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Original poster

Lemonade at six year old's party?

163 replies

Smithagain · 22/07/2008 13:10

Yes or no?

DD1 would love to have lemonade at her birthday party this week. She regards it as a huge treat.

I reckon some of her friends have probably been drinking fizzy drinks on special occasions for a while. But a few most definitely haven't. Of the latter, some only drink water anyway - but we have one younger sibling coming who I'm pretty confident has never had a fizzy drink and will most certainly love it!

So do I go for it? Or put my health-conscious foot down in the interests of harmony with my mummy friends? Your votes please, mumsnet food police.

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evangelina · 23/07/2008 14:15

How amazing that we disagree AbbeyA !!!

I have no objection to sugar laden junk food at parties but for some reason I would mind fizzy drinks. Maybe it's because I haven't come across it yet.

Wilkiepedia · 23/07/2008 14:38

Ha ha ha - loving this thread, MN at it's best (worst).

Give her lemonade, she and her mates will probably survive the experience. Just provide some squash for the others - there is always the tap they can help themselves on for their water-only drinking kids.

luckymummy74 · 23/07/2008 16:29

I think it would be fine. My DD1 is 2 years old and 95% of the time she just drinks tap water. We went to a wedding anniversary party on Saturday and all the kids were drinking coke, and DD2 wanted some (to be like the other kids). I didn't really want her to have it, not that I mind her having it once in a blue moon, but I didn't want her getting a taste for it and then refusing to drink water again, IYSWIM. All the people at the party were saying to me "oh let her have some....." and I even considered watering it down when no-one was looking but didn't! She had a small cup, loved it but hasn't mentioned it since.

For anal people like me who like their kids to drink water (we have a dental hygeinist in the family!!) offer alternatives, but to be honest, I really don't think it hurts every now and then, as long as they know it's a treat.

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luckymummy74 · 23/07/2008 16:39

When we were kids, we had a weekend treat of one litre bottle of lemonade and a large packet of crisps, which we divided between the three of us into tuppaware bowls and shared the lemonade (trying to save some to have with Sunday dinner!!). We would sit and watch The A team or The Fall Guy.....and we were in heaven!!! It was such a treat, and that's what I want for my DDs. DH and I eat very healthily all week then have a pig out Saturday nights. My kids are still very young (3 mths and 2 yrs) but when they are old enough, they will join in with us on our 'treat night'!!! Their cousins drink the most horrendously coloured fizzy drinks, bright green and pink, all the time....... I think it's good as a treat, fizzy drinks, chocolate, etc etc...

Sim43 · 23/07/2008 17:00

I reckon half of you let your children have fizzy drinks but don't admit it! I think it is cruel to only allow your children water, FGS what sort of life is that? My DS has fizzy drinks, he has perfect teeth and looks after them well. What the hell is all the fuss about, a child of a friend of mine came to tea and I asked him if he wanted a drink, some of the others had lemonade and he said he wanted water as he was not allowed lemonade. The poor kid I felt so sorry for him. The worst thing about this story is that his mother was totally addicted to diet coke! Let them have a life

Original poster
Smithagain · 23/07/2008 18:36

luckymummy, your treat nights sound like heaven. Maybe the problem is we've forgotton how to make things like that into treats. Junk is so readily available that we've all turned into the junk food police and made up rules that simply weren't necessary when it was an occasional luxury.

And I really want to know more about the Mormon dad who slept in the garage ...

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Original poster
Smithagain · 23/07/2008 18:37

Also, I hope you're all pleased to hear that I've just finished making marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate, with Smarties on the top. So the lemonade is possibly going to be the least of everyone's worries

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ELR · 23/07/2008 18:46

what about a punch with elderflower cordial, apple juice, fizzy water loads of chopped fruit and ice.

watsthestory · 23/07/2008 18:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

cocolepew · 23/07/2008 18:52

I am so glad I don't live in Surrey. Hummous, fruit and cheese at childrens parties? Are you no fun!?
The best when I was young was putting sherbet in Cremola foam. It was like a volcano.

