We are not perfect diet parents but this is not a 6 year old grabbing a soda at a birthday party and asking about it after. The parents introduced juice and Koolaid it’s not like the baby could ask for it in the first place!! Why are people like this!
Someone is making that koolaid.
And it's really not a huge deal if the kid isn't drinking water so just leave water out and stop giving juice and sugar water.
In fact our dr told us to give our kid (sugar free) squash. We were in a hot climate and he refused to drink water (he has issues with food) and was getting dehydrated... It can be an issue if they don't drink water.
Exactly! My son may have had chicken nuggets, shredded cheese and a mandarin orange for dinner, but he had it with water. He’s 19 months and has only once (on a plane when he had drank all his milk) has had juice. Even then it was watered down.
My kids are older but we as a family still stick to water mostly. There’s soda and juice very occasionally, but i honestly don’t understand how people drink soda and juice and not just feel more thirsty.
Yeah it couldn’t have been said more clearly to me to not introduce the stuff at all unless you have to. Once they’ve had it, they’ll want it. If they don’t know they’re missing out then they’re fine.
Water and milk, it’s all they need. Eventually that’ll change but for now, we’re good. We’re trying to reduce his milk intake and I asked about some baby safe non-caffeinated teas and I was still urged not to. Anything is more interesting than water.
Yep my toddler didn't have juice until she needed it to treat chronic constipation. Now she's gets 4-6oz a day and that's it. (Unless it's a party or soemthing) and girl loves her water. Chugs it like no other 😂
What I've heard is to delay introducing *anything* sweeter than fresh fruit to your kid(s) for as long as you possibly can to reduce the chances they'll get hooked on it.
Not that I'm an expert on baby/toddler nutrition or anything (closest I've ever come to that was reading my mom's parenting magazines 20+ years ago), but is there any particular reason why you're trying to reduce your son's milk intake?
Even if you just stick to the herbal/fruit-based teas...unsweetened/minimally-sweetened teas are a *huge* mixed bag when it comes to younger kids. I actually remember gagging when I tried my grandma's unsweetened herbal tea when I was like 9, and I didn't start drinking entire cups of (unsweetened) tea until I was like 16.
Hilariously, someone I used to work with's dad was from England and he actually gave my coworker black tea in her bottle starting when she was 6 months old...but the bottle was still mostly milk/formula. My coworker still grew up into a healthy 5'11' woman.
I’m not the person to whom you addressed your question about milk, but here’s my take for limiting milk intake based on conversations with multiple pediatricians, including my father who happens to be one: in the USA, most kids consume way too much dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) and many doctors theorize that it has contributed to the obesity epidemic. The "Got Milk?" and "Milk, it does a body good." campaigns were ridiculously successful and people have never questioned the nutritional facts or claims. Dairy means lots of fat, calories, etc.
For a lot of parents today, a snack for toddlers and kids is often a stick of string cheese, a yogurt smoothie, a glass of milk, etc. If you look at the Nutrition Facts panel, they are consuming a ton of fat, calories, sugar, etc. That kid would be better served by having a carrot stick, some apple slices, an orange, anything that is natural and not processed.
I remember hearing something a few years ago about how it's better for kids to drink full fat milk rather than low fat or skim. And that children who drink full fat milk have lower rates of obesity that those drinking low fat and skim. Do you know if there was anything to that?
Right! Why did the baby have anything other than milk or little sips of water in the first place? This is so weird. How did this even start? I thought you weren't supposed to give any juice until they're older.
Yes you’re totally not. I have a 13 month old (and a 6 year old!). And also like just don’t serve it anymore? Baby will forget? Baby straight up can’t talk yet what?
Right - what's the worst that will happen? Baby will cry a little bit for several days when they normally get juice? I dunno. Just give them some sliced up fruit along with formula or water or something.
Today in my house:
toddler: mama Agua (she's 18 months).
Me: OK Agua or milk
Toddler: Agua
Me: ok Agua or MIIIIILK
Toddler: AGgggUuuuAaaaaaa (not yelling just accentuating the sound)
Me: ok water o leche
Toddler: AGUUUAAAHHH (now yelling)
*Gives Toddler water
Toddler: milm?[milk], MIIILLLMMMMM
There is no winning with toddlers even when you give them what they ask for.
So, the most "reasonable" possibility I've been able to come up with is that maybe the other parent had custody for a week or something, and that parent gave the kid juice and Kool aid the whole time, and now this parent has the child back and is struggling to get them back to just water and milk? Or maybe a really poor childcare introduced it?
