Can anyone tell me why Ribena is unsuitable for children under 36 months??

[littlemadam]

I've only just noticed it says that on the bottle (both regular and light), and I'm sure it didn't say anthing four years ago when DS was little....or am I just a lunkhead?

I'm not convinced aspartame is a bad as people say. That being said, I don't give it to my kids, and only have it (rarely) in gum, myself.

My kids just drink water, milk and (herbal) tea.

I can't drink anything with artificial sweeteners in apart from in very small quantities. Neither can my mother. It gives us terrible stomach cramps.

Some other children's no added sugar drinks also say not suitable for under 36 months. Asda's own make cartons do and I think fruit shoots do too.

Yep i stopped using ribena when i had been told it had something in it that can contribute to cancer. It was just the Ribena brand though.

The Rocks organic squashes don't have any artificial additives and no asparatme. The blackcurrant is not as nice as Ribena though. I only buy original and would never buy diet/light/toothkind drinks as the are all full of horrible ingredients. Saying that my dss hardly ever have squash anyway.

Re the lemonade with asparatme I am pretty sure 7up has nothing artificial (from memory).

My DD 2.3 yrs has refused to drink water since having fruit cordial recently at a birthday party-does anyone know the most tooth friendly/additive free drink that I could give her, would prefer to avoid drinks containing aspartame.

My elder DD 5.3yrs also went through this stage and we insisted on water only, unfortunatley this has resulted in her drinking minimal amounts of fluid-probably only 700mls a day, (despite daily encouragement/nagging to drink more).

Any suggestions?
TIA

Well-diluted squash is far better than having a dehydrated child. Dehydration can affect concentration, bowel function (constipation) and all kind of things negatively. Whereas a little squash - sugar-free, sugary, tooth friendly or unfriendly - is going to have no significant impact on their health if they brush their teeth regularly.

Aspartame/aspartamine is a substitute for sugar the reason it's bad is because it increases the risk of CANCER

The ingredients all sound like a chemical shitstorm, idk why anyone would buy it in the first place, let alone for their kids.

Listing the ingredients and saying its full of 'chemicals' is unhelpful. Check out the chemicals in this bad boy

If your DC don't like 'plain' water get an infuser bottle, they have a chamber to put in chopped fruit in to flavour the water without the dreaded 'bits' contamination. I don't like drinking plain water really and it is helping me wean myself off fruit juice as I drink a carton a day otherwise. The bottles give you totally natural flavour and much less tooth rotting capacity than juice or squash.

Having said that, my DB drank exclusively Ribena from about age 2 and has always had perfect teeth and still does at 18. And isn't obese or even overweight. As long as you have good oral hygiene I think fruit juice/ribena are fine in moderation. I wouldn't give dd anything low fat or low sugar as those tend to be full of aspartame etc.

Aspartame is fine.

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-aspartame.aspx

Those scare sites are just that, and from the same folks who bring you 'Vaccines cause autism!' and fret about 'chem trails'.

The research on Asparame is now often regarded as being flawed (basically tests completed on mice given very large dose when compared to their size led to tumours). So really it is down to personal choice as to whether you want your child to have it. My view on anything like this is are there better options and limit quantity.