Weirdest things you've seen other parents do as they bring up or care for their DC?

[FortunesFave]

Here are mine.

I was in a public toilet in the cubicle and heard a woman come in with a small boy.

They went into a cubicle together and I heard her ask him repeatedly "Do you want to dirt!?"

She meant poo!

"Do you want to dirt???

Omg.

Second is SIL. When her DS was little...around 2 or so, she'd put chips for him INTO A BOWL OF COLD WATER so they'd cool faster.

Dump the cooked chips into a bowl of water. Leave them there for a bit and then drop the soggy pile onto a plate for the poor child.

WHY? What are yours?

There is no need for babies and toddlers to be drinking anything other than water or milk. Also there’s a big difference between sugar free and ‘no added sugar’ which is actually what most squashes say! 🙄

@PixieLaLa

There is no need for babies and toddlers to be drinking anything other than water or milk. Also there’s a big difference between sugar free and ‘no added sugar’ which is actually what most squashes say! 🙄

I agree but say that on MN and you're a cow apparently. Loads of posts from parents of children with additional needs who would apparently literally die of thirst if no juice.

No child will deliberately starve themselves of water unless they had some rare disease which made them afraid of it. Or physically could not open their mouth. A doctor told me that when DD hadn't been drinking much.

And the prize for the most judgy mnet thread goes to.....

DS wouldn't drink anything except breastmilk, would retch and scream if water went anywhere in his mouth. Seeing as I couldn't breastfeed him forever and he needed to drink something else I added squash to the water to sweeten/flavour it, he still resisted but gradually accepted it. He has ARFID. Perhaps consider things like this when you make sweeping statements about "children with additional needs who would literally die of thirst if no juice".

No child will deliberately starve themselves of water unless they had some rare disease which made them afraid of it. Or physically could not open their mouth. A doctor told me that when DD hadn't been drinking much.
It was a Dr on children's ward both times who told me to try giving squash to my dehydrated baby/toddler.
Two of mine refused water which was ok normally because they drank plenty of milk and we continued trying with the water but it was a huge problem when they became ill and stopped drinking milk.

My kids have rashsuits/rashes on when we swim even at home. Wrist/elbow to knee.

My skin cancers are down to how often I got sunburnt as a 80’s kid. Sheets of skin peeling off sunburnt.

Also there’s a big difference between sugar free and ‘no added sugar’ which is actually what most squashes say! 🙄

Are you sure about that?

Can you get sugar free fruit squash? I thought sugar free was for things like Diet Coke and urn bru which can be sugar free as they are essentially a mix of chemicals in a can. Squash is no added sugar as there will always be an element of sugar from the fruit base even if it's minimal and the squash is still filled with additives.

@liveforsummer

Can you get sugar free fruit squash? I thought sugar free was for things like Diet Coke and urn bru which can be sugar free as they are essentially a mix of chemicals in a can. Squash is no added sugar as there will always be an element of sugar from the fruit base even if it's minimal and the squash is still filled with additives.

I don't know. Sweetener gives me headaches and my children upset stomachs so I only really buy the ones without it.

@mafted me too, although it's becoming harder to find. I always check the labels each time as lots of supermarkets have snuck in sweeteners (although not always aspartame) currently I think only Asda do a very small range specifically labelled sugar - no sweetners where as all their high juice used to be no sweetners and Sainsbury's same. Tesco has now added sweetners despite still using sugar too. Other alternative is the (very expensive) bottle green cordial

@PixieLaLa

There is no need for babies and toddlers to be drinking anything other than water or milk. Also there’s a big difference between sugar free and ‘no added sugar’ which is actually what most squashes say! 🙄

Citrus fruits are way worse. Satsumas, oranges etc. They’re basically ‘squash’ in its most concentrated form. My daughter has 2 or so beakers of weak squash a day, 2 of water and a cup of milk before bed. We brush her teeth very well & she doesn’t eat citrus fruits or drink pure orange juice. Squash isn’t the devil 🤷🏼‍♀️

@liveforsummer
It's annoying isn't it? The sugar tax seems to have made a lot of companies add sweetener where as I'm happy to pay more for the full sugar versions.

Citrus fruits are way worse. Satsumas, oranges etc. They’re basically ‘squash’ in its most concentrated form. My daughter has 2 or so beakers of weak squash a day, 2 of water and a cup of milk before bed. We brush her teeth very well & she doesn’t eat citrus fruits or drink pure orange juice. Squash isn’t the devil 🤷🏼‍♀️

You cannot compare whole fruit to squash. Oranges also come with significant nutritional benefit. Eating fruit on their whole form rather than juice also controls the blood sugar spike. There is zero nutritional benefit from squash that water can't provide. Not that it's the devil as you say but a bizarre comparison to make

I mean is everyone honestly anal about this stuff?!

No child will deliberately starve themselves of water unless they had some rare disease which made them afraid of it. Or physically could not open their mouth. A doctor told me that when DD hadn't been drinking much.

