Juice for toddlers

[Lochie]

Sorry this is a bit of a boring question but I've tried goggling for the answer and can't find anything conclusive!

My 16 mo toddler loves drinking orange juice from my glass and loves drinking from a carton too - is it ok at this age to give neat juice? I don't have a problem with watering it down but when I do Mr Fussy won't drink it. Does anyone know? Thanks in advance :)

[Polly D]

I would think it's fine! My son (2) is mad about cartons of apple juice. Some might say not to give neat juice because of the sugar but I remember reading advice on here a while ago that it was better to drink Ribena and be hydrated than have a battle over water. I do try to make sure he brushes his teeth well, tho of course this is usually unsuccessful.

[Lochie]

Thank you Polly, that is good to know. And yes comment on clean teeth too, though he is currently at an age now where toothbrushes are the enemy. Fun fun!

[Fuschia]

Personally I would try very hard to avoid juice as a drink and insist on water. If you're firm you can win. It's so much better for teeth and health. Think ahead to all those years of quaffing juice ahead...

I find orange juice gives my little girl cystitis, btw, my friend's daughter is the same

[sillywoman]

Our dentist is firm on this, juice (fresh or concentrate) along with those (lovely) shop bought smoothies are among the worst things for their teeth your child can drink. He's adamant that they are up there with fizzy drinks. Also - because the citric acid in them softens the tooth enamel - if they do drink them you shouldn't brush their teeth for 30 minutes or so afterwards as you'll worsen the damage ::o. Sorry to be bearer of bad news.:'(

[crystal7]

My dentist says the same SW and F- I thought juice/smoothies with meals wasn't so bad though or am I just kidding mysef?! I used to be very strict about it but last summer worried about dehydration and started giving innocent smoothies or orange juice once a day. Hadn't heard of the cystitus link with orange juice Fuschia! Will watch out for that.

[Mellors]

What do we think about sugar free squash (diluted a lot)? Mine much prefer it (and I freely admit its my fault, because I drinks buckets of it).

I am battling the thumb sucking nightmare re dental health at the moment, not sure I have the strength for Juice Wars too!

[crystal7]

urgh don't mention thumb sucking- E's fingers rarely leave her mouth! I sucked mine well into ny teens though and never had any probs so hopefully she'll be the same...sorry off topic not sure about sugar free squash

[candj]

Agree with above that a diet high in citrus (juice or fruit) is really bad for tooth enamel according to our family dentist. Would try to get your little one used to other drinks or water. It's difficult as my two older ones love oj and those innocent smoothies (and only the orange mango ones sadly).

And while we are on the topic of tooth decay apparently raisins are also not great for little teeth as they are sugary and sticky.

[Fuschia]

sugar free juice is not sugar free

has juice in, fruit sugars, plus artificial sweeteners.. they can then call it no added sugar

i think if you can make water their main drink, you do them a service for life

we just have squash or juice as a treat/with a picnic

i like juice myself but rarely buy it now

otoh juice with an iron rich meal aids iron absorbtion

but first 3 years for a child is so formative,i would really push the water

ours really do prefer water,much as they eye up juice given the chance

[Belle]

I used to be proud that my son only had water, but gradually v diluted high juice snuck in, along with innocent smoothies, and now of course he demands it. I still give him water at least half of the time, and he drinks quite a bit of semi skimmed milk. I basically think it's fine though - he drinks more when he drinks juice, so I worry less re hydration, plus some of these servings count towards fruit intake, so I'm opting not to sweat it on this one...

[littleEDfamily]

Agree with sw's dentist. But we all still have juice once a day - small quanity and neat. I think better to just gulp a small amount down that suck on a whole big cup (esp sippy cup).

And yep, the brushing of teeth straight after eating or drinking anything sweet or acidic will do further damage to the enamel.

I make my daughter rinse her mouth out with water after treats.

[Lochie]

Probably being a bit thick but why don't adults have this drilled into them about fruit juice and teeth? Or are adult teeth less susceptible to decay? We get the whole 'drink one of your five a day' drilled into us all the time...confused!!!

Thanks for all responses, sounds like juice is a no no or very rare treat! Getting liquid into my son full stop is a bit of a battle as I'm trying to get him off the baby bottle. He does like cartons with straws though (although annoyingly not beakers with straws) so if anyone knows of low sugar drinks with straws i can give him then that would be much appreciated?!! Not sure if you can get cows milk in a small carton for kids? at the mo am relying on SMA in small cartons but would prefer cows milk....looked in Sainsburys the other day but no joy

[anna_r]

Hey lochie :)

I remember snowboarder asked this question a while ago:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,526275,526275#msg-526275

I'm getting a bit freaked out now as I drink a lot of juice (pomegranate and blueberry atm yum) thinking I was quite healthy...daughter though doesn't like it (hooray!) but loves water and is a milk fiend

[Fuschia]

I don't think juice is very healthy at all.. the sugars are worse for you than the sugars in actual fruit. But us adults worry less about our own health than we should, really, whereas with children we are setting them up for their whole future lifestyle aren't we

Useful site re different sorts of sugar in fruit vs juice: http://www.intelligentdental.com/2010/08/31/top-5-diet-changes-to-help-prevent-tooth-decay/

You can get UHT milk in little cartons, I think from Sainsburys, possibly also from the milkman

My childen have all been fond of water in plastic bottles with child friendly tops (sorry planet)

[craigy]

My little boy is a big fan of juice so we try it in moderation. He will drink water and the best way with him is in a bottle with sports type cap as it seems a bit more exciting to him than a cup....

