To ask at what age you let your DC regularly drink soft drinks?

[UnderTheAntenna]

i.e. not just water or milk (hot choc). How old were they when you let them drink soft drinks on non-special occasions?

[Cheeeeislifenow]

I am pretty lax about bedtime, my kids go to bed when they are tired. They are able to self regulate this. In other households have a strict bedtime, that doesn't make me say that others need to "unclench", others aren't "boring" or "controlling". I can just simply acknowledge people do things differently.
Other on this thread don't seem to comprehend that people can do things differently to you and that is okay.

[Mrsemcgregor]

This thread is hilarious. There needs to be some unclenching.

DS’s 9 and 6. Mostly water and milk, squash about 3 times a week. Lemonade a few times a month on weekends and if I remember to buy it. When eating out they can order any drink as long as it’s not caffeinated (or alcohol!).

I really think that if you outright ban anything they just want it more and then find it hard to regulate when they get some.

As with everything, sensible moderation.

(No fillings and dentist actually said he could tell they have a good diet)

[smallereveryday]

6timesthemess

You are far too bloody normal for MN !! Get away with you !

[neveradullmoment99]

Oh and im still alive, no issues yet.

[neveradullmoment99]

I have to say i have an older child, now 31 who grew up with robinsons, fizzy drinks and is fine teeth and health wise. Less was talked about regarding fizzy drinks at the time. I grew up with fizzy drinks. I am pretty old!!!

[neveradullmoment99]

They are12 11 and 8

[neveradullmoment99]

Im not overly strict. They have robinsons no added sugar. They have that and sometimes just water or flavoured water for school. It is a treat to have a fizzy drink. Normally given if we order in or go out to eat. All my kids are slim, teeth are perfect.

[Hotterthanahotthing]

DD has a big(refillable) bottle of water in the fridge at all times.She might have fizzy drinks when we're out for a meal.She steals my tonic water though!

[6timesthemess]

I feel like the worst parent ever after reading this thread.

We have a cupboard full of water, juice and a variety of soft/ fizzy drinks and milk in the fridge and free access to a big basket of all kinds of tea and coffee for those old enough to use a kettle.Sometimes they have water, sometimes they choose a fizzy drink or milk or tea - I have never policed what they drink.

I grew up like this and have never had any health problems or dental problems and we have 6 children from 14 years old down to 3 years old who have also never had any kind of health or dental problems .

I have never even thought of banning drinks it’s just a non issue - they seem to police themselves- all of them drink a variety of what’s on offer .

I had no idea that most people were so strict with this -

hangs head in shame and adds this to her list of parenting failures

[FurrySlipperBoots]

My mum would provide coke and juice as my main means of fluid as a big kid/ teenager. It's fucked my teeth up permanently. I don't blame her at all, she did it through love, but I will be a whole lot stricter with my children. Soft drinks (including squash!) will be limited to only the MOST special occasions.

[kateandme]

oh god there is nothing wrong with a light squash or some juice!
our age we and all I new had squash as a drink for anytime.it was in a jug at meals and it was always on offer at other times.noone I new had an obesity problem due to sugar free fucking squash!infact squash wasn't so hot when we were young it was Ribena all the way.
you are giving your children the wrong food it wont be to do with the squash
juice we were allowed a small glass for breakfast.
milk we had all the tmie whenever.
pop was a treat.and we never yearned for it.
water ukkkk

[HolyForkingShirt]

LikeACowsOpinion

But I LIKE water! It's not a means to an end, I actually like it.

[HolyForkingShirt]

Squash is disgusting, especially the artificially sweetened stuff. Don't understand the selling point of plastic-tasting bitter flavoured water. What's wrong with just water?

I do find it a bit bizarre when people drink fizzy drinks every day by habit. One of my mates did this every day for 5+ years and one day his tooth randomly cracked and fell out. Naice.

We don't have kids but we only drink water, tea and coffee.

[Osquito]

Ooh just read a pp that has reminded me exactly why we don’t even buy squash: DP and I hate the taste of artificially sweetened drinks it’s getting hard to find normal sugar squash Otherwise I would buy that occasionally, though likely still restrict it for DS cracks whip

[Osquito]

DS is nearly 5 but I’d like to keep him off regular soft drinks as long as he’s under my roof (or not paying for his own food & drink)! Currently we don’t buy soft drinks (or even juice, really) for our normal shop and if it’s in it’s because we’re having a party or visitors. DS gets to have juice/froot shoot when we go out for a meal or day in town, but I try to be pretty strict on it otherwise. Though we did visit DGPs across the world last year and my dad gave DS his own can of coke (!!!) I gave in as it was his first holiday, it was 36°, he’d just done a pretty hard climb in a cave... and my dad had already handed the ice cold can to him. Thought DS was going to explode with excitement. He still brings the damn thing up!