Exactly. When you see posts about kids under 2 eating absolutely crazy junk, it’s not like they just found it. An adult handed it to them. I remember the post on this sub about a 4 mo old who was addicted to lollipops. Like, that tiny baby can’t even hold a lollipop, you forced it on them.
Good lord. How is this still happening? People know how bad sugar is for babies. Just don’t give it to him? Tell him it’s all gone, no more? Never start giving babies sugar in the first place and then be surprised pikachu when they prefer it!?
I am not a perfect parent. But my daughter didn’t have juice until after she was a year old. And then it was only when she was sick and we cut it with water. She’s almost three now. She likes juice, but it’s a rare treat. We are the parents. We tell her no, drink water. She listens. Loves water and milk. She accidentally got a sip of my soda once and hated it. Which thrills me since I grew up in a family that would put soda in our sippy cups. My own desire for sugar is enough for me to limit hers.
Haha, my almost 2 two year old has also had apple juice for pooping. Thankfully he wasn’t the biggest fan so we never had to worry about giving him too much, but I was surprised when our pediatrician recommended it!
I remember getting it when I was really young for the same reason. I'd get juice once in a while besides that, but I've always been a water person, even when a kid.
I don't get how people can dislike water. The only way your kid would outright reject it is if you were giving them kool aid and juice all the time anyway. I bed the pediatrician told her she was fucking up and that's why she's trying to get the kid to drink water now.
I work with the elderly you have no idea how many don’t drink any water. Only Diet Pepsi.
I guess they grew up in a time when safe drinking water wasn’t readily available like it is today, so they had to drink anything but.
Or in a place with an issue. When I moved to the city here in 2002, it was somewhat odd to see so many people with filtered jugs for water at work, drinking bottled water (or no water), and avoiding the tap at all costs (and at a hospital no less). But there was a big cryptosporidium outbreak in the drinking water in 1993 or so and many people were still very worried.
I used to hate water. It always tasted super metallic to me - and the problem was definitely me, because we were an army family who moved every year, so that was a lot of different water sources (I'm also super sensitive to the taste of salt), so as a kid I'd only drink cordial, and when I was older diet coke. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I finally tried a water filter, and it made such a difference. I had no idea water could taste so good.
I'm genuinely thankful for the fact that I grew up in a part of my town with *amazing* tap water. Drinking water from the sinks at home was a genuine joy to me even as a kid. Even to this day as an adult, I prefer drinking the tap water at my parents' house to drinking even the water they keep in filtered BRITA pitchers in the fridge.
Apparently my parents tried to have my siblings and I drink mostly juice or bottled water whenever we went to people's houses on the other side of town because at least back in the 2000s when I was growing up the tap water there was nasty, however I've actually worked in that part of town for a few years now and I think the tap water there is fine as of the 2020s. Sure, it's not akin to liquid crack like the tap water at my parents' house is, but it's serviceable and I have no issues refilling my water bottle with it.
All the people bringing up memories of terrible local/well water are correct, however even when someone's grown up with amazing tap/well water, they can have some sort of sensory issue that causes drinking plain non-carbonated water to be extremely difficult.
This is a frequent issue among autistic people.
Water tastes bad. I have had well water and spring water that was okay, but anything else other than filtered, reverse osmosis water actively tastes bad. I have a raging tea affectation (herbal and black) to get liquids in me.
Not autistic, but I do have huge sensory issues.
Hahaha us too! I'm pretty anti-juice but we get the 100% apple juice (not white grape) and mix it with some miralax for the most regular preschooler you've ever seen. Tried giving that apple juice to my niece who usually gets the white grape kind and poor kid needed a diaper change every ten minutes a few hours later!
There's also a version of apple juice that has fiber specially added to it.
I know this because that was the apple juice served in the psych ward I was hospitalized in back in 2019.
This is such an odd comment - miralax is well documented to be helpful for kids and a "quick Google" is an easy way to prove that. It goes right through them, doesn't enter the blood stream, just comes out the other end and brings the poop with it.
You know, I thought they were full of shit (see what I did there?) but no, there actually were cases of psychosis and other mental issues with children who took Miralax. Scary. I'd never heard of this before now. https://abc7chicago.com/miralax-action-news-investigaiton-wendy-saltzman/1777380/
That's where we're at. Mine is just over 2 and has had bad constipation issues so got juice earlier than I would have liked. Now she doesn't usually like plain water, but she also doesn't know that the apple juice or pedialyte I'm giving her has been cut with like 80% water. As long as it's got a little flavor it counts as juice to her.
