Why do people give their kids juice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My pediatrican and pediatric dentist both recommend no juice except as an occasional treat. My first never had it until
It was introduced at preschool.

I was goimg to say the same thing. Op, ignore all the snarky people. Tell your mother that times have changed, nutritional advice has changed, and a 2 year old doesnt need juice regularly unless constipated, dehydrated, or as a treat. Not saying that you need to impose a total ban, but at age 2, my kid never even knew to ask me for juice so this just wasnt an issue. That will change, but we are talking about a TWO year old people, stop being so offended and snarky because you give your 3rd grader juice boxes. Its not the same thing!

But why can't she just let mil give it as a (rare) treat? Seems like thy would be fine and make mil happy.

Yes i agree that would be fine as a treat. But in a later post op said mil thought juice should be given to her 2 year old regularly. Our pediatrician and dentist would disagree.

[Anonymous]

OMG - my MIL tells my DD every.single.time. she comes over that she had juice that morning and how healthy it is. Usually while my DD is happily drinking water (or sometimes milk). So annoying! My DD does get juice at preschool and at bday parties or other special occasions (xmas AM big brunch), but it's not part of our daily diet. Even if we have it in the house I won't give it to DD when MIL is around just to spite that old hag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:its the gateway drug to coke, and we all know where that leads: rum. [/quote

LOL

I can't remember when my kids first drank juice. But it's a lot better than the soda they now drink at their private school birthday parties - starting around kindergarten or first grade.

You'll know what I'm talking about when your precious snowflakes attend their first Shadowlands shoot-em-up birthday party and walk out with cups of coke, bags of candy, and bragging about how many of their friends they've killed.

[Anonymous]

Okay, I get why juice is a sometimes food, but I just kind of wonder when and why it became enemy number one? We did the no juice thing for the first 2 years, making exceptions occasionally. Then somewhere around 2.5 we had some juice in the house and my son would ask for it occasionally and we started saying yes. So he basically gets juice when he asks for it now, which is about every 4-5 days. Generally speaking, my son has a choice of 1. unsweetened almond milk 2. cow's milk (though we don't allow him to have much of this) 3. water 4. juice. in our house. He has a kid's tea that he'll drink maybe once a week (it's just an herbal tea, not a mix, no sugar, etc). I think choice is part of a healthy diet and allowing the child some autonomy is a good thing, provided the parents are there to provide appropriate guidance. That way, he grows used to making his own decisions in the right balance for himself. we WOULD put limits on juice and cow's milk if he asked for it more often, but he doesn't. Now, if I had a little juice fiend, things might have to be different. But it's working for us. So i wonder what people think when they see my kiddo out drinking juice if we're out for lunch? Are they gasping into their napkins? Ha ha ha. I guess I don't really care.

[Anonymous]

23:25 here. I'd also add that we have a juicer so the juice he gets at home is homemade (and often half veggie) and don't do juice boxes (mainly for environmental reasons) at home. But if we're out, and he asks for commercially available juice, I don't say "no" by reflex.

[Anonymous]

I buy juice but my kids won't drink it. I give it to their friends when they come over most of whom have anti-juice moms. Teehee! One child can't drink milk and the other wants only chocolate. I don't think milk is particularly healthful either.

[Anonymous]

Because the 2 yo brat won't drink her Diet Coke.

[Anonymous]

Ha! You think you've got problems? My FIL wants to give my kid a cupcake (or two, if she asks for a second one) EVERY time he sees her. And that's every day.

That said, I have no problem with juice, and I think all the pearl-clutching over "pure sugar!" is laughable. Sugar is food. There is nothing inherently wrong with sugar. What IS highly damaging is limiting a child's diet. Forbidden food is BAD. Kids should taste every food item that crosses their awareness, and they should know what they are eating. At 5, my kid makes pretty good food choices on her own, and it's not because she was denied things. It's because I talk to her about every thing she eats.

The time will come when you will not be there to snatch the capri-sun from your child's hand, and if your child thinks that this is the only juice he's going to see all year, he's more likely to have three of them at that drop-off birthday party. Educate him, don't control him. It will backfire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mil and I have many issues and she knows our kids don't drink juice. So as a way to piss DH and I off she buys those sugar substances in barrels (by no means juice). She is obese as is her other granddaughter (lives with her).

My 4.5 yr old nicely tells her no and asks for water or milk. Sweet justice fat cow...

Charming way to talk about your children's grandmother.

[Anonymous]

If I only offered milk and water they started refusing liquids. Boredom I guess. I have active kids and I worry about dehydration, especially in the summer. They have a few juices a week - oj and other fruit juices usually but yes, I've been known to allow lemonade too.

[Anonymous]

Because it tastes good? My daughter hates milk so she drinks tropicana with calcium. Not as good but what can you do.

[Anonymous]

My DS drinks water and milk but the pediatrician advised to give him juice to help him have a BM. He eats a ton of fruit, whole grains and some veggies, but still gets constipated because he's a toddler and holds it. The juice really helps . Normally, it's just water and some milk.

[Anonymous]

because it's deeeelicious. think I will go have some now.

[Anonymous]

Pp here with the awful mother in law, the juice is a small thing. With what she has done she deserves all my nasty name call: allowed her boyfriends to abuse DH and left a loaded gun on the floor for DS to pick up at 18 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My school aged children have a juice box every day with their lunch.

Is there something wrong with juice?

If they're burning the calories with exercise I don't think so. In my book the issue is with the empty calories.

My kids is in the 5th %ile for BMI for his age. Do you think it's OK he drinks juice??

What % for height?

Around 25th %ile for height and about 5-10th %ile for weight.

Just FWIW, although there is a lot of discussion about caloric drinks and the obesity epidemic, many of my childhood nutrition books also say the opposite: kids, unlike adults, CAN fill up on liquids, so if there is any concern about your child not gaining enough weight (and this may not be a concern for you-- my daughter is in a low percentile and is perfectly healthy), it's a bad idea to let her fill up on juice. I know that if my daughter gets a juice box, she will not eat any of the snack that accompanies it, because the juice is just so totally Awesome and Enough for her. Said juice box contains only 40 calories. A meager snack for a growing girl.