toddlers and juice

[Anonymous]

My DD is 3.5 and we dilute the juice 25% juice to 75% water -- she loves it and calls it juicy water. However, we limit the juice drinks to snacktime. With meals she can only have water or milk. When she is at a party or someting and actually drinks full strength juice, watch out -- she just sucks it down and immediately wants more. It really does taste good and it's easy for them to just suck down the calories when what they really want is something to quench their thirst.

[Anonymous]

We dilute as well, similar to the PP. Additionally, we use the V8 Fusion and Juicy Juice with Vegetables to help our daughter get more veggies in her diet. She still LOVES milk, but we'll alternate between the two so she's not getting too much of one over the other.

[Anonymous]

I let my kids drink juice - they probably have a glass per day - I have started to buy the "lite" version. They also drink a lot of water and milk and eat fresh fruits and lots of vegetables, they love fish and
I am an everything in moderation mother because that's how we were raised and my siblings and I are all very healthy. The one thing I don't allow nor drink myself (never have) is soda. But as for most other stuff - I allow it all in moderation....

[Anonymous]

We did not give our daughter any juice until she was almost 3 - we did not ban it, but she just did not really like it (maybe would take a couple of sips from Daddy). We now do it in moderation (she's 3.5yo), which equates to one small 100% juice box per day (we are overseas and the juice boxes are maybe 2/3 the size in the US), which she gets in her lunch box. She is a good eater - lots of whole fruits, veggies, dairy products, etc. If she were foregoing any of those in favor of juice, we would cut it out of her diet. As long as she is otherwise eating healthy and the juice consumption is moderate, then I don't see any reason to worry.

I would be worried if my kid were chugging vast volumes out of sippy cup all day - it is easier for the doctor to say no juice at all than to quantify how much is OK given the sugar, etc. Though better nutritionally than candy/cookies/cake/other sweets, it pretty much falls inthe same category - it is OK to ban it altogether if you desire/are willing to go that far, it is also OK to give some as long as it does not interfere with a healthy diet (whether it is a little bit daily or for special occasions).

[Anonymous]

What worries me is the recent commercial I saw advertising Ensure for kids! I worry that people think this is a good way to get nutrition into their kids. Also, drinking V8 is not the best way to get the vegetable portion of your diet. Nothing like the real thing. This is coming from a mother whose kids don't really like fruits but do like their vegetables.

[Anonymous]

If you have to give juice, OJ is the best per our dentist...with calcium.

[Anonymous]

As a concerned parent and an attorney, and a loyal Consumerist reader, I’ve been looking into claims that Nestle Juicy Juice “Brain Development” makes. Nestle claims that their juice helps brain development, but I’m not sure that claim is true. Here’s what the Center for Science in the Public Interest said about the juice:

“Nestlé markets Juicy Juice Fruit Juice Beverage Brain Development with ‘DHA—A Building Block for Brain Development.’ An asterisk on the label indicates that the beverage is intended for use ‘in children under two years old.’ The label also informs parents that ‘The human brain triples in volume between birth and two years, so it’s never too early to start good nutrition habits,’ but fails to mention that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under six months old not be fed juice at all and that children aged 1 to 6 consume no more than 4 to 6 ounces per day in part to reduce the risk of obesity. The fact that the product is packaged in 1-liter bottles is not conducive to limiting serving sizes. Furthermore, a serving of Juicy Juice contains only 16 mg of DHA (as much as ¼ teaspoon of salmon). There is no evidence that this product will facilitate the development of a normal baby’s brain.”

What do you think? Has anyone purchased this product and will you continue to do so, even if there is no scientific basis for the claims? I for one don’t like the idea of Nestle trying to convince me to give my kid juice, which is against AAP recommendations, and for no developmental benefit!

[Anonymous]

We heavily dilute, as well. And she gets it infrequently and in small quantities -- little dixie cups not the sippy cup or anything big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do apple juice only for special occasions (birthday party) or if she's at a friends' house who is drinking it (DD is 3.5). She probably drinks one cup every 2 weeks. Apple juice is practically all sugar - empty calories that even skinny kids don't need (and mine aren't so skinny).

A real apple has less sugar and it has fiber.

OJ is actually healthier than apple juice. It provides vitamin C and can have calcium as well. That said, we probably only have that in the house once every 6 weeks or so. It's very special to have juice around our house.

Otherwise, it's all the milk and water you can drink!

Milk is full of sugar too and comes with its' own health issues.

[Anonymous]

My firstborn has always hated juice. To this day (at 4.5) he will only drink water or milk...mostly water.

Second born will have one 4oz box of apple juice every day or so....the kind you buy at whole foods that is 100% juice. I am completely okay with this. The bad juice thing evolved from all of ...well the bad juice that is out there...really not even juice, sugar/fructose added, etc.. Also- the delivery of choice for the toddler set--the sippy cup. Not good for juice, much less milk---rots the teeth. The small amount a week of 100% juice through a straw in a box in a small amount (often doesn't even finish the box) is fine.

[Anonymous]

Our daughter (2.5 yrs) doesn't get any juice with the exception of being able to drink the juice we squeeze out of a grapefruit she's finished eating. I drink juice (25%) with water (75%) and a handful of times she's asked for a sip of my "juice water" but basically all she drinks - or wants to drink - is water.

[Anonymous]

i, too, am in the moderation camp. i drank lots of 100% juice growing up, am a healthy weight and have never had a cavity.

for our kids, we dilute 100% juice with 50% water. our two kids are both skinny and have no cavities. they eat well and are healthy overall. i would say that they don't get more than 4oz of juice on a given day. there are days that they get juice, and there are days when they don't drink juice at all.

i am a firm believer in offering healthy choices and all things in moderation. juice is not necessarily the villain. i think parents who overindulge their kids' requests, out of control portion sizes, and poor dental habits are likely the real problems.

[Anonymous]

I also offer a 50-50 juice water sippy per day. It doesn't bother me health wise, but I am worried that DS is starting to prefer to the juice to water. He'll refuse water in favor of juice. I am thinking about making it an issue, but am honestly still unsure whether it's a big deal or not. I would rather have him hydrated than not ... and even if it's with a little sugar, feel that might be worth it. He doesn't drink milk regularly very willingly (this a problem LONG before juice was introduced). Hmm. Food for thought. Pun intended.