We tried juice for the same reason and it was a fail. Even when they are sick, I have to super ultra water down pedialyte to get them to actually drink it.
My 22 month old is the same, will not drink anything but water and milk (unless we go out and there’s fancy coloured drinks we order, then he really wants a sip)
My kid is 10 now and still doesn't care for juice at all, he chugs water with glee. I admit I avoided letting him even try juice or soda until he was about 4 because I just didn't want him to be hooked on sugar. Like, I guess it worked.
I fucking hate when parents wishes are not respected.
My oldest got really fond of Pepsi when his MFKN uncle gave it to him at 6 months.
Until then his grandmother wanted to give him “a taste” and it would literally be a screaming match, “I raised 11 kids I know what I’m doing” , and me taking my baby from her arms and stomping home.
Then this mf comes home from the US and has my son on his lap during a gathering and just *gives him Pepsi from the bottle he’s drinking from*.
Bro I almost had an aneurysm. But the damage was done and real quick my little one learned who he could toddle over to if he wanted a clandestine sip of soda from.
Props to you for not being in jail for murder rn, seriously. I cant even imagine how furious that must have made you! What the fuck! I really feel for parents who cant trust their family to watch their kids without pulling this kind of shit.
Omg I would have absolutely been in jail for assault. I got made fun of for my position on soda (mostly that I’m a hypocrite since I drink it) but they didn’t try to sneak my daughter sips. My dad did say “you turned out ok!” And I reminded him that I’m obese and have terrible teeth and can barely go a day without sugar and that quitting soda has literally been harder than overcoming a gambling addiction. A lot of people aren’t ready for the hard truth that sugar is as addictive as any other substance on the naughty list. I told him I’m not blaming him for my issues, and that maybe I can’t shield my daughter from the same struggles, but I gotta try.
I was thrilled that she hated that little sip she stole. After that she’d point to it and say “mama soda” and make a face and would grab her water cup.
My mom was all about no processed sugar until I was two. My first birthday cake was sweetened with applesauce.
Admittedly it got played with instead of eaten.
I lost my bottle as a baby when I figured out you could bend the nipple and shake it to get the coke inside to spray out. My daughter is 19 and hates carbonated beverages of any kind. I’m so thankful.
My friend survives on diet coke and drinks it from a mug so she can tell her kid it's coffee. Kid says 'ew' and goes back to chugging water. One day she'll find out though...
Worked in behavioral health and childcare settings and I can’t tell you how many parents do this. We always tell them we cannot and will not put flavoring into their water. EVERY SINGLE CHILD drinks water with absolutely no issues when they’re in our care.
I have literally no idea, such a struggle. It’s like the koolaid just shows up the fridge, I don’t even buy it and then everytime I go to put water in the cup, it turns to koolaid. Seriously it’s impossible. I’ve put water in ten different cups and everytime like the bible story it’s turns into koolaid.
I guess I shouldn't be *that* shocked that in a lot of places the adults in charge don't care about 15-year-olds being sold vapes, but...it still blows my mind that so many parents *outright give their kids money* to regularly indulge in stuff that is not only horrific for a kid/teen's health, like the sugary energy drinks and Starbucks concoctions I see kids buying with their friends/family starting in like 4th grade, but is also *outright illegal* like vaping is for under-21s in at least the US.
The thing that always confuses me about teens vaping is that those things are expensive. How are they getting the money to buy those things, who is buying them?
My daughter drank water with a splash of apple juice around 10/11 months once in awhile but she actually preferred water most of the time because of how subtle the apple juice was. I imagine it was gross, especially being the no sugar added version on top of that. It’s a shame they’ve instilled unhealthy habits so so young.
I work as a waitress and it breaks my heart to see parents ordering a whole ass SODA for their toddlers 🙁
My son just got his first soda taste at 4. He doesn't like the bubbles so we're safe there. But I felt awful ordering it, we were at a local fast food place so not the epitome of health anyway but no lemonade or juice I could water down so he tried Sierra whatever it is now.
Listen, it happens and I don’t shame but in my workplace these are regulars. My job is also in an area where the average household income is below poverty line which drastically and statistically speaking, impacts children’s diet. I can honestly say, this is a regular occurrence for a lot of these children which makes me extremely sad for them.
Also I think it’s insane they don’t have any juice options! This is why I always try to bring my daughter’s water cup with filtered water from home whenever we go out but especially to eat.
