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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask what squash/juice you give your children to drink?

250 replies

Littleonesgettingbigger · 20/02/2015 16:01

My two daughters aged one and five, drink about 1 litre of diluted squash a day (they do not drink milk or water it anything else). I am happy with them drinking squash as at least they are drinking (which is very important due to constipation problems with youngest). I used to give them watered down fresh apple juice but the dentist mentioned this was too acidic for their teeth to have throughout the day. So I changed to apple high juice (not sugar free), the dentist at this times checkup said this was basically like giving them sugar water to drink and is bad for their teeth and advised me to change to sugar free squash. I am reluctant to do this due to asparatem? What do you all give your children to drink (those of you that use squash/juice)? Thank you in advance

OP posts:

googoodolly · 20/02/2015 16:59

Oops, x-post!

Verbena37 · 20/02/2015 17:00

Putting slices of lemon or orange is the worst thing you can do for children's teeth....the acid is destructive to the enamel and DH now has a lack of enamel due to drinking copious amounts of pure oJ his mother gave him as a child.

toots111 · 20/02/2015 17:00

My LO has ongoing constipation also. We couldn't get her to drink ENOUGH water, she would drink some, but not a huge amount. And milk makes her constipation worse. So the doctor recommended very diluted squash to get her to drink more. And it worked. And yes, now we are in a catch 22 situation where she likes the taste of squash better than water so it's hard to get her to drink water. I find she is better at drinking water when she has friends over that drink water. Anyway, I don't feel bad about diluted squash because it's better than the alternative which is a bunged up child in pain. I always offer her water first and sometimes she has it, but if I want to get her to drink a substantial amount, the easiest thing is squash.

Hesalovernotabiter · 20/02/2015 17:01

Damn it, I'm going to be brave....

DD9 drinks sugar free juice mostly, fresh orange juice and has a fizzy drink once a day . I completely understand op about getting 'any damn liquid' into your little one, my DD became awfully constipated at 2 and its just awful to see.

My DS1 drinks water and is breastfed- doesn't have cows milk as a drink. He is also partial to an occasional smoothie, sip of fresh orange or a gulp of my diluted juice which I drink by the gallon!

Straws are great for getting fluids into little ones and also bypasses their teeth too

JourneyToThePlacentaOfTheEarth · 20/02/2015 17:03

Op I've started buying Rocks squash. Sugar and aspartame free, all natural ingredients. My son has adhd so trying to reduce the sugar in his diet

TedAndLola · 20/02/2015 17:04

Aspartame is one of the most tested food substances in the world as is safe for nearly everyone, excepting those with certain conditions. The harmful effects of sugary drinks, on the other hand, are very well known. Sugar free drinks, aspartame or not, are the better option by far.

mrssmith79 · 20/02/2015 17:04

Nobody gives a flying fuck if little Tarquin only drinks water or milk. They don't give out medals for it.

This is what I get (only on payday mind you ) www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Rocks-Organic-Orange-Squash/29027011

chocolateorsalad · 20/02/2015 17:05

Would your DD drink squash if it's diluted to almost water, so it just has the faintest taste of fruit juice? I drink Sainsbury's sugar-free squash otherwise I'd drink Coke and tea all day

If she needs enough fluid for her medication to work then squash is better than nothing. DS drinks water and milk at home but he has the forbidden MN Fruit Shoot if we go to a Harvester for example. But it does mean lots of trips to the loo after, so it's a rare occurrence!

chrome100 · 20/02/2015 17:06

When I was a child I refused to drink water. Even if it was the only thing on offer, at school for example. I can remember coming home from school in the summer my mouth was so dry I could hardly open it. In that case, I would far rather a kid drank squash than nothing.

GymBum · 20/02/2015 17:06

NC here (penis beakers and all that) Longtime poster

Op I can really empathise with how difficult it is to have a baby that is constipated. Our Dd is 13 months and has suffered with constipation since she was born. Currently she is on movicol to help her poo and we are currently waiting for a date so DD can have EUA (can't rememeber what this stands for) of her rectum and a rectal biopsy so they can try and exclude Hirschsprungs Disease. We have been through it all. DD screaming whist she try to poo for hours on end and her bottom bleeding because when she eventually did poo her poo was really hard. I have had to pull poo out. It's awful and heartbreaking.

So I hope you can see I understand what it's like to have a very constipated baby.

