to not understand the fuss about FruitShoots

[chaostrulyreindeers]

I would always rather my DCs had water or fruit juice.

i do let them have squash (well-diluted). surely Fruit shoot is just squash.

Why does everyone on MN treat it like the plague. Please tell me so I can make some parenting decisions.

Have you ever tried one? Looked at whats in them? Yuck Yuck Yuck!

IMO once a blue moon for a treat (just like coke is a treat for me) but not every day.
You can control how strong diluted juice is.
I drink water so ds drinks water, tis simple no?

My DS doesn't have any juice yet. He is 22 months and he loves water and milk so I am keen to keep him on that while he likes it. He has picked up someone elses juice before at groups etc and he really doesn't like it, which I am glad about. He also doesn't like crisps (although he did pinch a few of my beef hula hoops recently, so not impressed, they are MINE, lol) which some mums find amazing but I really don't care. There were fruit shoots at a party yesterday and I looked at the ingedients. The amount of sugar is unbelievable. At least with squash at home you control how much you dilute it. My friend also said she tried one (I don't really like squash either so have never tried them) and she said it was sooooo sweet. Children can have them as a rare treat, like at a party or something as they are convenient but I always just carry my sons water cup with me and he always asks for that instead.

Fruit Shoot ingredients:
water, blackcurrant juice, cloudy apple juice, citric acid, acidity regulator (trisodium citrate) , flavouring, vitamins (C, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, D, B12), stabiliser (xantham gum), preservatives (E202, E242) sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), colour (anthocyanins). Contains a source of phenylalanine.

Blackcurrant squash ingredients:
Sugar, Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate (35%), Water, Glucose-fructose Syrup, Citric Acid, Flavourings, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Metabisulphite).

OK, so the squash isn't great but not half as disturbing as the Fruit Shoots!

SL, does it actually say "cloudy apple juice"? Whats that? lol.

It's the artificial sweeteners as well that I don't like, I avoid them myself so no way would I give them to my kids. If someone gave them to them as a one off at a party I suppose they'd live, but I don't really like to put loads of crap into their tiny bodies. Or my big one, come to that.

And then there's the luridly coloured bottle...

My kids drank them occasionally when out and survived, better than coke. I didn't realise there was a fuss about fruitshoots.
They're in a handy no mess bottle. If you don't like them don't buy them, what is there to fuss about?

The teeny tiny plastic bottles just seem really wasteful as well, and I bet they're not easy to recycle. Much better to just take water cups out like Brunette says.

It's not just squash (unless you tend to buy the cheapo squash full of junk and sweeteners).

oooh taste it, its vile. really nasty.

they;re grim, and they're so strong your kids will never be happy with proper diluted squash again. Only way to make them drinkable is to tip 2/3 down the sink and top with water.

I like the lurid bottles though

aspartame is the real nasty in FruitShoots.

I let my DS have them at parties, though. Ditto with squash. Wouldn't buy it, though.

A Greggs sausage roll is simply not the same without one. Apparently.

I've never understood why they put colouring in when it comes in opaque bottles. Nobody's going to see it so why add colour?

On the squash thing, we buy Rock's (approx £2 a bottle) and the ingredients are (in Red Five):

Water, organic sugar, organic fruit juices (red grape, red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, cranberry), citric acid.
That's it. No nasties at all (a apart from the sugar).

In a recent article in which magazine, the orange flavoured fruit shoot came in their 'lunchbox baddies'

Fruit Shoot Orange Juice Drink, each 200ml bottle is made up of 23g of sugar ? almost 5 teaspoons.

At 2.3, DS still happily drinks water. I would say that the longer you can get away with keeping their palates accustomed to things that arent so sweet; the better!

Blimey Sl that list is scary.

Think I will probably try to avoid - like I do with Fizzies. OCCASIONALLY is ok but not on a regular basis.

You are right about controlling the strengh of squash - I hadn't put 2and2 together about that.

Thanks everyone for their help - now can you magic me another 3 weeks till Christmas I'll be everyone's best friend.

Obviously if I was on Snapfish rather than MN i would be ticking things off my list now and not panicking.

I don't really have an opinion on them, DS has had the occasional one.

One thing that does confuse me though is when people say "How do you get him to drink water?". I dunno, he is thirsty so he has a drink?

Greggs sausage rolls are fucking delicious I had one a while ago (because of a bloody Mumsnet thread) and it was wonderful, especially when smeared with a great big blob of tomato sauce.

DD bullied me into getting her her first one at a party a few weeks ago ("I want what X has got isn't easy to refute when X's Mummy is in earshot).

First time I've looked at the ingredients properly - I was expecting E numbers but was much more at the aspartame.

Sausage rolls are filthy. Very, very occasionally I just have to have one, and ketchup is a must. Never tried Greggs though... something about the clientele whenever I have tried to go in puts me off, heh.

MattBellamy'sMuse - we have Rock too, flippin delicious, I like the lemon one with fizzy water (yes I know it leaches calcium from your bones or whatever but it keeps me away from the wine two nights a week)

My son was given a Fruit Shoot once, he drank about a third of it in excitement (that's what the lurid packaging is for inducing) before deciding it was "yuk".

they are lovely when mulled with cheese though

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha