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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

when exactly can you give your lo's conventional drinks of squash?

112 replies

snowkitten · 01/09/2007 12:46

ds is nearly one and i just give him water. Obviously he is OK with this as he has had not altertive on offer but recently he has had some of his sister's fruit squash from a glass and loves it! Is it OK to give it to him in his beaker?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Peachy · 01/09/2007 12:47

Ah!! Someone mentioned squash on MN- Duck!

An occasional drink will not hurt, butkeep an eye- they can lose their taste for water pretty quickly and you don't want to get in that situation.

WideWebWitch · 01/09/2007 12:49

I wouldn't but I don't buy squash, I buy fruit juice which isn't from concentrate. Only then does it count towards your portions of fruit and veg. I would have thought a bit of watered down pure fruit juice would be fine though. Most squash is just sugar and water and I wouldn't give it to children (or adults for that matter!)

multitasker · 01/09/2007 12:52

I had always assumed there was no real harm in giving dc very diluted quash, that is until ds had to get 4 teeth out at the hospital recently and I was told by a very patient dentist that diluted juice is extremely corrosive and the only thing to give is water or milk. The dc have been very good and are actually drinking alot of milk instead.

TheodoresMummy · 01/09/2007 12:55

Personally I wouldn't touch squash/cordial, especially if he is happy with water.

DS would never drink water, so he has fruit juice (proper fresh stuff) diluted with water (1/3 juice). Doesn't work out too expensive as it's so diluted.

Can't remember how old he was when we started giving him this tho. Before 1 year old tho I think.

DumbledoresGirl · 01/09/2007 13:00

Oh dear snowkitten. You really shouldn't use such bad words on Mumsnet you know!

But if you want a reasoned response from someone who is not part of the Food Police, I would say that a bit of squash does no harm but don't give it to him every day. Insist that some of his drinks are plain water so that he doesn't come to expect flavoured drinks all the time.

Loads of people are now going to come and tell you what crap there is in squash (yawn) but I see it from another perspective: one of my children only drinks milk and water (not even fresh fruit juice) and it is sometimes very hard getting him a drink when at a party or generally out and about. I actually wish he did drink squash or a fizzy drink or something other than pure milk and pure water.

A bit of moderation in all things does us no harm, I feel.

WideWebWitch · 01/09/2007 13:03

(I consider myself a member of the mumsnet food police btw, so feel free to disregard me.
The people who are called the food police on mumsnet are mostly people who don't believe in feeding children crap. But we mostly couldn't care less if you want to feed your children crap as long as you don't try to persuade us to do the same thanks.)

ArtistFormerlyKnownAsSOH · 01/09/2007 13:03

Oh and Sainsburys have stopped using aspartame or benzoate preservatives in their squash, two of the nastiest things in the drink so perhaps buy theirs.

DumbledoresGirl · 01/09/2007 13:08

No offence intended WWW. I couldn't think of a better phrase than Food Police but tbh, I didn't want to use it. I admit Food Police is an unpleasant term.

I have my children's welfare at the very height of my concerns too but I don't see regard squash as a poison.

Peachy · 01/09/2007 13:08

Not true WWW- some of us are moderates LOL (as in organic non-crap 90% of teh time, and leeway on occasion- eg today when we'll be stuck in Devon so we'll have crap fish and chips for tea)

You can be part time food police you know . nad trust me, with two on dairy free and one of gluten free 9and on dairy free meself) I KNOW my foods to put it mildly

MrsSpoon · 01/09/2007 13:08

Being the mother of two bedwetters I wouldn't recommend giving them a taste for squash. According to the Enurisis Nurse squash is right up there as one of the drinks most likely to make children wet the bed. My DSs are now 8 and 5 and still mostly have pure fruit juice diluted down with water, plain water and milk to drink.

NKF · 01/09/2007 13:15

Squash is a pain. They seem to develop a raging taste for it and it's horrid sticky stuff. Just water down fruit juice. Or stick with the water.

fillyjonk · 01/09/2007 13:17

Squash is crap though. Full of vile things like sodium benzoate, aspartame etc. Not really something I want my kids getting a taste for, really.

I wouldn't give it to a 1 yo, no. Actually, I wouldn't give it to any child. Yes they get given it, and thats not worth getting worked up about, but in my home there is no squash, aside from, for special occasions, Rocks or another fruit concentrate.

