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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Mia1415 · 20/02/2015 20:19

My DS (2) has only ever had milk & water. I'm slightly worried about giving him juice in case he doesn't then want to drink water. I'm going to have to brave it one of these days though

VeronicaCaCa · 20/02/2015 20:20

Morrisons own brand squash is aspartame free.

OP I hope you haven't been upset by some of these responses to your questions. Mumsnet is a strange place sometimes.

Dd was on Movicol from a similar age to your dd. She had it made up in her orange juice in the morning then drank squash freely for the rest of the day. No way would she have drank plain water. She then came off the movicol naturally when she potty trained at nearly 3yrs old. She has been fine since then up until the govt introduced free school meals for her yr group and now she eats nothing but stodge at lunchtime and I have to give her lactulose to compensate Hmm We are going back to packups after half term as I know her problem can be easily managed through diet.

Anyway, hope you have got some answers here in amongst the hand wringing.

captainfarrell · 20/02/2015 20:20

Exactly Belle!

peggyundercrackers · 20/02/2015 20:22

Really why would anyone worry about 1additive in a drink your kids won't really have a lot of. There are literally hundreds of additives in food you will never ever know about because you don't know what the words on the label mean. Life is too short to worry about 1 additive.

canny1234 · 20/02/2015 20:25

I have 4 kids that drink sugar free squash or water or milk.They have fresh orange juice in the morning only.The risk of damaging teeth with sugary drinks is far worse than the Aspartame risk.The fat kids round our way are the ones who glug sugary fizz all the time.Mine have it on special days only,like Christmas or Birthdays.Even at restaurants I usually just give them water.I have to say the odd Hot Chocolate with squirty cream is creeping in too nowadays.

BeverleyCrusher · 20/02/2015 20:31

Ahchoo yes, don't worry not patronising! I do know about the iron thing, but it's only an issue if consumed at the same time as food, and we don't have tea with meals unless it's a fry-up

And tea is very good for teeth as it contains natural fluoride, and as someone mentioned, there's also the flavonoids I don't know what they do though

Pinkrosesarebest · 20/02/2015 20:34

Mine drink milk, water and high juice squash (supermarket own brand ones apple or orange high juice). I do have an alternate rule though! If last drink was a squash, it is milk or water next! They seem to accept this and cuts down a little on every drink being squash.

Jenni2legs · 20/02/2015 20:36

Mine have milk at breakfast, water through the day and a cup of squash with dinner. Their teeth are fine - we swap up squash - I get tempted by new flavours and at the moment it's high juice.

lovemyway · 20/02/2015 20:59

Mine have organic gnats milk only or Mount Everest dew if that's not available....;-)

EarSlaps · 20/02/2015 21:05

I'd echo the suggestions to only have squash/juice at meal times and to try and make it gradually weaker.

We are a water, milk and herbal tea house- ds1 won't touch anything else but ds2 will drink anything he can get his hands on so squash/coke etc are an out and about/party treat. Tbh that's partly for health, partly because water is free and I can't be bothered to remember to buy squash, and partly because if they're going to spill stuff I'd rather it were water than sticky juice!

I grew up drinking squash and my teeth are fine, I was also allowed nearly unlimited fizzy. I gave up all fizzy drinks and squash etc nearly 2 years ago and feel much better for it. I only have them if I'm out for a meal now.

Ds2 and I drink a lot of plain fizzy water with a straw. I think he'd love cucumber water too (maybe you could freeze bits of cucumber in ice cubes?). DS1 won't even drink cold water or water that has had ice cubes in it Hmm, just room temperature water or warm milk.

Longdistance · 20/02/2015 21:16

My dds drink watered down apple juice. It's already watered down in the box, and then I add water to it too.

Took them to the dentist two weeks ago. Dentist said both had perfect teeth. Having said that, they won't eat sweets like Haribos, and lollies etc. They like chocolate and cake, but that's it for 'sugar' as such.

As for natural sugars, they will eat fruit.

Carriemac · 20/02/2015 21:26

Water or milk. No squash or juice or fizzy pop. Might as well give then spoonfuls of sugar

Unidentifieditem · 20/02/2015 21:30

Oh and now she is water 60% time, milk 30% and juice 10%.

She LOVES a virgin daquiri!

