Kids on Coke...and gum

[Arabica]

Got chatting to very nice mum also in her early 40s at a kids' theatre show today. We were just getting seats when she handed her little girl a bottle of cola--then yelled at her to stop! when she began to drink it. At first I thought she had obviously made a mistake with the drink and was going to hand her daughter something more suitable...but no, it was simply to tell her to remove her chewing-gum first!
Was shocked not just at the coke (child was seen drinking a new bottle of cola later) but at the gum, but am I being naive?

Mum was more of an Earh-mother type than a Chav. Coke and 6 month-old babies, now I've heard it all! Maybe it's time I taught DS to appreciate a good-quality espresso.

We're not gum chewers or coke drinkers, can't remember the last time I had either, so hopefully Lottie will be a teenager before she discovers either!

My 6 year old ds1 doesn't like "bubbly" drinks. He won't even drink fizzy water. Ds2 won't ask for it if ds1 isn't having it.
Neither of them has had gum yet although i have noticed some of ds1's friends have started to chew gum.
Both of these things i do myself (although my coke is cafeeine free if that makes it any better) so am not a very good example !

Went nuts the other day at dp - we'd run out of cordial (I let ds drink sugar free cordial during the day) and we had nothing to give ds - and dp suggested water-ed down pepsi!

'NOOOOOOOOOO' I shouted and he couldn't understand why. Ds is only a year old next week!

Ds then got a beaker of water

I have let my 2.5 year old have a few sips of cola. I rarely drink fizzy drinks and don't tend to have them in the house, so it's mainly if we're out and he sees his dad having some.
He has no idea what chewing gum is and hopefully will stay ignorant to that for a long while yet.

DS1 is 4 - never had coke, never had gum, and no chance of it if I can help it.

no coke allowed in our house, I hate the stuff tis pure evil
And gum?
Why?

Gobbledigook how did you manage that!! i never wanted my ds to have any fizzy drinks, but theres that little problem of when he was over his nan and gramps!! so even though i didnt want him to get a taste of such drinks, he had a taste, i was not a happy bunny at the time.

admittedly i do now let him have a bit when we have our tea, as im a heavy addict of coke/pepsi and yes i chew chewing gum too! and yes, sometimes do both at the same time!!

but when ever ds sees me with chewing gum he says 'im not allowed to have that, only for big people'

A friend of mine has a seven year old. They forbid her to eat jellies, boiled sweets, things with enumbers and coke becuase she has suspected ADHD. However, been shopping with said friend to Farmfoods before, seen things going into the trolly like processed breaded chicken, and nothing much else. Their foods are not balanced, often see child eating pizza / Chinese for tea, or processed chicken with processed potatoes and red sauce. Everything on plate seems orange!
When said child comes to my house, I do give her fizzy pop, but we only have sugar free stuff / diet stuff anyway. I will give her a sweet as a treat, but for tea at mine she'll eat pasta with salad, or spag bol, or fahita's with fresh chicken and salad. She's fine at ours.
Everything in moderation & balance me thinks.

I'm currently pg, and have strong views as to what I shall feed my child / give them to drink. I'm not going to forbid the odd treat and constantly make them drink water, I don't agree with giving kids full coke (my cousins used to have it watered down, splash of coke and half a jug of water!) but sugar free lemonade is okay once past a certain age in my book.

It's also a common mistake when people believe that all fruit juices are better than fizzy drinks. When I was a kid, I was never given coke / fizzy pop. But watered down Ribena led to me having to have six teeth out because they were awful.
It also makes me laugh that when I followed the Weight Watchers diet for two months before my wedding, I was allowed to drink sugar free pop which was free in points but fruit juices (I love Cranberry juice) were high in points because high in sugar.

I don't give coke or gum. Don't approve of it.
I don't like fizzy drinks, gum, sweets and chocolate so I don't think of giving it to them.
But xp always gives it to them behind my back and now Ds1 needs root canal work at the dentists (6yrs)
Fuming

I don't give my dd (5) coke but it has more to do with the caffiene than the sugar! I don't think that children need caffiene, also if I thought about the huge amount of sugar would probably see me making the same decision even if there wasn't any caffiene.

