I need an education on JUICE for toddlers

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

My goal was "no juice" I concluded this when I realized several of firends have children with a "juice box" in their hands 99% of the time!!!!

Steve came home all proud of himself with some Apple Juice yesterday for Tristan...I said "NO"...

But just realized it is 100% apple juice from concentrate and has no additional ingredient. It is made by White House...

What do you think????


Neve
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[kristine_elen]

Even juice that's 100 percent juice turns instantly to sugar once it hits your child's tummy. We rarely give Jack juice, but when we do (I sometimes like for him to have OJ that's calcuim enriched) we dilute it 50/50 water/juice.

[flagger]

My goal was no juice either until Cocoa ended up constipated and our Pedi had said that apple juice has laxative effects while applesauce is sort of binding. Of course he also said that there was nothing wrong with water either and it has equal amounts of laxative effects.

However when dealing with a screaming baby who is backed up and won't down a large amount of water but will take in two ounces or more of apple juice, I was willing to try anything.

For now she gets it only when backed up, but she does gets lots of water in addition to formula which she likes as well. Hopefully she will learn to use a straw soon.

[lukkykatt]

I am very stingy on juice - my boys don't even get one juice every day (although my older son does get a small cup at school with his snack). I give juice every other day - if that. And always diluted. DS thinks that part of getting juice is getting the water too - ha, ha!

[jojo2324]

I've been thinking about this lately. We offered juice to Gannon when he was young, but he never took it and I didn't persue it. But now, when he's sick, I'll give him diluted fortified OJ in place of milk. He has only gotten juice outside of being sick once. But then yesterday, we had a bottle of banana juice kicking around and taking up space in the fridge...DH gave some to him diluted and he sucked it down in about 12 seconds. Since he's happy with water, I don't really want to give him juice and have him refuse water...

But I'm wondering if there is NO nutritional value to juice? I mean, they are always commenting on the health benefits to drinking cranberry juice (urinary tract) and grape juice (heart) - do you suppose it's too young for Gannon to be concerned about those issues? LOL, or I could give Gannon some watered down wine in place of grape juice, right? The only juice we (DH and I) drink is OJ, and it's enriched with calcium and vitamin D. But I wouldn't mind an excuse to start drinking more wine. :D

[sadie427]

I'm pretty wary of juice too, we've only used it for constipation so far. But I guess for a toddler or older child I'm equally wary of totally forbidding any food--I feel like it makes the food seem more desirable. So if it were me, I'd probably give him a little, diluted with water, every once in a while. I think I've read somewhere to limit it to 4 oz/day, but I'd give less often than that, and only 100% juice, not "juice drinks." HTH

[peanut4us]

Kids walking around with "juice" boxes or 9 oz. sippy cups filled to the brim with juice drive me nuts! I agree with the others, it does just turn to sugar when it gets into their systems. My ped has said that he would rather see Sara eat her fruit, rather than drink it. Lots more fiber and nutrients that way.

So this time, for DH's sake, I would tell him how wonderful and brilliant he is, but that you think eating her fruit would be better. BUT that you can save the juice for a rainy day (when T-man is sick or constipated) and that you appreciate how thoughtful he was to get something with 100% juice. :)

[TaChapm2]

I was cautious about giving DS juice. Never from a bottle only a sippy cup. Our ped. actually recommended that we give him 6 oz of juice every day. We dilute it 50/50 water/juice. I was suprised when she said that. She said it is good for them to have and does have some nutritional value. I am careful to buy the Gerber Juice or pasturized juice for him though. It keeps him regular.
Tara
Mommy to Jackson (11-10-02)

[Jeanne]

Our DD gets 6 ozs of OJ every morning - no more. There is a thread in the Feeding Baby forum titled "About Juice". My DH is a Food Scientist and feels the benefits of the recommended guidelines for OJ are consistent. We do not do juice boxes or anything that isn't labeled 100% juice. We do occasionally mix up her routine with White Grape because there are benefits to that as well. As long as you do not exceed guidelines, it's not harmful. But of course this all


Edited to add that I tried to paste the link but failed. If you type Juice in the search and go to the second page, it's titled "About Juice".

[mharling]

We give Lane 1 oz of 100% white grape juice with 1 oz of water about 3 times a week. When he is old enough (1 year??), he will occasionally get OJ.

We don't give it to him right before or during a meal. I don't want him filling up on it and not eating what is offered at mealtime.

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[JElaineB]

The only juice DS gets is a couple of sips of my orange juice or cranberry juice in the mornings. Otherwise he is content to drink water. Plus, he is small now but it's highly likely he has inhertied a genetic predispositon to childhood (and adult) obestiy. Excessive juice consumption has been linked to childhood obestiy, so I want to not get DS into the habit of wanting juice to do what I can to prevent any issues down the road.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[ColorBlue]

My dd is 28 months and she drinks water and milk. My husband and I have chosen not to go the juice route. We both fight with our weight (and the weight is winning!!) and are really trying hard to get Grace into good food routines instead of bad ones. That said we don't object at all when she is given juice at her grandparents or other people's houses. I think this way its not really forbidden its just that we don't keep it at our house.

Tracy

dd 11/01
edd 11/20/04!!

[emilyf]

Ds gets juice if I have it in the house-usually orange, sometimes something interesting from Trader Joe's like mango lemonade mixed with water. He's not a huge water drinker, so this helps. He had it quite a bit in Mexico where they have those wonderful melon juices and loved it. He mostly drinks milk though, and I pretty much only give him drinks when he's sitting down having a meal. I don't think juice is all evil, but I do think drinking it constantly can cause problems.
Emily \r\nmom of Charlie born 11/02

[suribear]

We dilute juice (generally real fruit nectars) with a LOT of water. About 80% water. Now DD insists on the water :)

BTW, we didn't start juice until DD was around 1.5 to 2 years old. It's basically a way to get her to drink water, given our dilution technique!

