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?

Rachie (note the name) actually acknowledges it’s not a good habit, or did you miss that bit in your outrage?

However, Rachie (getting it now?) Has also raised 6 kids, is a grandmother of 10 and is a foster carer. With age comes experience and the ability to know which battles are worth fighting.

Nobody is saying it's "right".

But there isn't a single person alive who has a perfect diet or lifestyle - we all have her vices and if the worst thing a 14yo is doing is drinking Coke Zero, I'd say she was doing pretty well.

My opinion is that life is too short to give up everything that gives you pleasure, and if that thing happens to be Coke Zero then it's really no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

YY to versions with sugar over sweeteners. All fizzy drinks are UPF, but I do still drink them occasionally and would never choose the diet versions.

But I agree with pp that OP’s daughter is an age where you can’t control these decisions. What’s more, trying to control them could impact relationship with dd whilst not actually fixing the problem. And far better Diet Coke than vaping or drinking or energy drinks.

Don’t know if anyone said it yet but drinking 500ml of Diet Coke a day could totally wreck her teeth by the time she’s in her 30s. Doesn’t cause decay but acid erosion just slowly wears your enamel off.

This

I would be more worried about the detrimental impact of pushing her away/causing her to rebel by micromanaging her choices.

She likes Coke Zero - not the best but you don't want to give her an eating disorder or damage your relationship because you're being overly controlling as she's growing up.

Thanks! But people won't listen. It's been known for a very long time that artificial sweeteners are just as bad. I've known pre-diabetics (in their 40s) who were addicted to drinks ("I don't like water") and had to reject artificial sweeteners after research.

I've had a Diet Coke addiction for over 30 years. Am down to one can a day now after being on as many as six a day in the past. It's stripped the enamel from my teeth and they're now extremely painful. I wish I'd never tried the stuff. Well-meaning people and several dentists told me to stop and I ignored them. You're certainly not unreasonable if you try to explain the dangers of it to your DD but, if she's anything like I was, you probably won't have much luck. And yes, one or two 500ml bottles a day is definitely too much.

FFS stopping her from drinking fizzy drinks every day is not going to give her a mental illness

Overly controlling parental relationships do contribute to eating disorders, actually.

Coke Zero was literally the only "treat" drink I could have when I was pregnant with gestational diabetes.
It's not a great choice, but it's not poison.

No, but it's pretty well documented that when parents try and overly control their children (and their choices), it can backfire horrendously as they get older and finally have their independence.

At 14, you need to start to cut the apron strings and let them make their own choices.

Stopping your child from drinking Coke every day is not overly controlling though. It’s normal parenting. This stuff is a treat not a daily foodstuff.

Can you reference this please? It’s quite a statement.

If she was four, then I'd agree, but she's not - she's fourteen. At some point, she needs to be allowed to make her own (legal) decisions, even if you disagree with them.

Fourteen year olds are more than capable of deciding what they want to drink during the day. OP is of course free not to buy coke zero, though.

I’d let it go…

It’s Coke Zero, no sugar, zero calories. Yes fizzy drinks are not ideal but she could be doing worse!

I have one daughter who drinks only water and another who loves fizzy drinks. I only buy Coke Zero for the house but I know she chooses full sugar coke when out with friends. Unfortunately at 14 we can’t really police what they choose to drink 🤷‍♀️

@DanceMonster It's not just the sugar that does for teeth. It also contains phosphoric acid and when drinking it from a glass or bottle you are bathing your teeth in it. Oh, and by the way rinse with water after drinking it but do not brush as the enamel will be softened. I had a decaffeinated diet coke habit _1L daily. That was until I was told it contains potassium too which is bad for kidneys. Cold turkey since!

I knew a science teacher who got some teeth that had been extracted for his lesson. Bear in mind tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. He put one tooth into each of 5 test tubes and half filled each with one of several types of cola and left them overnight. By next morning all of the teeth were BENDABLE. If that's not an indictment I don't know what is.

Pick your battles. I am and always have been a Diet Coke addict; even drink caffeine free in the evenings. I eat a very healthy diet bar this and don't drink alcohol. I don't like water, squash, etc.

I am approaching pension age and am still very much alive alive, working full time and active - really don't think it's that much of an issue!

And my teeth are fine too! Hardly any fillings and still all there.

Totally missing the point of the thread here but where are you where 500ml bottles of pop are £1.15?! If I find a bottle for £1.50 I think I’ve found a bargain, usually paying £1.65 upwards for a bottle of pop near me and if it’s full fat Coke (which I love, not a fan of Coke Zero, Diet Coke etc) then it can be £1.85+

I'd suggest you just accept it.
In the years to come there will be more important issues where you want/need her to listen to you and you need to put your foot down.
This is not a big deal. Move on.

I remember being 14. If my mum had tried to stop me drinking Coke not only would I not have stopped, I'd have made reasons in my head why my mum was wrong and the habit would have become stronger.

So, I'd suggest you say to her, OK, you're almost an adult, you can choose what you put into your body. I'll stop talking about it but in return I'd like you to read 'Ultra Processed People'.

Book has a really good section on artificial sweeteners.

I'm really shocked how many people on here are saying a bottle or more of Coke a day is OK. It definitely isn't. Not room to go into reasons here but it's definitely not ok.

Nobody sits there and holds diet coke in their mouth for hours on end, though.

All sorts of foods (including fruit) are high in sugar and bad for your teeth, but that's what toothpaste is for, surely?

This is the same example as someone saying they smoked 60 a day and never had a day's illness in their lives and lived to 103.

Just because you've got away with it to 60-ish doesn't mean it's healthy.

Can you understand this?

I don't have the same drink habits, but I am saying pick your battles. There are many things that teens do that we don't want them to do, but when they're 14 there are other things better focussed on than a dietary choice. In four years this girl will have complete autonomy over her diet. If she was younger it would be different. If it was alcohol or something illegal it would be different. Part of parenting is encouraging and modelling healthy choices and once children get to a certain age, and I think 14 is that age, they should be left to make their own choices about certain things, diet being one of them.

Thank you for the comments, a lot of them have been really helpful.

Maybe I am being too controlling but I think reducing the amount of coke and just drinking more water isn't too much to ask 🤔 But understand I may be wrong

I'd love to reduce the amount she's spending on it but her dad doesn't listen. I just want what's best for her even though I do completely understand all the comments about pick your battles, like obviously it's great she's a generally good kid but thst doesn't mean I don't need to advise her.