Disclaimer: I had free reign of fizzy drinks as a child, though we didn’t buy much for the household, and also had a couple of cavities pretty young. I’d like to try avoid that for my child.

[AttheShriekingshack]

Only with a rare takeaway, meal out or for Christmas and birthdays. I am very strict about it because until last year I would physically gag when drinking water and I'm in my early 30's. I always had strong squash as a child or pop when I started secondary school. How I haven't had a filling yet I don't know. I now only drink water and 1 coffee a day, so I am strict on myself too. DH is the same.

[smallereveryday]

Dcs 15 , 16, 17, 18, 21, 21 & 24.

Never really had fruit juice until they started on the Vodka average aged 15. Orange is their preference.

18yr old likes coke. He lets himself drink it.

I have never restricted any form of food or drink with the exception of more than two Easter eggs for breakfast when the occasion occurred.

[Upsy1981]

I like juice. I don't like water particularly, except sparkling or when I'm at the gym. My DH drinks only Pepsi max (this will probably out me to anyone who knows us!). I mean only Pepsi max. No tea, coffee, water, juice. Just Pepsi max. He will have the occasional cordial if I force feed him one when he has a headache! Or a hot chocolate in Costa. Otherwise just Pepsi max. There's no way my DD would ever have been brought up in a water/milk only house. To be fair, she probably makes the healthiest drinks choices out of all of us! But she has never been told she can't have any particular drink. And she always gets a clean bill of health at each dental appointment.

[SkinnywannabeKBH]

My children are 7 & 5 and only drink milk or water. If at a party they are allowed a little squash but only a small glass. They never have fizzy.

[SleepingSloth]

Posted too soon....

His advice to any parent would be - chocolate and biscuits as a treat fine but NEVER give them fruit juices, fizzy drinks or dried fruit like raisins as they are the worst for teeth.

But doctors often advise fruit juice with food containing iron for better absorption of iron. Dentists will only be thinking of the health of your mouth, not the bigger picture. Someone I know had a dentist who advised them to go off their medication because it was affecting their teeth. She spoke to her GP who was angry that the dentist had said it.

My son went through a stage of not eating any fruit apart from dried fruit. Dentist said stop it, doctor said any fruit was better than none.

[SleepingSloth]

His advice to any parent would be - chocolate and biscuits as a treat fine but NEVER give them fruit juices, fizzy drinks or dried fruit like raisins as they are the worst for teeth.

But doctors often advise fruit juice with food containing iron for better absorption of iron. Dentists will only be thinking of the Heath of your mouth

[sailorsdelight]

Our dentist has also said that he can tell our kids don't have juice or pop because their teeth are good. His advice to any parent would be - chocolate and biscuits as a treat fine but NEVER give them fruit juices, fizzy drinks or dried fruit like raisins as they are the worst for teeth.

[YouBumder]

I was at the dentist yesterday and he said that energy drinks are the 'bain of his life' as he now has to give fillings to so many teens. As someone with a filling in every molar, I'd be genuinely gutted if mine had to have a filling.

I remember my then dentist telling me long before I even had kids that he was “everything in moderation” with his own kids’ diets except for fizzy drinks which they never got as they are so damaging. I’ve never forgotten it and although I am generally a lazy and quite lax parent it’s one thing I stuck to strictly.

[Sunonthepatio]

I never buy squash, and I buy juice very rarely. It's long known that it isn't good for them. I used to buy juice but when I did they drank it immediately and there were disputes, so I stopped, and now they don't even want it as teenagers.

[CarolDanvers]

And she didn’t call you a bad parent. Just spoke up for herself after a lot of criticism. Plenty of other people did call parents who don’t give their kids anything but water, boring and controlling and told them their kids won’t be able to self regulate and will stuff themselves till sick once out of their controlling parents sight and a ton of other nonsensical and nasty assertions. Anon obviously wasn’t just responding to you, but the thread in general. As for the accusations of being stuck up, yes there’s plenty of snobbery on this thread some actual but much more reverse.