No more Juice!

[mirandamum]

Oh dear,
I've just found this board and am a little worried about my daughter's juice intake. She's nine months and has diluted juice with meals and in between. I thought it was a healthy option - vit C, iron absorbtion etc but am I ruining her teeth?

I just don?t see that it?s necessary to give babies anything other than milk or water. It?s not as though they know what it us until you let them try it anyway. If you think of the amount of pureed fruit we shove down them I?m sure most babies get enough vitamin C and don?t need to drink juice to supplement their levels. OK so when they?re toddlers and they see their friends having juice or try it out at playgroup then maybe I can understand why you?d start but before them it just seems to me people create rods for their own backs. I?ve even seen a baby drinking Coke from a baby bottle ? it was all I could do not to snatch it from the poor wee thing?s grasp.

But what if your baby, like mine, just won't drink water? Better to give diluted juice than nothing, surely?

I think you just have to be sensible and do the best you can for your kids. As long as you clean you baby's teeth and give juce from a cup that must be OK. Don't clean the teeth straight away leave it for half an hour after juice, I cannot remmeber why but it was in some magazine I read. Also if you don't have fluoride in your water use v. small amout of adult paste not the baby stuff-check with dentist.

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

I didn't give mine juice as I just didn't think it was necessary and also I'm too lazy to faff around with bottles and dislike the sticky mess juice makes when spilt. Water is so easy to clean up! A baby can be weaned off juice onto water by giving increasingly dilute drinks.

I thought bananas had just been bred that way (the trad route, not GM)? Actually the modern banana cannot be reproduced "naturally" anymore because the seeds are non-existent - I think they all come from cuttings.

I give my 20 mo old about 8 ounces of juice a day about 4 ounce is part water. Does not mind the watered down taste. In reality he is only drinking 4 ounces of juice a day. I think his doc said that was enough juice a day. He does not mind water. I like to give the 4 ounces as a treat. I know he would be fine with just water and milk I guess I feel guilty not giving him anything else because I drink alot of juices, teas sodas, etc throughout the day. As far as his teeth rotting because of the sugar I do brush his teeth several times a day especially after juice. But then again I dont feel 4 ounce is too much on a daily basis. Im just glad he will still drink his water when not given juice.

I'm living in Banana-land, AKA Indonesia, and my book of local fruit and veg says there are 35 different types of naturally occuring banana trees! Some of them are inedible because the fruit splits before being ripe enough to eat, while other types are too full of seeds. Fruit stalls sell lots of different types - a bit like in the UK we can choose different types of apple. Indonesians like their bananas to be almost black before they eat them - yuk!

They seem to grow everywhere, on roundabouts, the road verges, patches of derelict land etc.

We only give water or milk as a standard drink to my son (18 mo.) and my stepkids (8,9,13). That was how I was brought up too. I let them have juice occasionally as a treat (or if my son is constipated). Fizzy drinks rarely come into the picture as they are so busy trying to find occasions to be allowed juice. I find that if they drink too much juice in between meals it ruins their appetite as much as if they had been eating sweets. You should definitely read the ingredients in the fruit juice you buy. A lot of the supposed tropical real juices have mostly apple/grape juice and thickeners and artificial this and that. I found a brand of juice called DIME that I think is greek or israeli that does the most delicious apricot, peach, pear juices and is just fruit, water and sugar. And it's only 55p a carton (vs. £3 for the same thing from italy). You can find it in most greek/ethnic corner stores.

Couldn't agree more - what's wrong with only water or milk? I've always understood that whole fruit is better than juice anyway - my DS has never been given juice so doesn't know what he is missing - likes the odd sip of beer with his DD though!

mirandamum - you have my sympathies. My DS wouldn't drink water and was severely and regularly constipated which led us down the diluted juice (pure apple juice) route. The constipation happened at 15 weeks going onto half breast/half formula and again at 6 months dropping the breast. However since 1 year replacing the formula with cow's milk the constipation is pretty infrequent so I have succeeded in reducing the juice intake to maybe a couple of ounces of diluted juice a day. Other than that he gets water because given the opportunity he will certainly fill up on juice.