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So as a Dental professional I can strongly say I disagree with giving children juice. I see it daily. It is terribly heart breaking to see babies/toddlers need root canals because of there cavities brought on by juice. Sweets are never a good thing, but it's not even the junk/candy that brings these patients in. Its Juice. There's also a syndrome called baby bottle carries that's from too much cows mike. which is also loaded with sugars. All juice exposure can cause cavities. It's fine as a treat once in a while. It's not a treat when they get it everyday. It's just drives me nuts. I want to scream when I see babies with bottles that have coke/soda's/or juice. Water can quench a thirst just fine.
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I share my "green juice" with LO and she loves it. I mix spinach, apple, and a little frozen fruit in the blender with water and yogurt. I don't plan on giving her boxed juice since she likes this version so much!
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LO never drinks it because we don't ever drink juice so it's just not something I think to buy when I'm at the store. I offered her apple juice once when she was sick and she didn't want to drink it, so I haven't offered it since. She eats pouches and yogurt and applesauce which are rife with sugar too, so I don't think juice is the enemy, it's just not on our radar.
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He doesn't drink much of anything other than breastmilk (gave up the bottle early, hasn't quite gotten the hang of cups yet) now at 13 months. He doesn't get juice regularly, but if we're having some he can have a sip, and if it's a unique situation (like a flight) he can have some. When we make smoothies to share with him (again, he doesn't drink much) they often have juice in them. I think I'd be a lot more concerned if he were a picky eater, them I'd be worried that he preferred juice to whole fruit, but that isn't the case. Sugar is also one of the main reasons we don't give LO cow milk, either.
I have a funny story about this. We were checking into a hotel late night, and LO was going nuts because of the time, the travel, etc. As we were going up to our room, I bought a can of lemonade from the vending machine. Our room key didn't work, so DH went down to get another one. Meanwhile, in the hallway in the middle of the night, LO starts having a meltdown because he wanted my lemonade. Rather than have his screams wake everyone up, I gulped down all the lemonade and gave him the can to play with. Suddenly, the elevator doors open, DH is back with an employee who has come to bring our new room key, and she looks over and sees my baby with a Minute Maid can, I'm sure she thought he was drinking it. Omg, I'll never forget the epic side eye she gave me, lol.
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At birthday parties and occasionally when there are constipation issues.
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Special occasions, he gets some. But usually not much. He sure does love it haha. We never have juice in our house, unless it is homemade juice- and even that isn't a regular occurrence... So when he does get it, it's when we are out to eat or somewhere else- neither are common occurrences.
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My dd isn't interested in it even if we wanted her to drink it. I've offered it to her when she's been sick just to try to keep her hydrated, but she pushes it away. In general I prefer she stick to water. Thankfully that's her preference too
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DD is 14 months old and has never had any boxed or fruit juice yet. I am scared she will refuse water once juice is introduced so I am delaying it for as long as I can. I will let her drink it later every once in a while when she gets older. I've let her try some of my green juice when I order one and she liked it.
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I guess I dont have some huge objection to it, but he doesn't have it. I really don't "get" it. I think EVERYONE (meaning adults too) should just drink water. Sodas and coffees are just not good for us and are addictive (I'm the biggest addict). So, for me, I'd rather just not bring it into the picture from the get go.
That being said, he loves when he gets flavored water. I see it as a middle compromise between just water, and juice. -
We give J diluted apple juice everyday. I used to be one of the judgiest people about parents giving their toddlers juice but when J developed really bad constipation problems at around a year old and we had tried other alternatives and nothing had worked. We finally broke down and tried diluted apple juice and she hasn't had a problem since. Sorry, but I would rather my kid not deal with chronic constipation and have a little bit of extra sugar a day.
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Juice is a very sometimes treat. Usually orange juice with pulp. The sugar content in juice is outrageous.
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@Beebug: i agree. My dentist always said as long as you brush twice a day you can eat what ever yoh want at meal times and if won't do any harm. He says it is snacking all day which causes problems as it interupts the natural cleaning process of saliva. My parents have terrible teeth but they followed this advice with my brother and I and ours are perfect. Can't buy into the whole 'this one thing is evil' way of thinking.
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"They" say that adults should eat their fruits rather than drink them, so we rarely have juice in the house. LO likes water, so I see no reason to offer her juice.
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@Snowdrop: @beebug: @photojane: I give my LO juice too. It's diluted, she drinks more liquids that way, she doesn't drink a lot of milk, she isn't really into water. Most of my friends with kids give their kids juice too.
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I try to save apple juice for situations when my son is sick and doesn't drink any water.
He loves fruit juice though, the Bolthouse brand. He gets it on the weekends, for breakfast.
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This was totally one of those things I said I'd never do when I had a kid. Then, when my LO started solids he got constipated pretty regularly. I have tummy issues to an extreme (I had a colostomy bag for 4 months when I was 7), and I'm super nervous whenever LO seems to be constipated because that's how all my issues started. We now give him diluted pear juice and he poops with no problems. I tried to stop and he would just get constipated again. We tried giving him water and he would act like it was poison and spit it out every time for weeks. I'm hoping that we can slowly reduce the amount of juice in his water and eventually get him to drink it, but for now, it is what it is. I'd rather my LO get some juice everyday then see him in pain from constipation.
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honestly, I don't see the big deal. We give our 9month old juice and smoothies and she still drinks water when we offer.
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She gets diluted prune juice (has horrible constipation) everyday and on occasion has apple or orange juice. I grew up in FL and had fresh orange juice every morning and I don't have a single cavity. But sure, 90% of the time she only drinks water.