AbbeyA · 23/07/2008 19:58

That is the attitude that really annoys me Sim43!
How can a mother be addicted to diet coke and not let her DS have lemonade occasionally? It is sheer hypocrisy, which hopefully he will point out before he is much older! All this 'do as I say-not as I do' will back fire eventually.

tigermoth · 23/07/2008 20:09

Lemonade - yes go for it! Have other options handy. What about fizzy water as one of them?

I see someone beat me to the fizzy drink-in-supersoaker joke I was going to make

luckymummy74 · 23/07/2008 20:30

We used to have 'white horses' and 'brown cows' at birthday parties when we were kids in the early 80's, anyone else have them?? Or was it a Wiltshire thing??!!

A white horse is lemonade with a scoop of icecream in it and a brown cow is a coke with a scoop of icecream in it....yumbolicious!!!!

Dozymare · 23/07/2008 20:53

Lemonade is a NECCESITY at a kids party, along with cheese and pineapple hedgehogs which I ALWAYS make but NEVER get eaten.....

Alternatively, why not provide jugs of squash (sugar free of course to please the spoilsports erm I mean my kids never, ever eat sugar mums) and make with sparkling water rather than still...that way you can have orangeade, pineappleade, appleade, cheeryade blah, blah, blah..........

Enjoy!

Sim43 · 23/07/2008 21:03

Hurrah there are some bad mothers out there, here was me thinking I was the only one that let my DS have chocolate, coke, etc etc. Life is too short to worry about fizzy drinks. Hurrah Hurrah for the bad mummy's

FluffyMummy123 · 23/07/2008 21:04

Message withdrawn

Sim43 · 23/07/2008 21:05

Good for you icod! Hurrah another bad mummy, we will take over the world with our fizzy drinks! .......sorry getting carried away, will carry on with my ironing now!

littleshebear · 23/07/2008 21:30

This is weird.I live in a very normal, middle class area ( Manchester)and people have fizzy drinks at parties.I have to say I personally do not offer coke to infant age children,because I know I did not let my first child have it til much later,so play safe, but I do let my 5 year old drink it as a treat(child number 4!). If you do not want your child to have them,the etiquette appears to be that you simply say, oh, he/she does not drink lemonade/coke/whatever and then the hostess gives child something different. My children are allowed coke/fizzy drink instead of sweets twice a week - or sweets if they prefer. All my children are also very healthy with perfect teeth!

Original poster
Smithagain · 24/07/2008 15:26

Party update

Well, we offered lemonade, apple juice, blackcurrant squash and water. Four chose plain water. One apple juice. Three blackcurrant squashes. Two lemonades, including my daughter.

And it was interesting how little of the sugary stuff they actually ate - a couple asked for more cherry tomatoes in preference to chocolate

This thread has really got me thinking. At what point did fizzy drinks stop being an occasional special treat for kids and start being a grown-up drink that we mustn't allow our children to get addicted to? Most odd.

OP posts:
Elffriend · 24/07/2008 16:50

Funnily enough the bit about this thread that startled me the most (did not feel free to comment on lemonade - DS not even two yet) was the number of mummies rushing out to buy water.

Eh?

Do these houses not have taps?

I clearly have even less clue than I thought about good mummying.

Hulababy · 24/07/2008 17:04

Sim43 - lots of reasons why a child may only be able to have water. As I said before DD could onlyhave water after about 3/4pm until recently as otherwise it would always lead to a wet bet - which she hated and was upset by. Hence, restricting non-water drinks after this time.

AbbeyA · 24/07/2008 18:01

I have rather lost track here-are people saying that if you serve water at a party it has to be bottled water?!!!

Hulababy · 24/07/2008 18:03

I gave bottled water to the children choosing water at DD's party. I did food boxe and had asked in advance, and I thought it ony fair for the water drinkers to have a bottle if the others were having cartons.

Anyne wanting additional water had water from the tap.

ThatBigGermanPrison · 24/07/2008 18:05

Parents who don't want their children eating certain party items should stay around and police it until their child is old enough to do as directed without supervision.

Saying that, I got through six pints of frigging milk at ds1's 5th. I'd only bought it for the grownup's tea.

AbbeyA · 24/07/2008 20:07

I can see that if you were having boxes then you would want it to be the same as the other DCs-I was really talking about the poster who was complaining that there was only fizzy available and she had to go out and buy water. Surely there was an endless supply on tap?!