When life gets dull I may start milking my own almonds for her or extracting the juice from a bag of barberries...Hmm

fruitloopsandfruitshoots · 20/02/2015 21:34

Argh, these threads drive me mad! The OP didn't ask WHAT your children drink, she asked what SQUASH your children drink- the implication there is that if your children don't drink squash, then there is no need to comment. We all know that water/milk is the nectar of angels and that squash will damn you to an eternity of health hell. OF COURSE the parents of children who drink only squash know that water/milk would be better if their children would drink it, but some children won't- lucky you if yours does. Unless you know what it is like to have a child who consistently refuses water, then you aren't really best placed to judge/comment.

OP- My 2yo DS drinks sainsbury's sugar free double concentrate. He hasn't spontaneously combusted....yet...

FWIW, I am 28 years old, have only ever drunk squash, have never had a filling, and am frequently complimented on my nice teeth by my dentist.

captainfarrell · 20/02/2015 21:41

Well said now let that be The End!

fruitloopsandfruitshoots · 20/02/2015 21:54

It's so unnecessary though! If the OP had started a thread saying 'What breed of dog do you have', she wouldn't have got a hundred posters saying...

'No dog here,'
'We don't have a dog, we only allow pedigree cats in our house,'
'Dog? You wouldn't be so happy if you knew how many bacteria they were harbouring.'

Why is this any different?! Why do people feel so compelled to boast about their children's perfect drinking habits?

VeronicaCaCa · 20/02/2015 22:03

Well said fruitloops.

windchime · 20/02/2015 22:08

Just milk and water here too. Sometimes a bit of milkshake powder for a treat. To my knowledge, neither DS or DD have ever tried fizzy drinks. Squash is the fast route to the dentist imo.

Crabstick · 20/02/2015 22:09

Both my children drink any sugar free squash, it could be from Aldi, Morrison's or budgens. Own brand or Branded, which ever takes my fancy.

VeronicaCaCa · 20/02/2015 22:09

W T F

DustyGold · 20/02/2015 22:30

Despite heading towards half a century my teeth not bad.
In my childhood, I suddenly remember my brother and I drinking cherry aid where we had added sugar so the fizz went mad and up our noses as we drunk it; early 70s.... This was not a one off. Ice cream floats [cherryaid featured again] another favourite.
Despite my upbringing I don't let my kids do the sugar thing and fizzy drinks limited.
Sugar free squash drunk frequently though.
They would not drink as much if just water I know.
Try not to worry op.

HicDraconis · 20/02/2015 22:34

I hate water. Always have done - never drank it when I was a child and don't drink it now I'm an adult. I am trying to drink it more but it's contradictory - it's tasteless and yet tastes foul at the same time.

One child drinks milk and water only, his choice. Other child will drink anything. He gets a glass of fruit juice (tropical) with breakfast, not watered down. At school they are only allowed water so he takes a bottle in but it comes back full as often as not. He says he uses the school drinking fountains but he drinks litres when he gets in! At home he drinks ribena light (no aspartame), or soda stream pink grapefruit (stevia) or sugar free lemonade (sucralose). He would drink water if I asked him to - as little as he could get away with - but I'd rather have the quantity right than the type of fluid. Both of them drink tea and hot chocolate :)

Cola, lemon lime & bitters (fab drink - juice of a lime, dash of angostura bitters, topped up with lemonade), ginger beer etc saved for special occasions and meals out.

Constipation in children can be extremely serious and lead to lifelong problems. Especially where movicol is concerned, quantity is far more important than quality (though I'd go sugar free where possible as drinking your calories can also lead to lifelong problems).

QueenFuri · 21/02/2015 08:47

My children drink squash Robinson's sugar free or vimto squash not much in the water just so its coloured. They brush their teeth and they are fine, they have milk in the morning and at night. I drink a lot of water they refuse as it gives them.a tummy ache. I'm going too look into Sainsbury's own brand though.

cashewnutty · 21/02/2015 09:10

My youngest is now 17 yo and up until maybe the last few years absolutely refused to drink water and has never drunk milk beyond her baby bottles. She has existed all this time drinking Robinson's no added sugar squash, in all it's various flavours, all this time. It does contain aspartame but i have no idea what issues that is supposed to cause and tbh i am not really worried about it. She is a tall, slim, healthy young woman with no health issues. She even used to have a Fruit Shoot every day in her lunch box! Shock. Don't over think it and give them what they will drink.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 21/02/2015 09:25

Please elaborate on this?
I am intrigued.
Your basic biological needs to drink would take over and you would drink water

Sorry was off doing something interesting.

Just off the top of my head (as that's what I'm more aware of) many children with sensory issues will just not eat or drink anything other than what they want to the point where they need admitting to hospital for tube feeding

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