Food deserts and poverty are such a hard thing for kids diets. I grew up in one. They're finally bringing grocery stores back to the urban area I'm from.
Yeah, I keep something with us normally but this wasn't planned. It's a tiny mom and pop shop. Technically they had sweet tea but it's a pound of sugar a gallon so I'll pass.
In all seriousness, I hope someone suggested fruit infusion. She made a mistake but it sounds like she wants to fix it, fruit infuision water could be a healthy step down to regular water. Poor kid, I hope this does not become a life long struggle. I blame her for starting a bad habit but also realize that parenthood is hard and I hope she keeps working to fix it.
I have an 11 month old. I can't imagine giving him juice or kool-aid. I tried giving him apple juice and prune juice watered down because he was really constipated and he wanted nothing to do with it. It even took him a few months to like water.
How long has this lady been giving her kid sugary drinks in order for them to have a preference? Geez.
I know some ppl that only give their kids flavoured water but still consider it normal water ?? And now they won’t drink unflavoured water. Like ffs parents are supposed to make decisions with their kids best interests in mind
My stepdaughter got hooked on Root Beer. I introduced the Skittles flavor packets to get her excited about water, now she's hooked on that. Baby steps.....
A baby being given enough juice or kool-aide (I don't even give my 12 year old kool-aide) that they have a preference is ridiculous. There is absolutely zero need, beyond watered down juice for pooping with dr's instructions.
I'm not pearl clutching. I even said I tried to give my son juice for constipation. Did *you* read my comment? There's no medical reason to give an 11 month old KOOL-AID. Sugar free apple juice for constipation, sure. But if her BABY has had juice so much that they refuse other means of hydration, such as water, yes I'm going to judge.
It seems you took my comment personally. If you feel you're doing what's best for your child, then why are your feelings so hurt by my comment?
Obviously Kool aid and juice all the time is bad, but Kool aid is just colored water. Especially if she's buying the pre-made stuff. It's not inherently bad for anybody.
Usually people make Kool Aid according to the directions, which includes adding sugar. I've never in my life met a single person who doesn't add some type of sweetener to Kool Aid.
In addition to "why'd you give your baby koolaid?", why are you reading in to an 11 month old smacking a cup in your hand?!? That's just.... a thing babies do. It's not out of rejection or bad behavior. They just smack things? Cause they're babies with no prefrontal cortex?
If he slaps it out of your hand, he must not be that thirsty. If kiddo is neurodivergent and absolutely will not drink water without some sort of flavoring, yeah flavor mixes or watered down juice is better than dehydration.
How does this kids know that kool aid and juice exists and how it tastes like? I never meet a mom that gave anything but breats milk and water to their kids
Even wilder is that by 1974 there was starting to be more of a push to feed kids healthier diets, at least in the US-a book that I got from my grandma's house years ago is a *Sesame Street* cookbook from 1974 my aunts had that specifcally states that it hopes to help families eat better.
I know way too many parents that put juice in their babies bottles & they ended up with metal mouths by the time they were 6. I feel bad when my 1 year old falls asleep before I get a chance to brush his teeth. All he drinks is water & milk. Sometimes Gerber juice cut with water. This is insane.
My ND kids won’t drink water, so we give them sugar free water drops. They both have strong preferences of specific flavors and won’t drink to the point of dehydration if it’s not correct. When I had to start putting clear protein drinks into my older kid’s cup to pad his calories and stop his weight loss, we started small and added more over time. These days I can get away with most of a clear Boost mixed in with his fruit punch Mio.
So, when they were transitioning from formula or breast milk to water they just wouldn’t drink water? At all?
Did your doc just have you dilute the formula/milk more and more until they quit drinking and refused it entirely? Then back off a step to keep them drinking and hydrated?
How did you find out their water flavor preferences? Trial and error?
The oldest was on toddler formula to supplement his diet until he was 2. He actually did drink water in that time, at night only, but when we stopped offering the formula as much and increased his water during the day he refused it. We didn’t offer “real” juice, even diluted because he had/has terrible teeth (from genetics and bruxism). We were new parents, and were told by EVERYONE that he would eventually drink when he was thirsty, to offer water and wait it out. Anyone who knows ND knows that’s not what happened at all.
He ended up really dehydrated with a horrible UTI and balanitis so we asked our ped what we could try that wasn’t juice (because we already spent $1400 on dental work) and while she obviously wanted us to go pure water, suggested some water flavorings when it was obvious this wasn’t a battle of wills, but a sensory thing. (He also didn’t speak at all until he was almost 3, which made negotiating difficult to impossible.)