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I didn't want to give LO juice, but she refuses cows milk. Her ped said it was okay to give her some diluted OJ that was fortified with calcium to help up her calcium intake. LO is 16 months.
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we don't buy any juice at all. they still get plenty though at school parties, school snacks, birthday parties...
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@MamaPhoenix: Is it juice alone, or is it because parents aren't brushing teeth often enough and well enough?
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I don't think juice is a big deal either way. Mine get sips of it here and there, usually if we're out or they're at a party or whatever. I only offer water or milk at home but I have no feelings either way about those who offer their LOs juice
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she gets an occasional glass of watered down apple juice, no sugar added, every now and then....she would choose milk over water or juice any day though, so we mainly give her milk. i'm in the "everything in moderation" camp and see nothing wrong with juice every once and awhile. sometimes she refuses water but I am trying to limit her milk intake, so I dilute apple juice and she drinks that.
this is totally one of those TV vs. no TV things, and only you can decide what you are comfortable with. people are going to be on one spectrum or one extreme (not necissarily here, but IRL), i.e "I would rather die before giving LO a sip of juice!" or "my kid drinks a gallon of soda every day!" and then there is everyone else in the middle.
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We only give juice if she's constipated and lots of fruit is not working, she likes it but I don't' see the need for all that unnecessary sugar. I do buy the Caprice Sun flavored water packs for when we are at family things so she's not left out and she doesn't know the difference.
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We don't offer it but he has had the occasional cup of diluted juice if we are at a birthday/holiday party. I am very strict about this but DH doesn't really see the big deal...ugh.
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We don't have juice in the house since neither of us drink it, so it's easy enough not to give LO any. When we're out and about and it's offered - at parties, by grandparents, etc. - we allow it and don't make a big deal out of it. She loves it, though, which has only strengthened my resolve not to make it a regular thing. I agree with others who say kids get plenty of natural sugars and there's really no need for juice, barring constipation issues.
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When we go out to eat he will occasionally ask for juice so he gets juice then.
At home, sometimes I feel like drinking something with more flavour so I buy juice but my husband jokes that my juice is disgusting because it's 75% water and 25% juice. My LO will get the same if he asks for it.
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I think we are going to be in the "in the middle" camp. DH and I hadn't ever considered giving DS juice because he LOVES cow's milk and will also drink water. But he does deal with constipation regularly, so we thought juice might help with that. The AAP website says that juice should not be given to babies under 6 months old and after six months is not nutritionally better than fruits and children ages 1-6 should not have more than 6 oz/day. But there's no statement regarding negative effects of juice.
@mamaphoenix: Thanks for your input as a dental professional. As I said, DS LOVES cow's milk, so baby bottle tooth decay is something we are concerned about.
@purpledaisy: @lilteacherbee: Has diluted juice helped with your LOs' constipation issues?
@luckypenny: I grew up in South Florida and hated orange juice until I was in college. My grandparents had orange trees in their yard. Think of all the fresh-squeezed I missed out on!
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@looch: It's a combination. Brushing helps big time, but when sugary beverages are constantly flowing over tooth enamel no amount of brushing will prevent caries (cavities). Note: unless you brush after every sugar beverage. Its an accumulative effect on the enamel. Baby bottle caries comes form babies slowly sipping on milk out of a bottle all day and night long. It's even been noted that mothers who BF their babies to sleep have LO with a higher cavity rate. Those babes fall asleep sucking and BM pools in their mouths. The milk coats the teeth and the sugars from the milk start to break down the enamel.
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@Katrocap: I would just be cautiously aware of how much and how often. Everything in moderation right, I think the concern before 1 is that any other liquid given is replacing a bottle/boob of what is more nutritious for a growing baby.
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I don't think it's necessary but I'm not opposed to it once in awhile...we never have it at the house, but she's had it diluted at her grandma's. She doesn't seem overly into it. Milk has plenty of natural sugars in it, too....hey, even I have an OJ once in awhile
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Meh. I'm a firm believer in moderation. B looooves water and milk. He's had juice, and even sips of my sweet tea (gasp!), and still prefers water. If he wants a sip of juice when we are out then I let him have it. I also give him juice when he's constipated. I wouldn't give it to him daily but I'm not going to raise him to think juice or sweets are "bad." I'd rather expose him to different foods/drinks, including treats, and teach him how to control his intake.
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I think I started giving her juice when she was around 2 years old - we gave her some Honest juice when she was constipated. She probably has juice a few times a week?
I do get worried about sugar and her teeth, so she never drinks/eats anything after brushing her teeth at night.
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DS gets juice and at this point I don't see that it's a big issue. We're trying to encourage him to get more fluids in because his poop's been really bad and he's learning how to drink out of a sippy. Having some flavor to what he's drinking definitely makes him more motivated to figure out how to drink it. Sometimes he gets just water, sometimes he gets watered down juice, sometimes he gets straight juice. He only ever drinks an ounce or two (per day, not per sitting) and he still drinks water so I don't think it's a big deal.
I read this recently about juice and kids - http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/2009/06/juice-for-children/
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J gets diluted juice every day. He outgrew his lactose intolerance, but not his hatred for cow's milk (he gets lot of dairy from other sources). I hate milk too - drank lots of juice as a toddler/little kid, grew up to LOVE water and have never had cavities. I don't see it as a big deal at all, and I'm puzzled by the opposition to it. There's a lot of sugar in milk too. My pediatrician said it's fine.
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At our old house we had an orange tree so when we had oranges we would make fresh juice a few times a week and the kids would also get some. Otherwise we mostly drink water except for special occasions.
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