Kris

[chrissyhowie]

We give Chloe an occasional sippy cup of juice (usually either apple or white grape juice) diluted to about 50% with water. But if I ever noticed that she was refusing plain water or filling up with juice instead of eating a meal, I think I'd start cutting it out completely.

Personally I dilute any juice that I drink myself with at least 60% water or seltzer because I think juice tastes too sweet! Funny considering my total addiction to sugary candies though :9!!

[shishamo]

I give them diluted juice, 2 parts water and 1 part juice. It's the same stuff I drink. The most they would drink is 3 oz. of juice a day, which is less than my peds recommends. I never noticed that it interfered with food intake: it's the milk that seems to interfere.

[sugarsnappea]

I didn't allow juice either. But when JG hit 2 she had some constipation issues due to her excess intake of cow's milk. I tried to give her juice to help things along and she refused it. To this day she refuses juice unless it offered in a box at someone elses home. She will only drink milk, not even water.
I plan on introducing juice much earlier to DD#2, but on an infrequent basis. My ped recommended Juicy Juice, because it is 100% juice, and has the least amount of sugar compared to others.

[toomanystrollers]

Lets see: about 80% of the time, Tess & Shea drink milk. When we're on the road (playground, etc.), I pack juice pouches or the kid sized waters (with the sport top) - keeps them amused :)

During the summer, I like to freeze the juice pouches and then throw them in the lunch box. Somehow juice seems more refreshing then chugging down milk when it's hot and steamy out!

[MelissaTC]

Matthew drinks a mixture of 20% juice (usually orange juice or white grape & peach) + 80% water in a small sippy cup, a couple times a week. I usually give it to him in the morning. He will drink 1 or 2 cups of whole milk and the rest of his beverage consumption consists of water. He prefers water and now says "waaater Mama".

It kills me when we go to playgroup because there is one Mom there that gives her little one juice boxes. I left Matthew with her one day (she did me a favor by watching him while I ran up to Duke for testing). When I came back, she told me that he had a couple of cups of juice. I know I must have looked at her in shock.

My Mom thinks I am nuts for not giving him more juice. But he doesn't need it. He much prefers to eat the actual fruit and I think that it is better that way.

[Roleysmom]

We went to this fantastic pediatric dentist for the first time last week and she had nothing but bad things to say about juice. She said, in her opinion, apple juice was the worst --"battery acid" -- but she didn't really explain why apple was worse than the others. She said cranberry juice was a little less hard on the teeth. She also made the point that I know other's peds have made -- she'd much rather little ones eat the fruit rather than have the juice. She made a good point that if they become used to those sweet drinks, when they are older they'll replace it with soda.

She also said that if we were going to give candy to stick to chocolate (I'm telling you I loved this woman) but to avoid all other candy, especially sticky things like gummy bears and even fruit roll-ups and fruit leathers.


Paula -- mom to Roley Julia --01-04-02

[mamahill]

When we offer juice (which we do), it's 1 sippy cup a day, and it's 2 oz of juice mixed with 4 oz of water. Ainsleigh will drink regular water, but if it has a touch of juice in it, she'll drink more. And more clear fluids help to avoid constipation around here. Do whatever you feel is right!

[Elilly]

We, also, are a no juice house. DD is pretty low in weight (16 mos and not yet 20 lbs) so I have to pack in the fat and calories at any opportunity. If she wan't so small, I wouldn't mind a 50/50 juice/water sippy a day -especially with the warmer months coming.

[Melanie]

We were totally no juice until Ds started having constipation problems, now we're juice. =( He still mostly receives water in his sippy with one or two cups of juice, depending on the day/need. Also, our ped, who is also 'no juice,' said if you are going to do it, dilute it 50% with water. We don't dilute it quite that much. Oh and I only get the non-concentrate kinds...usually Naked Juice OC or Trader Joe's Apple Juice (that's interesting, Paula, I'll ask my dentist next week). On occasion, when they have it, white grape.

[JMarie]

Aidan has juice once or twice a week, and it's usually only 20-25% juice, the rest is water. I think I have thrown out more juice than used - he just could care less, as long as it's cold. I don't think a little will hurt, but I agree - it kills me to see kids downing 2-3 juice boxes a day. I even have a girlfriend who justifies it all by saying her DS got dehydrated, so he can have as much SODA as he wants! He's TWO! He eats an entire can of Chef Boyardee - the 2.5 serving one - for lunch. WITH fries!

Oh, I've learned to just keep my mouth shut though...

Jennifer
Mom to Aidan Christopher
01/28/03

[blnony]

Audrey doesn't get juice either. Even 100% juice is high in sugars. She will eat lots of fruit and I think thats better. She also drinks lots of water. I don't think juice is really necessary; but not evil either. I think its all in what you're comfortable with. But I agree, I can't stand to see drinking juice all day. (Or laying down to drink a bottle which is another peeve of mine...:D )

[AngelaS]

Adrienne got NO juice until she was almost 2. During that winter she started getting a glass of 1/2 OJ and 1/2 water. I like the extra Vit C when we're fighting off cold bugs.

Gabrielle occasionally gets a glass of diluted grape or orange juice. Since I'm pregnant, juice sounds good to me so I have been drinking more and she also wants the pink or purple stuff I'm drinking. LOL She's a decent eater and a good milk drinker so an ounce of juice is NOT gonna kill her... :D