To not understand why most people in the UK give their toddlers and small children 'diet' drinks? Is it a fad?

[Bellarosa1234]

I have lived in the UK for several years and now have a toddler DD. I have noticed all my English friends feed their toddlers diet drinks? Like robinsons squash, supermarket no added sugar squash, no added sugar flavoured waters etc. Am I missing something? Why do toddlers and children need diet drinks? When I lived at home we would dilute fresh fruit juices at meal times for the children? I did that infront of a friend and she made me feel like a bad mother. She said fruit juice is bad and full or sugar? I went to have a look at some "squash" in the supermarket and it seems like it is a con? My friend said it was kind for children's teeth but it still has fruit juice and added acid. Am I missing something? Obviously I want to do my best by my children but I just can't understand why people think diet drinks are great for kids, can anyone enlighten me? Thanks in advance!

[Tanaqui]

Diluting juice is Scottish for squash. I think the op means real fruit juice, diluted with water.

Teaditional Ribena is sugary beyond belief but surprisingly does have some vitamin c. Wouldn't recommend it though except as a treat!

[BeatrixBurgund]

Basicbrown
She's not saying her parenting skills are better. She's noticed something in RL that puzzles her (because she wasn't brought up in UK) and has asked for clarification.

When you bring up a child in a different country, there are lots of little differences, e.g. in UK it's common for babies to be bathed daily; here in Germany parents are advised to bath their newborns just once or twice a week.

It's easier to ask on Mumsnet than to ask a friend, who might be offended by the question.

[Tanaqui]

Bellarosa, it is because in the UK a lot of people and children drink a lot of squash, not just at mealtimes, and so dentists/ tv programmes have made people aware it isn't great for teeth. Other countries don't have the squash thing so not such an issue to make people aware.

[FuzzyOwl]

Newborns shouldn't be bathed daily in the uk either.

[BeatrixBurgund]

Cointreau
Sorry, didn't mean to confuse things! I meant squash = diluting juice. Didn't realise that was a Scottish term. Thanks Tanaqui!

[BeMorePanda]

the only difference between sugar free-drinks and "diet drinks" is the word "diet". Can't believe people think otherwise.

OP I don't think it is most British people, but drinking squash inc sugar free squash certainly is very common here. I'm from NZ and also grew up drinking "cordial" regularly. Much to my detriment I think.

My DC have watered down juice, milk or most commonly water. They do get given squash at friends, school, parties etc. Sometimes when we are out they will get to choose a drink and always pick something sweet and gross, but it's very occasionally. DD2 doesn't like fizzy drinks. They both like Lipton Ice Tea which as far as I can tell has less sugar than many other drinks.

The UK does seem to love sweet and artificially flavoured drinks though. I'm not so keen.

[Bellarosa1234]

tanaqui thank you that clarifies it for me. So squash is still something just to have with a meal like juice otherwise it is bad for teeth. And it is low in calories due to sweetners. Kind of like a juice version of Diet Coke that children find appealing. So not really great for toddlers then? I will be polite and accept at friends houses then but not bother to buy any as it doesn't seem it will promote healthier teeth then and not something my toddler needs instead of fruit juice then with her meals. I grew up on watered down fruit juice with meals and I don't have any fillings so I'm sure it must be ok?

[Basicbrown]

She's not saying her parenting skills are better. She's noticed something in RL that puzzles her (because she wasn't brought up in UK) and has asked for clarification.

OK maybe not but all the disapproving 'Phoenix only has milk and water' brigade jump in straight after.

No children don't need squash but it isn't poisonous either.

[Bellarosa1234]

tamaqui just saw your other post. That makes sense then if children were drinking sugary drinks all day long, I guess it's better for their teeth to have the diet drinks instead.

[BeatrixBurgund]

I think when your friend said squash was 'kind to children's teeth', she meant 'in comparison to fresh fruit juice'. Which is true.

It isn't beneficial, as in better than water, so your DC won't be missing out by not having it.

[lordsteatime]

squash was only, like fizzy drinks suitable for parties imo.
squash is full of dodgy stuff , the aspartemine in diet stuff is not good for bowels, encourages lazy bowels .
Benzoate type additives have been linked to asthma/ hives for some. I suspect that is a rare issue, but as my family has lots of allergies I never gave it to my kids every day.

They had water, milk and fruit juice that I diluted. I dont think its healthy to drink lots of fruit in liquid form, more natural to eat one piece of fruit in one go. So I compromised and added water to the juice.
The only time I didnt was when my daughter was restricted on calcium rich foods because of her food allergies. then I gave her a small glass of fortified orange juice with calcium.

[EverySongbirdSays]

Sugar Free and No Added Sugar are definitely not the same thing though right?

Sugar Free = no sugar at all
No Added = contains existing sugar but we didn't plonk any extra in for the sake.

[Tanaqui]

Yes, although the fruit acids still aren't great! The manufacturers jumped on sugar free as a selling point so people would still buy- as you can see, some people genuinely don't realise that means it contains sweetener! And even more people don't realise that flavoured water often has sugar and/ or sweetener.

[Bellarosa1234]

beatrix thank you. Yes I thought I would ask on here as I don't want to offend my English friends, I was just confused by them offering it to my toddler all the time.

[squoosh]

Not necessarily Every. They're just different ways of saying the same thing. When you see those labels on a food product it usually means '........but full of artificial sweeteners'.

[Gumpendorf]

Aspartame has many side effects including encouraging weight gain by affecting fat storage and stimulating the appetite especially for carbs. Far better to rely on water and natural products. Diluted orange juice is ok providing it's not the main drink source.

[RhiWrites]

I think it strange that so many people are suggesting children should drink milk. Do you mean cow's milk? Why? Is it still those ancient milk marketing board adverts?

[Fortybingowings]

No. It's the World Health Organisation.

[uglyflowers]

There is evidence now that sweeteners disrupt the bacteria in your gut. Mine have full sugar squash in the morning with breakfast, to get them to drink a big drink as one is a poor drinker. The rest of the time it is water only. Even fizzy drinks are full of sweeteners including the non diet ones. Mine get fruit juice as a rare treat. Diet foods and drinks are worse for you than full sugar versions in moderation I think.

[uglyflowers]

Mine don't have milk either as we are a dairy free home. So far they are 7 and 10 and have no fillings.Mind you I do think some kids are just more naturally susceptible to tooth decay than others.

[lyraj]

It's the artificial sweeteners that make some of them particularly off putting and little different than the diet drinks.

[MeMySonAndl]

I don't see why young children should have any artificially flavoured drinks, full of colouring agents and sugar, or even worse, chemically based sweeteners.

Really... Even fruit juice is questionable, it only really counts as one of your five a day if the fibre has not been removed.

Having said that, the amount of rubbish you find in children's food is really unbelievable so even if you remove the sugar free drinks, children are still eating quite a lot of rubbish regularly, unless you decide to cook from scratch.

[FuzzyOwl]

I think milk depends on the age of the child and this post is about toddlers/young children.

[FuzzyOwl]

*small not young