Sweet imitation stuff for youngsters

[Sylvannas]

Am I alone here in thinking that we haven't a chance really when it comes to little ones accepting healthier foods?
Calpol, Nurofen, even toothpaste are designed to taste pleasing and sugary (although not necessarily containing sugar)

Considering the NHS recommend when you start weaning to avoid sugary foods. This kinds defeats the point for me.

DS has really been struggling teething with several teeth coming through at once. We've had to reach for the calpol alot and even Nurofen when it's very severe. Now he's got some teeth I can't seem to find toothpaste for infants that don't claim to taste like tutti frutti or bubblegum.

What in the heck is going on!?

I had little sleep last night due to my teething little boy so perhaps I'm just being a bit precious.

I think with medicines, they are given so infrequently that the sweet taste doesn't really matter. Besides, I'd rather it tasted nice and so it's easier to get the stuff into the child.

Toothpaste, however, YANBU! After all, you use it every single day so will have more of an effect than the flavour of medicines. And it seems a bit ironic to have a sweet flavour when sweets are so bad for teeth.

I think I have only found one or two brands of toothpaste that do a mild mint for under 3s- my local supermarket doesn't stock them so I have to make a special trip, and the ones on the shelf that attract my DD (with characters on) all seem to be bubblegum or tutti fruiti flavour. Thankfully now she's 4 she's happy that she has the stripey toothpaste just like mummy and daddy.

Mine used to ask for Nurofen because it was so sweet and tasty and she didn't get sweets.

Sugar-free/non-flavoured calpol is absolutely vile, to be fair.

I'm with you on the toothpaste though!

I think even adults toothpaste has sugar in?

We use milk teeth for our dc, it seems to be a very mild mint rather than any other, but I'm too lazy to go up and check! The gel ones seems to be the fruity flavours. To be fair mine have always brushed their teeth relatively cooperatively- I can imagine if yours don't then you'd try sweet flavours to get the job done.

I agree! DD has always had sugar free calpol/nurofen and adult minty toothpaste. Because I'm mean

You'd never get Nurofen down my child when she's ill unless it was very sweet.

I'm thankful for the not mint flavours they do as I can't use mint. Tesco does a kids one that's strawberry and same fluoride as adult
If I remember right then asda do a mild mint one

You don't have to use kids toothpaste. You can use adult. Or at least this was the advice from a HV who did a presentation on good dental hygiene at our local CC

YANBU, but at least - teething aside - you don't have to give Calpol or Nurofen too often. I used to ask my mum for Calpol as a kid as a treat. Always got it. God bless the 80s.

It has always been thus OP. Don't you remember the bottles of banana flavoured antibiotic your mum would have stored in the fridge when you had a sore ear? Mmm.

How much bloody calpol are you giving them if you think it affects them accepting broccoli or not?

Don't be so daft.

You can get minty children's toothpaste. I buy it from home bargins.

Yes I definately remember pretending I was sick as a kid just so I could have calpol

Thank you to those recommending minty ones. I'll have a butchers and see what I can get hold of.

I got him a Peppa pig one, it was the only one that didn't have a flavour on the tube so I assumed it was mint. Nope...bubblegum.

The only way I can get my toddler to agree to have his teeth cleaned is to use non mint flavour toothpaste. I wonder if there is a reason there can't be a 'nothingness' flavour?

Breast milk is sweet so babies are conditioned to prefer sweet flavours from the moment they're born. It doesn't make them sugar addicts.
Toothpaste and medicines would taste pretty rank if they didn't have some sort of flavour and sweetener added. Plus, with medicines particularly, it's important that they do swallow it, not spit it out in disgust.

No toothpaste - for adults or children - contains sugar - that would defeat the point. They contain tooth- friendly sweeteners such as sorbitol or saccharin.

1. Calpol and nurofen (or unbranded versions) are just flavoured to take away the nasty taste of the medicine. Just helps to make sure they swallow it rather than spit it out. They shouldn't be having so much of it that it impacts on their food preferences. Even when you feel like you're dosing them up constantly you're giving them 5ml or whatever every few hours. Save your worry for chocolate and cola, etc- they do the real damage.

1. Just use a tiny smear of adult toothpaste and build up as they get more teeth.

Meh. Mine have to present me with a broken leg with the bone sticking out before they get Calpol. (I kid. We just rather not use medicines and opt for using a cold cloth for headaches etc)
I cannot understand why Calpol is so sickly sweet though. When I'm feeling nauseous with a bug then the last thing I want is a spoonful of sickly sweet gloop! It actually makes one of my children vomit. I gave it to DS for a fever and headache once and he threw up straight after. When the next dose was due I gave him more and he threw up again. And the same with the next dose. It took me three doses to figure out the medicine I was giving him for illness was CAUSING the illness.

P.S. The Wisdom toothpaste for 0-3 years in a blue tube is mint flavour.

colgate and aquafresh both do mild mint flavour.

lidl do an orange flavoured one which i think is less offensive than bubblegum flavour.

my dentist said you can just use adult toothpaste but my kids have declared it "too spicey".

Like nenny says breast milk is incredibly sweet.