Complete and utter bollocks!

I was going to write more but I think that covers it enough

@liveforsummer

Citrus fruits are way worse. Satsumas, oranges etc. They’re basically ‘squash’ in its most concentrated form. My daughter has 2 or so beakers of weak squash a day, 2 of water and a cup of milk before bed. We brush her teeth very well & she doesn’t eat citrus fruits or drink pure orange juice. Squash isn’t the devil 🤷🏼‍♀️

You cannot compare whole fruit to squash. Oranges also come with significant nutritional benefit. Eating fruit on their whole form rather than juice also controls the blood sugar spike. There is zero nutritional benefit from squash that water can't provide. Not that it's the devil as you say but a bizarre comparison to make

Nope.

Oranges etc are actually acidic and very bad for your teeth. You’re not supposed to brush teeth after consuming them because it rubs the acid into the gums and cavities. There’s no vitamins in citrus fruits that can’t be sourced elsewhere, I mean even potatoes are a source of vitamin C:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-c/

I have never eaten citrus fruits, I drink endless squash and coffee and my teeth are perfect. In my 30s and not so much as a filling.

My ex’s teeth were basically crumbling despite the fact he never drank fizzy/squash, just water and tea. Dentist said it was from citrus fruits as he ate an orange or satsuma every day, you’re basically eating sugary acid that erodes the enamel. In moderation they’re good but a few a week are going to slowly damage your teeth.

Of course oranges are acidic - everyone knows that. They are also part of a healthy varied diet . My dc love oranges at have always eaten loads. When we lived aboard we had a tangling tree outside and dd1 would pick and eat daily. Their teeth are still perfect dd1 is now in high school and gets compliments from the dentist every time - she also likes to eat slices of lemon - I was the same as a child and still eat a couple of sardines a day now. Had one minor filling aged 32 and now 10 years later have never had another. You aren't supposed to brush your teeth 45 minutes after eating anything. If you are particularly concerned then eating a piece of cheese after acidic food can help neutralise the acid. Oranges are not the devil 😆

Then buckle in for wooden pegs for teeth in future @liveforsummer 😉

Well I've got this far without so it's looking good so far teeth are perfect 😆. I suspect my one filling was caused by years of drinking alcopops from the bottle then falling asleep drunk often forgetting to brush. DD's best friends dad is a dentist and she eats fruit including oranges daily. He does moan a bit about dried fruit but allows it on occasions. It's likely your DH just didn't have great teeth.

Most fruits (but especially oranges) are bad for teeth. But they have other health benefits.

My understanding is that it's not only the acidity of the food but also the frequency of acid attacks on the teeth. So fine for kids to have oranges, but best given after a meal than as a standalone snack. Likewise, if you are giving squash/fizzy drinks/chocolate and sweets, give them with a meal rather than between meals. I give my DC smarties for "pudding" sometimes, with a bit of cheese to follow.

It's if your children are sipping juice all day from a cup or bottle that you have a problem. But you'd have the same problem if your kids are snacking on fruit or raisins all day between meals, even though these are seen as healthy snacks.

If you can keep them to water and teeth-friendly snacks between meals, then it doesn't matter so much if they have juice or a sugary treat with their meal.

If you can't, then make sure they're up-to-date with their dentist check-ups and tooth-friendly lollipops are a great way to limit the damage.

If you can keep them to water and teeth-friendly snacks between meals, then it doesn't matter so much if they have juice or a sugary treat with their meal

I put just enough squash in the beaker to cover the bottom, the rest is water. It’s probably 19/20 parts water.

Breastmilk is 7g sugar per 100 mils

Tesco’s own orange squash is 0.2g per 100 mils

I think this is just one of these topics where people have lapped up the scare stories & are now annoyed they’re not reaping the benefits they thought they would from their ‘perfect parenting’, so they go all out trying to prove their side 😂

A couple of beakers of very weak squash a day aren’t going to result in a toothless toddler. If you’re giving them strong ribena for every drink then maybe. But I don’t think it’s worth the hype it gets on here.

There is zero nutritional benefit from squash that water can't provide

A lot of them contain Vitamin C from the fruits they contain (for example Ribena and some varieties of Robinsons) or from being fortified, some also have Vitamin D added (Vimto is one).

I put just enough squash in the beaker to cover the bottom, the rest is water. It’s probably 19/20 parts water.

It's not the amount of sugar, it's the constant exposure to it throughout the day which is the problem.

In which case I think it’s disgraceful you’re promoting confectionary in your username 😉

There is no need for babies and toddlers to be drinking anything other than water or milk. Also there’s a big difference between sugar free and ‘no added sugar’ which is actually what most squashes say! 🙄

Surely a squash can't be sugar free if it actually contains some fruit which even the cheapest ones do, with dearer ones containing quite a lot. I guess there is no need for any of us to drink anything other than water but we do because we like to.