With all this in mind we really struggled to get DD to drink water and ween but we stuck to it. We tried everything (straws, cups, bottles) and I even asked from help on MN. Eventually we found feeding her water on a spoon was the only way she would drink it at first. She now drinks upto 2 6oz cups a day but is still constipated without the movicol.

The reason I mention all this is so you understand that we did a lot of research and we have spoken to a number of professionals about this. One of the things we have been told is sugar can actually make baby constipation worse if it's a chronic condition. By giving them foods drinks with sugar in them you could be making the situation worse.

If I were you I would look to reduce the amount of juice in the water till your baby is having water only.

Good luck and I hope your DDs constipation is resolved soon.

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 20/02/2015 17:08

OP- My dentist told me squash at meals isn't actually a big issue. It's the constant 'drip drip drip' of sugar on teeth all day that causes harm. She said that, if you do both (I realise that isn't your situation) then squash with meals and water in between was the best way round. Lots of people do it the other way round - water at meals and squash in between, but all that means is an extra exposure for teeth.

jacla40 · 20/02/2015 17:12

Mine drink very dilute Lidl orange squash most days. They also drink milk and water and sometimes watered down fresh fruit juice.

My dd1 also had constipation issues and drinking lots was important to her.

I prefer sugar to sweetners too.

My oldest is 9 and her teeth are perfect - no issues whatsoever.

Hopeandglory · 20/02/2015 17:13

I totally know where you are coming from OP. My DD is also on a very high dose of Movicol and has been for the last 3 years, she will only drink it in a strong mix of orange squash. She drinks about a pint of squash mixture a day, only orange (supermarket special) only when that is finished can she choose a different drink, again she takes a carton of juice in her lunch box and has a litre bottle of water that has its own filter and sits in the fridge over night to school. She likes any brand orange juice or orange squash, she is dairy free and has never had a filling in her life.

RolandRatRocks · 20/02/2015 17:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Norfolkandchance1234 · 20/02/2015 17:27

None - none of us touch it in our house. They can drink it whenever they like outside the home but mainly choose not to.

murasaki · 20/02/2015 17:28

What about flavoured water? I drink volvic touch of lemon, as I hate plain water, and it means i drink enough. Thehy do a sugar free version (blue cap not yellow). I go through litres of the stuff.

There's also strawberry and others I think.

ThereIsIron · 20/02/2015 17:29

Tesco summer fruits double concentrate. No teeth problems whatsoever with 5 / 10 / 13 yo.

Norfolkandchance1234 · 20/02/2015 17:31

Might I add we don't not have it for any particular reason I just stopped buying it and no one was bothered. I used to always buy hi juice squash and never with sweeteners because I don't like the taste.

Norfolkandchance1234 · 20/02/2015 17:34

Actually it tell a lie I have elderflower cordial which I mix with sparkling water.

Preciousbane · 20/02/2015 17:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AllThePrettySeahorses · 20/02/2015 17:41

Fruit and barley water here, but it has to be Aldi's own. Lidl's will do at a pinch, but we're not keen on Robinson's; it's too sweet, although we have their lemon barley water in the summer.

Footery · 20/02/2015 17:54

DS has a combination of milk, water, very dilute morrisons high juice, or occassionally lemonade if we are out for a meal (not often) and he asks for it.

To be honest, I don't think non-sugar free diluted squash is a big issue. As long as you are vigilant with brushing teeth and there's not a huge amount of sugar in the rest of their diet I would say it's better that they are drinking that than not drinking at all.

TheAnswerIsYes · 20/02/2015 17:55

Diluted fruit juice and very dilute hi juice for my DS if he refuses water. As a treat I will give him some flavoured sparkling water which he loves and would drink loads of if I let him. This is the Tesco one I let him have (no aspartame) but other supermarkets do flavoured waters too. m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=252895619

AGirlCalledBoB · 20/02/2015 17:57

Am amazed by how many people feel so strongly about juice!

Op my son drink very diluted sugar free juice. I make it a very pale colour to get enough taste that he does not think it's ordinary water which he will very rarely drink enough of.

He also drinks milk and normal fruit juice now and again. He loves smoothies And shock horror he also had a small bottle of chocolate milk today

ghostyslovesheep · 20/02/2015 17:59

Aspartame is fine OP

but if you want to avoid it a lot of supermarket sugar free own brands don't have it

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