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!

Yes, Pigsdofly, that's exactly what I was getting at!

Or they drink so little water they feel rubbish, have really dark wee and get constipated. I mean, I could have just told him tough, your choice, you're not having anything else out of principle I suppose, but that would be a pretty weird thing to do.

Yes, but as a young toddler, how does he know there is anything else? When do children usually first have squash type drinks?

There's a big difference between drinking enough to survive and drinking enough to be well. My youngest was a water refuser long before he'd ever had squash.

I think maybe the problem is you are assuming all children are like your children?

I was a water refuser as a child, just wouldn't entertain it. Mum tried colored bottles and pretending to add squash to get me to drink but I'd only drink if squash was added - prefered it to be strong but would drink it weak too - anything that wasn't plain water. I was a fizz refuser though, unlike my brother who'd drink plain water but sell his soul for fizz..

I've made it to 30 with no cavities or fillings or problems with my teeth, despite drinking full sugar squash every day, including taking a sippy cup to bed every night and only brushing once a day.. The only issue I have is very yellowy teeth, probably caused by the colors added as orange squash was my preferred drink.

Artificial sweeteners make you crave sugar more. Aspartame also gives me a horrible headache.

I really doubt babies/young toddlers are logically deciding to refuse water to get something better.

But babies still have milk- I am just wondering when they become old enough to reject milk and water? And when do people decide to try squash/ hot chocolate/ etc to try and get them to drink? I do know a lot of children who got hot chocolate at about 2 when being encouraged to stop breast feeding! And I would expect other drinks to be on the party/ social radar by 3ish, but when do people decide to try squash? And why squash rather than tea/ herbal tea/ fruit juice? Am just interested in when it happens as I know a lot more about aged 5 and up!

I never buy the sugar free options. I use the full fat sugar drinks in moderation but prefer freshly squeezed juices diluted with water ( fizzy or still) for young children. However plain water or milk is better.

Well, when you have a 1yo who won't drink water that's when you would (obviously) try other things I wouldn't give a child tea and fruit juice is bad for their teeth.

My oldest never drank cow's milk, so had no milk from about 14 months, and my youngest will have sips and doesn't like chocolate milk.

The French are very keen on their squashes / syrops too.

My 20 month old used to love drinking water but had squash at someone's house a few months ago, as there was an older child having some. Now she will hardly drink any water, and in this hot weather I want her to drink enough so she has weak squash and watered down or no added sugar juice sometimes. It's a bit difficult once they have the taste for it but how do you go back if they refuse to drink water (she does have breast and cows milk as well)?

It must be very difficult if you have a child who just plainly refuses to drink water. If it were me, I'd get to the stage of just giving them watered down fruit juice if it's all they would drink. I do sympathise.

I'm been a CM for 3 years and have cared for many children from a year to 12 years old. I have never given any of them juice - they all only get water (or milk if requested). Many refuse water at home and drink it happily here. However, I know children act differently in other environments and certainly wouldn't judge someone for giving a chid juice. If I was worried about a child who refused water/milk, I would try to give watered down fruit juice and gradually add more water over time. In theory that's what I would do, but in practise it could be different!

My lot drink water, milk or fruit juice. Ocaisionally, if we are eating out, the older ones will have a fizzy drink. I don't trust things with additives, I like to keep things simple. None of my four have any fillings.

Some of the comments on this thread remind me of Mexico thirty years ago when people used to think I was a bad mother for giving my dd water. You would sometimes see children with coca cola in their baby's bottle.

Attitudes here started to change I think when bottled water came in that was as expensive as soft drinks.

But I really would rather give a small child juice than anything with artificial sweeteners.

There

Caz, I used to live in Singapore. It's hot all year 'round there. Like over 30degrees every day hot, and stinking humid. My daughter was breastfed and hardly ever drank water. As she was slowly eating more solids she slowed down significantly on the breastfeeding. At 20 months she'd have the odd breastfeed and food and...nothing. Not a drop of water. She was hardly filling her nappy overnight. No way was I giving her squash. She loved her food and eating from a spoon, so I fed her several cups of crushed ice-chips during the day.

Babies and little children don't need flavoured water or squash. Your little one needn't have it if it isn't presented as an option.

I really don't see what's wrong or insufficient with giving toddlers just water & milk.

Yes fruit juices and all that will come, but for now it's surely not necessary to introduce it into their diet?

And toddlers do not need to be drinking Fruit shoots!!!

In my experience, 'squash' is almost ubiquitous in families who are from indigenous English backgrounds (such as myself), from 2 upwards. It's just a part of the culture... Yes, I know there are some that don't (I know one family) but it's the exception not the rule.

ffs

All things in moderation. My toddler son drinks milk first thing and before bed. He drinks water with every meal. He drinks water or full sugar squash with snacks. In the car for long journeys he drinks water or a carton of apple juice

He eats broccoli but also adores ice cream. He eats salmon and olives but won't eat cucumber. He will sit for an hour if I put on a cartoon film but equally he will walk for miles. Isn't life at this age about teaching them about balance and choice? in hoping that as he grows he realises that he can moderate and regulate himself.

ngredients in Aqua fresh milk teeth:
Aqua, Hydrated Silica, Sorbitol, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum, Titanium Dioxide, Aroma, Sodium Saccharin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Fluoride, Contains: Sodium Fluoride 0.221% w/w (1000 ppm Fluoride)

But we still clean our kids teeth (I hope).
Everything is chemical!

What a silly post!

things have certainly changed since I was a child. I grew up drinking Ribena, chocolate milk, undiluted juice, fizzy drinks, tea. And eating sweets, chocolate, crisps etc. I don't recall other kids having anything different either. I also predate the crazy lunch box rules at school, my school had vending machines for fizzy drinks and sweets and we could have whatever we wanted in our packed lunches.

There's nothing wrong with my teeth or health. I still don't like the taste of plain water and never have it by itself unless I've been out for a long run. Still don't have bad teeth or health problems. I get that there's a move towards being ultra healthy and I don't necessarily think going back to how things were when o was a child is the way to go, but I think people need to let go of the obsessiveness with only having the healthiest of healthy options. It hasn't hurt kids/ people for years to have what is now considered unhealthy so I think it should be dialed back and fgs if a kid will only drink water with squash in it there's nothing wrong with that. Kids teeth weren't all falling out from squash 20 years ago so why would they now?

Squash hate that word is just as bad for teeth as natural fruit juice.
To a PP who said the flavoured water their dc drank had as much sugar as coke needs to get themselves to aldi My dc drink the no added sugar flavoured water, the natural sugar content is 0.5% of their daily recommended allowance.

Everything in moderation.. Christ, wouldn't life be boring if all we had was milk and water!

"most" people? I don't know anyone who gives their toddlers diet drinks. So I guess its a case of some but not all, as with most things