at the dentist I used to work at... no, but "healthy" dried fruit, "healthy" cereal bars and sugar loaded toddler yoghurt do just as much damage to teeth and pancreas - the body does not differentiate......

[happyyonisleepyyoni]

Who are these people who have the time or inclination to judge other people's parenting? Your head won't drop off from drinking squash y'know.

By the way, aspartame is NOT carcinogenic