Sugar vs Aspartame for 11 yr old

[JoanneNotJo]

My eleven year old daughter is addicted to coke.
She's getting a bit tubby - just a little - but I'm worried.
Trying to cut down on the carbs a little bit, but the cola business is turning into a real war. Do people think that aspartame is OK for an eleven yer old or is sugar the less of two evils?

sugar

just don't buy the coke tbh

I would always go with sugar, aspartame is a shit thing for children.

But she is 11. Why don't you just stop buying it? She can have it just as a treat when you go out.

Ds2 would drink sprite all day so I don't have it in the house.

same

we don't buy it

we weregiven a crate once.. I gave it away

problem solved

Sugar, but get rid of the coke. It's a treat in this house rather than a right and will rot her teeth and affect her bones. As for the getting a little tubby, are you talking about getting a bit of a belly? If so, then it's more likely to be the prepubescent weight gain just before a growth spurt.

Please don't start her on a slippery slope. As someone who is addicted myself, it's so hard to give up. You will be doing her a really big favour by keeping it as a now and again drink.
Also think about her teeth - and the effect it will have on the enamel.

Thanks. MAybe "addicted" is over stating it. But if we're out and she sees it then she wants it, if we go for a drink it's always her drink of choice, and when she goes to her friends houses they are all drinking gallons of the stuff. Which doesn't really fit in with trying to get a holdon the carbs she's eating. Do you people all really manage to keep your kids away from coke? I'm amazed.

I just say ' no, you can't have that. It is shit and I won't pay for it ' that works for me.

And if my dcs were going to a friends house and drinking gallons of it I would have a chat with my dc and with the mum about perhaps making it just one glass.

Not that amazing really.

My eldest is 8 - and so far we've told him it's an adult drink. He thinks it is foul! Explained salt the same way - that only a fully grown digestive system can deal with adding extra salt to anything as there's already natural salt anyway. He's going with this - even though he sees friends and family's children drinking fizzy drinks. Long may it last!

Sugar is better. Aspartame is evil.

DS is almost 9 and has a Coke once a month, maybe. We don't drink it at home (or very rarely) so he never got used to it and knows that it's not a healthiest of drinks, so ok to have once in a while but not everyday. He drinks water.

Just stop buying it.

Our cinema checks you for food ye so we buy stuff at the cinema. They can have a popcorn and a drink but I let them have sprite rather than coke. Ds2 will never be allowed it but dd has it occasionally like at birthday parties.

I think letting kids have a treat is fine. If you are too strict I think it backfires.

But coke is horrible, sprite less so.

Sugar over aspartame but seriously just tell her no to coke when you are out and about. If she gets to drink it at friends house as an occassional treat that's fine but other time don't buy it. I speak as someone who's only choice of beverage for ten years was black coffee or coke. You're not doing her any favours if you let her have it too often

There's another thread on the fizzy water thing going.
I am sympathetic OP, & you are where you are, too, hard to suddenly change "policy".

I suggest that you herewith ban it at home and refuse to buy it when out and about, but shrug off the times when she has it at parties/friends' houses.

And I'm going to stick my neck really far out and say that aspartame one is slightly better in my eyes: doesn't contribute so much to obesity, heart disease or tooth decay. But both types are pants, really.

Pixie,
It seems to have a much more dramatic effect upon children with certain types of intolerances and sn.

Ds2 self harms if he has coke and many of his peers ( with autism and associated conditions ) have huge problems with addiction to, and poor behaviours arising from, coke.

I don't know why, don't know which ingredient is the problem but it is waaaaay worse than sprite which has few ingredients.

But obviously that is a particular section of the community. But it worries me enough to keep dd away from it even though she has no issues iyswim

sugar rather than aspartme.

My ds's age 10 & 8 have never had coke or fizzy drinks & know they are not allowed. They were out bowling on Saturday & I gave them money for a drink, later they told me they didn't buy coke as they knew they weren't allowed. Didn't bother them. As your daughter is used to drinking it now though you will need to persuade her of it's evils & hope she can choose not to drink it for herself.

Sorry. My mistake pixie.

I do wish I knew the' thing' in coke though.. It is weird.

My oldest was never allowed it.

At a birthday party, he managed to drink 5 glasses (he was 8). He was green in the face when he got home and projectile vomited all night

Now he is sensible about it, so I guess it was lucky.

My other DS has a real sweet tooth, and I allow him maybe one glass if we are out (not that often anyway).

But if you feel she must have coke, I reckon the sugar is better than the artificial stuff!

Please do not try to get your daughter into a lowcarb mindset. Low sugar is sensible (ie water when she is thirsty instead of coke), low carb for growing kids is madness.

Well, we had a long talk about it. It's hard because she says, obviously, that all of her friends get it. But we have agreed to replace coke with OJ mixed with fizzy water in the house, and she says she won't drink more than a glass when she's at her friends house. Which I kinda doubt. I talked to two other mums at the school gates and askd if there kids were drinking a lot of coke and their reactions were, "sure - why not?" :-( Anyway, I guess that's progress at least.