Our dentist is also very against juice and said that children do not produce much plaque but lots of juice and sweetened drinks can contribute to this.. Also milk does actually contain a lit of sugar so that is worth considering too....

[Pickle]

I'm pretty strict about juice, as have also been warned about the damage to teeth etc. My kids have a tiny bit of juice at breakfast time, simply because Mr Pickle has it, so they've seen him and want the same), but in one of those plastic Ikea cups they have about 1cm of juice and the rest is water, so it barely even tastes. I let them have it as a treat if we're out for dinner, but that's about it. It helps that I don't drink it, so to them water during the day is the norm.

[pebbles]

Lochie - i was mortified when i paid a recent visit to the dentist. I brush my teeth thoroughly twice a day (and she confirmed that my teeth were regularly cleaned) however they are falling apart around me - a bit of an exaggeration but i had 4 (white) fillings at the front of my teeth. She basically asked me if i was an alcoholic - i said no but i like a drink and she said she would know if i was an alchy!!! she then asked if i ate a lot of fruit and i said yes - i live off it. honestly i have fruit salad for brekkie, snack and all puddings - I LOVE FRUIT. and she said sorry to tell you but you're a lot better off eating chocolate!!!!

AND to back everyone else up DO NOT BRUSH TEETH JUST AFTER EATING. Either brush before breakfast or at least 30 minutes afterwards. What i now do is brush before and then mouth wash after all meals when at home.

it's scary. i now have a mouth shield that i have to put in 4x a week with seriously seriously seriously strong concentrate toothpaste to try and rectify the damage that i have done from ALL my fruit eating.

it's mortifying, i thought eating fruit was healthy!!!

this is going to sound seriously stupid but i never thought about my kids but having just written all this down i've suddenly realised that my kids will eat fruit til the kingdom come - doh

obviously we have to take this with a pinch of salt but my dentist did always say don't eat fruit as the last thing in the meal (ie not for children's desert)!!!!

sorry to be bearer of bad news

[Lochie]

wow pebbles that sounds awful! Obviously not going to the dentist enough as I've never had pep talk about fruit but then I guess I probably don't eat as much as I should, maybe that is a good thing now.

Apparently when I went to primary school they used to give out little cartons of orange juice like they did with bottles of milk, how things have changed.

All comments really useful thank you, I will keep off the juice and give him bits of fruit to eat instead in moderation, he loves bananas so thats good as I would imagine they are fine for teeth.

Thank you again for such good advice

[snowboarder]

Gah. Fruit = bad for teeth, no fruit = bad for vitamins and stuff. Can't win!! Little sb doesn't know juice comes in anything other than cartons but he has one at least once a week as a treat in a cafe, and then the pure sticky apple juice version.

I do honestly give in. And as for getting him to clean his teeth - well....

[craigy]

Pebbles- it seems your damned if you do and damned if you don't....

Last summer when it was hot and I was pregnant I had a real thing for ice cold full sugar Ribena and drunk loads... I usually drink water.. I went to the dentist when I was 36 wks pregnant and had my 6 monthly X-rays and the dentist then asked me what I had been eating or drinking as there were 4 areas of early decay showing in my teeth and I had 4 fillings 4 weeks after I gave birth..

[littleEDfamily]

Speaking of teeth - I am so knackered I have started grinding mine and my front teeth are wearing away! I have to wear a mouthguard at night. More evidence of kids ruining me!

Apparently you should eat fruit before meals as it digests much quicker than other foods and if you eat it after, it just sits on top of all the other food creating bad stomach gas. Heinous.

Re: the fruit and teeth, surely you can just rinse your mouth with water after eating fruit or other acidic things?

[karter]

Speaking of teeth again and the corrosion that happens after having fruit ( brushing staight after not a great idea agreed), do you use toothpastes with fluoride or without fluoride for babies and children? Is fluoride still in the local drinking water? What do your dentisits recommend? Thanks.

[candj]

Baby toothpaste has a lower amount of fluoride than adult toothpaste. I believe some organic ones don't have any fluoride at all. As soon as your baby/toddler understands you should try to get them to spit it out after brushing.

Edited to add that my kids have been getting dental check ups since they were 2 1/2 - 3 years old and the dentist has used the banana fluoride as well as the rinse.

[Fuschia]

Our family are very prone to tooth decay (something to do with particular mouth bacteria?)

Dentist advised ds1 used adult toothpaste for the extra fluoride. "Big teeth" has 2x as much as adult toothpaste.

I wouldn't go with the nonfluoride ones myself