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?

Really would pick your battles to ‘enforce rules’.

It’s acidic which damages teeth and the dark colour can stain them as well

How would you enforce it OP?

Tell her to stop. It’s addictive and poison.

I have a colleague and a relative who were both addicted to Diet Coke. Both now have gut related disease and one had a child with fatal birth defects.

Yes this...it's just because I know Coke Zero is so unhealthy and she doesn't even try and listen to my input of reducing the amount of coke and at least drinking more water...I could maybe get around the coke if she just drinks the water. I think maybe I just need to accept it tho, I just worry excessively as a mum!

Well that would be a terrible idea.

Get her in some sugar free red bulls (cheapish in home bargains) Tell her you don't mind if she takes a couple per week but not to over do it as they stop their effects and just give you this shits if you do.

If she's watched 'the invetweeners' she'lsonic what you mean. Might be a bit youg for that still but I'm sure she's seen worse lol.

I have suggested only having coke at the weekends but this is the point, she does not listen.

I think at that age you can control what you buy, but not what she buys herself. You can share your worries, but it is ultimately her body and her choice.

I think you need some perspective - this isn't a huge deal.

By not supplying the money to buy it?

YANBU OP although I’d be more concerned about kidney damage than diabetes I think https://www.kidney.org/news/kidneyCare/spring10/DietSoda

The ‘drink more water’ is a bit of a fallacy though.
Most people will drink enough.

It’s also fine for water intake to be a mix of food, squash, cup of tea etc.

She probably listens, then disregards it.

she’s 14 and you’re her mum, therefore you officially know nothing.

Does she do well at school, does she have friends, is she a generally nice kid?

This ^

The 'I am right and you are wrong' doesn't usually work with teenagers

I wouldn't listen to anyone who spoke to me like that

Here’s a thing on water intake

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jan/27/the-truth-about-hydration-should-you-drink-eight-glasses-of-water-a-day

My DH supplies it not me. He spoils her too much to be perfectly honest and doesn't listen when I say it's too much Coke and money.

Yeah she's quite popular at school, goy friends and a boyfriend (although he's a bit of a bad influence) She does well at school but could do better if she tried. She is a nice kid, but quite disrespectful to me and her little sister sometimes. Adores her dad though.

These articles have been really useful, thanks 😊

She's 14. All you can do is give her salient information and hope she heeds it. It's impossible to control a 14 yr old who has access to money and is away from you for large chunks of the day. Just give her the facts (not scaremongering) so she is at least making informed decisions.

Switch her to coffee? I’m not serious but if it’s her source of caffeine it might be a battle to make her stop.

Then a fizzy drink wouldn’t be my line in the sand.

Tbh she already sounds health conscious. She is drinking the sugar free version. Far more responsible than I was at 14 lol.

It's fine. I mean she could be smoking or drinking. And if you clamp down on little things like this, you'll only drive her to rebel and do worse.

I'd ask her to cut down rather than cut it out. TBH we always had coke in at home and I probably drank a ton of it at that age. I didn't drink water until my 20s.

@Cocopogo a can of Coke Zero has less caffeine than a cup of tea!

She finds coffee too bitter and frankly I think coffee would be worse

The WHO has just this week said that artificial sweeteners are unhelpful with weight control because they help maintain a sweet tooth, and possibly have other harmful effects on health.

'The recommendation is based on the findings of a systematic review of the available evidence which suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. Results of the review also suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in adults'

https://www.who.int/news/item/15-05-2023-who-advises-not-to-use-non-sugar-sweeteners-for-weight-control-in-newly-released-guideline