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?

[Sh1ttySh1ttybangbang]

I’m really not one for being in the ‘perfect parenting brigade’ and my parenting is far from perfect but my kids are 12 and 8 and are only ever allowed 1 diet soft drink if we’re eating out. Most of the time they refuse this though. My eldest drinks mostly water and youngest apple juice. I don’t buy fizzy drinks ever, water only for me too - all that gas upsets my stomach 👎🏽

[DarcyDrive]

MN amuses me sometimes a glass of lemonade for a 15 year old = very very bad, but daily cups of coffee for a 6 year old = no big deal?? (According to some threads I've seen on here anyway!)

[DoomOnTheBroom]

We always have squash in the house and fizzy drinks too, although the DC don't tend to bother with them at home so it's mainly DH and I who drink them.

DC mainly drink squash, water and milk. Two DC will happily drink plain water if that's what they fancy but the other two DC won't drink that at all so mainly have squash and milk. They like fizzy drinks when we're out though so if we go out to eat they'll have a Fanta or a Sprite or even (gasp!) a coke, the only one not really allowed yet is the 2yo but she's sneaky and will try to steal sips.

DC1 is 9yo and his school sells fizzy fruit drinks like cans of Suso and bottles of Calypso. Good luck policing what they drink when they've got charge of their own dinner money and a free choice over what to buy!

[PlainVanilla]

Never.
Why?

[pinkgloves]

Are you in the US? Iced tea here usually has a shit ton of caffeine and sugar in.

[DoomOnTheBroom]

Suddenly realising how very tired I am today based on how many times I repeated the word "mainly"

[Singlenotsingle]

Coconut water is scrumptious, and dgs6 likes it.

[Sweetbabycheezits]

That's the thing, Doom...now mine are old enough to go out with friends, or nip to the shops on their own, they will indulge in the fizzy stuff. Fortunately, they don't tend to go completely mad, and tend to be thirsty for water after they've had the sweet stuff!

[Fazackerley]

I occasionally buy Ribena or Apple juice. If they were playing sport and wanted a sports drink, I buy them. Coke when we went out or to the cinema

13 and not allowed squash

[melissasummerfield]

All these teenagers drinking milk or water

[nokidshere]

Mine have always had everything available to them. They went through phases growing up of wanting lots or none. Now the 20yr old drinks mostly squash, (he's never had a hot drink) and water when he's had alcohol. The 17yr old drinks Pepsi Max and coffee. And probably alcohol when he's out with his mates.

They are both serious cricketers though so from April to Sept it's pretty much water and healthy eating except for the after match beers. And only bottled water

Oh and neither of them have ever had any work done on their teeth.

[blackteasplease]

Don’t people buy soft drinks just because they taste nice? I mean yeah water quenches your thirst but it’s not exactly enjoyable is it. And I don’t mean sugar laden fizzy.

Water is enjoyable! It's miles nicer than fizzy drinks in my opinion. Which is an opinion but as valid as any.

What fizzy drinks aren't sugar laden except fizzy water (also bad for teeth those as carbonated).

We don't really have them in. Mine are 10 and 5 and mainly drink water. Little one likes milk and older one has a decaf tea sometimes.

[butteryellow]

8 and 5. Water or milk day to day. 8 year old has no interest in anything else, 5 year old would drink my G&T given half a chance. 5 year old is allowed squash/fizzy if we have it, or if we're eating out, so perhaps once a week, more if we're knackered and eat out a lot, less if we're home all week.

[BitchQueen90]

DS age almost 6 has squash or Fruit Shoots when we go out to eat, once or twice a month. We only have water at home. I don't allow him to have fizzy.

[Gruffin]

They’re 11, 13 and 14 and still only get it as an occasional treat when eating out.

[Theunreasonableone]

Weak squash whenever they like. They’ve never had fizzy drinks and won’t be for a long time. They are 7 and 5

[UnrelentingFruitScoffer]

No juice, no fizzy drinks, no exceptions.

These are poisons. The epidemic of child obesity and adult diabetes shows us exactly why we should avoid these.

[Widowodiw]

Well after reading this I have no idea why a sugar tax was put on fizzy drinks. Seems unecesarry that seeing as no one lets their children drink it 😂😂

[ElfridaEtAl]

What AlsoHuman said

Do you people avoid the pop aisle at Morrisons like it's some sort of drug den?

[IHaveBrilloHair]

This thread is pure fiction.

[CarolDanvers]

My children have never drunk a glass of squash in their lives. They’ve tasted it and didn’t like it. I’ve already answered on here but I didn’t realise it meant squash too. I’m not a perfect parent by any means but I just couldn’t see the point in adding flavouring to water for small children. They always had water in their cups as babies so they never got used to having squash and now they’re older they just don’t like the taste - far too sweet my dd says.

[CarolDanvers]

This thread is pure fiction.

Really not for my kids. I’m surprised by how many people are surprised that some people don’t drink squash and fizzy drinks regularly and don’t give it to their kids.

[SimonJT]

My son is almost four, he only has water at home, I sometimes let him have watered down orange juice if we eat out.

[Disfordarkchocolate]

Not fiction for me either. He preferred water so we stuck with it. When we're out he chose it for a long time too.

[applesarerroundandshiny]

Absolutely at this thread -DS would have had squash at nursery from a young age, always had it at home (sugar free), fruit shoot to take to school, and sugar free lemonade and flavoured milk at home on and off as well. I'm a big Pepsi max drinker and would have allowed DS every now and then from late primary. Strangely at 17 he rarely drinks caffeinated drinks - he does drink lager though!

Obviously in MN-land I'm worst mom ever but everybody else i know - my own friends and DS friends have always drunk squash as children rather than plain water or milk.