WideWebWitch · 01/09/2007 13:20

No offence taken DDG, sorry if I sounded snippy.

(It just wouldn't occur to me to buy squash although I admit to having a Wotsits habit so honestly don't think I'm perfect)

Peachy · 01/09/2007 13:31

Ah but my home amde squash isn't full of crap LOL-

Serously, having just had the please-can-you-have-a-glass-of-water AGAIN with a dehydrated ds1, squash is a lifesaver here but if it weren't for the ASD kids it'd be a lot rarer, dh likes it though. And I cannot abide water at the best of times, right now with my pg taste buds it tastes like pure filtereed chlorine (although squash also a big yuck, so is any fluid tbh ).

DumbledoresGirl · 01/09/2007 13:34

I have a bottle of blackcurrant squash in front of me (actually Tesco high juice). the ingredients are as follows:

blackcurrant juice from concentrate 35%
water
glucose-fructose syrup
citric acid
flavouring
preservatives (potassium sorbate, sodium metabisulphite)
ascorbic acid (vit C)

Apart from not saying what the flavouring is, that doesn't sound too bad too me and certainly does not contain aspartame.

This does have to be put into perspective. In my mind, it is far more important that my children drink and flush out their kidneys and bladders, than it is that everything they consume is 100% organic and natural.

I don't know why I always end up fighting this corner really as my children do mostly consume what would be considered healthy foods, I mostly cook from scratch, and I nag them daily to eat more fruit and veg. It just annoys me that some things are so frowned upon when I think the more realistic message would be to provide them but in moderation only.

TheodoresMummy · 01/09/2007 13:47

Aspartame is usually to be found in sugar-free cordial/products.

Tis a sweetener.

DumbledoresGirl · 01/09/2007 13:50

Ah well, now that is where I become a member of the food police: I never buy anything that is reduced sugar or sugar free. I would always sooner eat sugar than chemical alternatives.

dissle · 01/09/2007 14:16

never, in answer to op.
Milk or water or fruit juice not from concentrate, even then i dilute it down.
just dont buy it.

wheresthehamster · 01/09/2007 14:28

High juice is aimed at the adult market apparently. It's the crap aimed at children that's the problem.
I also avoid low/reduced sugar products.
We drink pure juice, diluted when the dds were younger.
Another bugbear of mine - when shopping for pure juice there are always 'juice drinks' slotted in between looking innocent but with an ingredients list as long as your arm. Grrrrr!

wheresthehamster · 01/09/2007 14:30

Can I ask dissle why you don't like concentrate?

dissle · 01/09/2007 14:34

yes, its the taste really, the other stuff tastes a bit nicer i think.

FlameBatfink · 01/09/2007 14:34

DD bounces on squash (actually, "can't control her actions" is a better term, but she understands "bounces") so we just don't buy it.

DS has had the odd glug since about 12 months, but as a general rule he has whatever his sister is having because it's not fair otherwise.

Peachy · 01/09/2007 14:36

'Juice Drinks' are the work of the devil, they seemed designed to trap well intentioned but less informed parents, one big con!

Aspartame is evil... fortyunately I have to answer for myself to DS3's and ds1's nutritionist who is a wholefood freak which keeps me motivated

moljam · 01/09/2007 14:39

my dd and ds used to have tiny bit of diluted stuff.ds became agressive and a nightmare basically and dd has teeth problems.that was with tiny(think flavoured water)bit.ds2 has never tried it and is quite happy with water and milk.dd and ds1 no longer have it either,ds is much calmer(still monkey) and dd is still seing dentist to have teeth removed-shes 7 and i feel awful for her.so dont do it if you dont have to!

FlameBatfink · 01/09/2007 14:40

Oh don't mention juice drinks to me

Stepmum buys them, she has never really taken in what I am saying w/r DD and her diet. SSis seems to be catching on, hoping she will mention it. We have gotten down to "flavoured water" which had slightly less in it than the normal stuff.

A few days of processed foods (my fault ) and flavoured water at a bbq the other night led to DD dropping onto her knees onto her baby cousin's chest - the kind of thing she would never do normally. She was bouncing, dropped down to him and misjudged. I hate seeing what the wrong foods do to her.

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