To stop my daughter drinking Coke Zero

[MumsForPresident]

Hi all so I just need some advice. My DD who's 14 (in my opinion) drinks way too much Coke Zero. She spends about a £1.15 every day (sometimes gets 2 bottles) on a 500ml bottle of coke. I personally think this is far too much and she needs to stop because of all the negative impacts and the potential risk of type 2 Diabetes.

She disagrees with me and says it's only 500ml (sometimes 1l) of coke a day but I still think it's too much as she doesn't drink water until the weekend and even then she is still drinking coke. We have stopped buying it but she still brings into the house. To be fair, she does have a pretty healthy diet, it's just the coke that worries me

Am I being unreasonable to think that she needs to change her choice of drink and become more healthy?

That much is not healthy. However, not sure how you can actually prevent her from buying and drinking it.

I think it's too much but I don't know how you can force her to stop buying it. You can't police her 24-7.

You don't buy it (which is a good decision) but you can't stop her buying it. I guess you could say she can't drink it in the house.

It would worry me, fizzy drinks aren’t good for your gut health and neither are sweeteners.

but what can you do when they’re buying it at school?

https://www.livescience.com/63743-artificial-sweeteners-gut-health.html

Ha! Yes of course you are right but I have older teens too (older than 14) and there is no way you can or should police this.

also just wait until she wants energy drinks

Mmmm. I don’t think YABU. I agree with you that she should drink more water.

But if she otherwise eats healthily I would say don’t sweat the small stuff. Perhaps continue to discourage it but if she keeps drinking the stuff I don’t think it’s going to lead to a lifetime of fillings and diabetes. She is at the age where she has a bit more autonomy now so you might need to accept her choices, even when you are not keen on them.

Is that a bottle the size you’d get with a meal deal?

On the scale of bad things teenagers do, I’d put this fairly low down, but if it bothers you and her, suggest she just has it at the weekend.

She's already started wanting energy drinks! 😂 I keep saying no but she just doesnt listen😫I think I need to start properly enforcing rules tbh because she just doesnt listen to me and I'm really worried for her even if I can't properly force her to stop drinking it

One bottle a day is fine.
In my day i would have been drinking white lightening so..

Zero has no sugar so it won't raise blood sugar levels in the short term. I don't have an issue with sweetness but others probably will.

I would definitely be worried about that much caffeine for a teen though, and the impact of the acid on her tooth enamel.

Coke Zero doesn't have any sugar in it, so won't have any impact on diabetes.

She won't get diabetes from Coke zero

Doesn't sound ideal but it's not ketamine so.... 🤷

Pick your battles.

The caffeine and aspartame would bother me. My DD is 14 and has coke as a special treat. Rest of the time she drinks squash or water

Coke zero has no sugar though right?

So why would it increased diabetes risk?

One a day is fine. Even it were full sugar. Teens need the energy for a full day at school. I wouldn't have survived without irn bru lol.

Give her a big 500ml refillable bottle for water and suggest she maybe drink her cola but revert to try water once the one bottle is done to save her buying a second bottle.

Honestly though op I'd be annoyed with your controllingness about this though. She's 14 not 4. So I wouldn't push it.

Would teeth be an angle if she’s into her appearance. Ask dentist about impact on teeth at her next appointment.
The coke removing limescale from toilet is another good visual if it can do that what’s it doing to you.

To be fair, her teeth are fine and she's never had a cavity. I know it isn't crazily important but it just worries me that she doesn't listen!!! 🙄

Could you link to the data on the link to type 2 diabetes please? Not being pissy, have a partner with a diet coke habit and I'd be interested.

All I could find from a quick Google was this https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet-soft-drinks.html ref to one study in 2013, which doesn't seem very conclusive.

I admit to being a Diet Coke addict to be honest. At least a litre a day. Probably not my finest habit.

At 14 I’d pick your battles, and this wouldn’t be the hill I’d die on. It’s sugar free, and 500ml isn’t really a huge amount.

It’s a rubbish drink. I don’t have it, ever.

my kids like it though and have it often. I wish they wouldn’t but, pick your battles, etc.

I’m not sure how it would increase diabetes risk?

She has 1 litre a day about every other day though...

Hm. If she could stick to the 500ml then I don’t think that’s too bad. Maybe that’s the compromise.

I don’t think it’s likely to cause diabetes? Are you worried that people eat more with sweetners and she might become overweight?

Why wouldn’t her teeth be fine after drinking Coke Zero? It has no sugar in.
It’s not the best thing for her to drink, it’s also not the worst. Pick your battles.

I hate fizzy drinks with a passion. Always have done. My 2 kids have been brought up on water alone (1 still young, 1 now an adult) with a watered down fruit juice probably twice a year. They both hate fizzy drinks now! My youngest is scared of the bubbles (god knows why) and my adult just says they taste disgusting.

Can you try and say coke at the weekend but water during the week? Try and swing it that way?