When did you start giving your kids juice?

[elisap4406]

DD has never had juice mainly because I keep forgetting to ask the pediatrician. I don't really mind not giving her juice, but as she gets older and starts walking or seeing her friends having juice I don't want to have her feel left out or one day drink a whole juice box and be bouncing off the wall! So what did you do?

Thanks so much!

[Wife_and_mommy]

I didn't start giving dd juice until she was two. She had OJ on occasion, then we had to do prune juice. Before age two she didn't knwo what she was missing and didn't need it so it was very easy not to give it to her.

I wouldn't worry about her feeling left out at her age. Besides, kids will sometimes have different things to eat and drink. That's just life.

ETA: Forgot about DS. He hasn't had juice aside from dd's leftover drops here and there. I won't give it to him until he's two or pretty close to it. It's easier to control just one kiddo's intake.


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I love them most when they are sleeping.--Me
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[Bean606]

I asked my pedi at DS's 9-month checkup, because people kept asking me why DS was not having juice yet. The Dr. said that juice is basically just liquid sugar, and it is better to avoid it as much as possible, and treat it like soda - a very occasional thing. So I just give DS water or EBM in a cup with his meals.

[pb&j]

15 mos, and we haven't given juice yet. He had some at daycare a few times, but it gave him diaper rash. So, no more juice. He's got no nutritional need for it. I don't worry about him feeling left out, so far he doesn't, and we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it.


-Ry,
mom to Max the one year old
and my girl in heaven

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[SnuggleBuggles]

Prob. when he was 2 and it is not an everyday thing. Luckily in our social circle water is the norm offered by other moms. Beth

[egoldber]

When she was 2 and she started preschool 2 mornings a week. They offered watered down juice with snack and thats when she was first exposed to it, althought she actually wouldn't drink it until the school year was almost over. (They gave her water instead.)

[jgriffin]

E has had juice a couple of times, when we were eating out. He drinks milk and water at daycare, and has never seemed to care that some of the other kids have juice in their sippies (actually, since you can't really tell what's in the cups, he probably doesn't even realize they're not drinking what he's drinking). As he gets older we might start letting him have juice more often, but it's not something we plan on having around the house much.

[randomkid]

I don't really remember, but I only gave her juice because we were having constipation issues. DD doesn't really like juice, so she rarely has it other than to try to help with constipation. We definitely do not use it as a beverage.

DD started daycare at 19 months and I just asked them to give her water instead of juice. She had no idea that the other kids had something different than she did. They all had sippy cups, so it all pretty much looked the same, I guess. Even now, if I try to get her to drink juice to "move things along", she'll only take about an ounce.

I see no real reason for juice. Peer influence can be powerful, but I wouldn't be concerned until she can ask about it. Hopefully, by then you can instill some healthy habits and she just won't want it.

[longtallsally]

My DD is 14 mos and we don't give her juice. However, we can't keep her from sneaking her friends' sippy cups and drinking THEIR juice (ick)! DD KNOWS there will only be water or milk in HER cup but that her friends have juice. It's like crack; she just can't get enough. My friends think I hover too much, but I try to be vigilant and hope that the juice has been watered down. So far, no ill effects from drinking "liquid sugar" or other kids' cooties, thank goodness!

[HannaAddict]

We don't do juice. As other posters said, Juice is just liquid sugar and not recommended by any peds I know. Family, especially MIL, ask all the time if he can have juice. So, my son is three years old now and still doesn't drink it. His preschool serves water with snack. He drinks milk and water and drank expressed b.m. in a sippy cup, as well as whole milk and water when he was younger. He has had watered down Gatorade (1/2 water) when he was throwing up, per the ped's suggestion, when he refused Pedilyte. And fruit punch at a luau in Maui last year (he guzzled it!). And I wouldn't freak out if he had OJ at a brunch or something but we don't buy it to serve at home or as a choice when we are eating out. And, believe it or not, no juice boxes. For his birthday this year we debated doing juice boxes since all the other kids have them, but settled on small bottled waters and milk boxes of 2% milk (not the Horizon sweet kind). No one missed juice.

Kimberly

[just_teachin]

We waited until about 21 mos- and then it was only about 2oz of juice and 2oz of water... and only once or twice per week.

I was really worried about her wanting it ALL THE TIME, so I waited until she would be able to understand it was a special thing. Even now, she RARELY asks for juice, but because of that I feel like I can give it to her most of the time when she asks. (We still dilute it, too.)

She has had a 100% juice juice box a few times when we were in a bind, and she still doesn't balk at watered down juice (another worry I had).


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heather
Mommy to Corinne, 11/17/04
6/7 SAHM, 1/7 Kdg-8th grade music teacher; 7/7 Bargain Huntress
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Proudly breastfed for 24 months and 7 days! Corinne has self-weaned!

[melbb]

Audrey never gets juice. Too much sugar. She just takes water and milk.

[maestramommy]

18 months, still no juice. She doesn't know what she's missing, so why put ideas in her head: :-) Seriously, my ped. said she doesn't recommend juice at all for this age. So DD is happy with just milk and water.

[hillview]

DS had juice when he was about 15 months ... it was under some random circumstances which I cannot remember. He has juice maybe once a week. He rarely asks for it and we sometimes give it to him.
/hillary

[KrisM]

DS just started drinking some juice at about 2 years 9 months. He only drinks a small (4 oz) juice box about 2 times/month at playgroups.

[jacksmomtobe]

DS who is 3 has just recently started having a minimal bit of juice (usually watered down) on special occaisions. I found that even if his friends were having it in juice boxes he was ok just having his milk or water. My guy is very easy going though. The Ped Dentist said that no juice is the reason his teeth look so good. I think DS was more attracted to the packaging of juice boxes than the juice itself.