I have a 5 nearly 6 yr old who when we are out for dinner is allowed lemonade which is about once a month. We don't stock fizzy drinks in the house unless we are having friends round. As for chewing gum it was a no no until christmas all he wanted was one of those bubble gum machines! We got it for him and that was all he was interested in didn't bother with his toys! However he gets to use it when some friends are round as that way its more fun and as he is at school mon to fri so its on a rare occasion his friends are round!

I tend to buy apple juice for my kids, but the occasional coke is hardly a deal breaker.

And if it is sugar free gum then it is actually quite good for their teeth.

Thanks to Jamie Oliver and the new food fascism we will soon be putting them all on macrobiotic diets and getting them to chant 'Ohhmmm' for their spiritual well being.

Have to agree with Lockets, DD1 is 4 and has never had either - why would she?

Wouldn't have thought giving coke to a 4yo and then expecting them to behave at a theatre show was all that clever personally. DS has never had coke, he doesn't like bubbles or else I would let him have lemonade when out for a meal or something. In pubs/restaurants he usually has an orange juice with a straw. I do occasionally bow to pressure and buy him a fruit shoot or carton of ribena when out and about but at home its just watered down fruit juice.

Can't see him being interested in gum really.

Was at friend's house yesterday. And she allowed children free access to biscuit barrel (so each has several) mid morning. Then gave them lunch of San Marco pizza followed by bought jelly and white chocolate easter egg. The kids (including DS) were running wild afterwards and she said "see thats what they're like even without e numbers and additives unless there were some in the pizza" Pretty sure there were some in the pizza and probably the jelly but what about the sugar?

My ds doesnt have coke, I don't have coke, do not see the point of it tbh! To me giving children coke, is pretty much the equivalent of going and making them a strong cup of coffee with 8 sugars, would you do that? no!

My ds who is almost 7 has just a couple of weeks ago, been allowed chewing gum.

Thankfully DS doesnt like fizzy drinks, so he has never had it. I am sure all that will change when he starts school.
On the other hand I am hopelessly addicted to diet coke and coffee so we wont be able to avoid it forever.

I also have a close friend who was seen to give her DS cola in a bottle mixed with water .
My friend is generally a sensible educated woman, I think it might be a cultural thing. She is Canadian.

I haven't given dd any kind of fizzy drink yet (she is almost 3) - it just doesn't seem right somehow and I don't necessarily mean from a dietary/sugar point of view, I just can't imagine her little system being able to handle all that gas.

Agree that diet fizzy drinks are just as bad - depending on whether you believe the research, aspartame seems an evil substance (brain tumours, seizures etc).

As for chewing gum ...... why would it even occur to anyone to give it to a small child?

Same friend has also been giving her DD gum since she was about 3.

We don't allow our 8 or 5 yr olds coke or gum. My dh has now stopped drinking coke in front of them as realised a bit hypocritical. Do allow them lemonade/sprite as special treat - just feel it's the caffeine effect of coke that is so bad, but could be wrong! Feel a bit 'Victorian' occasionally, but most of their friends aren't allowed either, so not a prob. With the gum, I think it's more the way it looks than the health issue!! - what a snob !!
Their cousins eat loads of rubbish - in fact nothing that isn't processed. Can cause probs, but when we explained to them our reasons, they pretty much understood - they are both v sporty, and realise eating rubbish isn't going to help them.
They know they will be able to make their own choices when they are older, but I'm not sure yet how old that will be!! It's hard to imagine letting the older one have it, but not the younger - 18 maybe!!!!!!!!!?

Don't buy coke for myself so wouldn't give it to ds (when he's older, obviously!) in the normal course of things. I'm not sure that a small glass on rare occasions - at a party, for example - would necessarily be a terrible thing, moderation blahblahblah.

However, the sight and sound of chewy-mastication turns my stomach every time so no way will any child of mine be having it but like Roobie, it wouldn't occur to me to give it to a child in the first place anyway.

I don't encourage dd to have any fizzy drinks and don't buy them for her. I won't forbid them if she is offered them at parties or friend's houses but have made her aware of how unhealthy they are and although she does like some fizzy drinks she is not overly bothered. She is 7 now and I certainly didn't allow them when she was younger - I used to get odd looks when she went to friend's parties from nursery and I had to tell the parents that she didn't like fizzy drinks when that was all that was on offer.

I was horrified when I saw a mother in the leisure centre cafe the other week, tip coke into her child's bottle (can't have been more than 18mths old)!