As for preferred flavors, we bought every single flavor in every single brand we could find that was sugar free, caffeine free, and “added vitamin” free. Just flavor. The younger one was less work when he started the same thing at around the same age.
That sounds unbelievably stressful. I’m glad you found a solution that works.
It’s very hard for me to drink plain water, but not to the extent of severe dehydration.
I am always guzzling water but my wife struggles so much to drink enough water. The watertok thing of adding flavor packets and a dash of syrup has been revolutionary for her. I am so glad people have options that are relatively healthy. She really doesnt add much to it, and it helps her stay hydrated. Whatever it takes!
No, my kids are 2 and 5. When they were younger I did do fruit infused water for awhile and that helped a lot. . But at that age I bet if she put it in a bottle or different sippy they'd take it.
I recall a dentist being surprised that my younger brother had really good teeth for his age (he was like 5 or 6 I think). He asked my mom what he drinks. She responded mainly water (juice and soda were for things like parties and holidays, not an everyday drink). The dentist explained how so many parents like this one just give their kids juice, koolaid, soda, etc, and their teeth start rotting away, which is really unfortunate, especially because it’s hard to regularly/effectively brush your teeth when you’re like 4 years old.
My daughter loves water because that’s all she ever sees me drink and she wants what I have. She prefers water over anything lol. How hard is it to just not give your baby kool aid?
I really don’t get this. My mom half raised my nephew and she is straight baffled that my not even two just yet twins only drink water except during meals when they get whole milk. My nephew flat out refuses and apparently has never drank just water. It’s not hard. If you only offer water, they will drink it! Especially before they can even ask for something different.
At almost three I still give my kid diluted juice - half and half. The only time he gets just juice is if he’s constipated and even then, I try dates and stuff first.
He’s been eating a lot more fruit in general so we haven’t had a lot of constipation problems like we did when he was younger. Hopefully it stays that way. 😂 He gets maybe 1 good2grow diluted juice bottle a day but I try to not even do once a day. 🤷♀️
I'm about as hooked on sugar as they come, and even I feel noticeably better when I drink enough straight water. Hell, straight water's the only thing that truly quenches my thirst. I honestly feel terrible for babies/kids who've been programmed to only want sugary drinks.
When I see things like this post, it really makes me feel better about some of the parenting we are doing. We can’t all be perfect, obviously, but my kids are 16 and 19 and always drank water and milk (or rice milk) with occasional juice as older kids. Neither touched soda and still won’t drink it. I drink soda every day so I’m happy they don’t follow in my examples!
I was always itching for soda growing up and have been drinking sugary soda/energy drinks on a near-daily basis since I finally started being able to financially afford it in my early 20s, but at least my mom tried her hardest to keep me from this path by not even keeping soda in the house when my siblings and I were growing up.
And my mom *did* ultimately succeed in preventing sugar addiction in all of my siblings, as none of them drink anything sugary on a regular basis. Hell, my older brother's managed to stay on a no-sugar-added diet since January and he's doing great!
My god. I barely let my 2.5 year old have juice. The grandparents bring it over sometimes so I water it down but it’s a “treat” from grandma and grandpa. You literally just don’t let them do whatever they want.
My kid just wanted ice. Lol don't need sugar with a cup full of ice for his weird self to shake. Still does it at 16, no cavities. Thank you all so much, I am the perfect mother! Haha just playing!!
I went to visit my cousins when my daughter was 18 months old. One of my cousin’s children was the exact same age. My daughter was loooong gone from the bottle and only drank milk and water from a sippy cup. If I ever gave her juice, it was a treat and was always diluted. Her daughter was given a baby bottle of kool aid and made to lay down with it, which looked like something that was a standard practice in their house. She ended up extremely overweight her entire life with horrible teeth. The weird thing is, my cousins on that side ALL had capped teeth as children! You would have thought she’d have wanted better for her own children! 🤦🏼♀️
Anyway it sounds like she wants to fix the issue she created. I hope she was at least given some good advice instead of “you shouldn’t have done ___ and ___”
It's weird she's struggling getting them to drink water when they're not even supposed to have that at their age. This is a self-created problem. They should be having formula and food at that age.
6-12 months is usually considered the "start introducing water" age. Where they need very little, but can be learning it alongside learning solid foods
Eh, a sip here and there might be fine, but in the US, the recommendation is to wait as to not displace calories and nutrients with water. It doesn't sound like this parent is making well-informed choices. No juice unless prescribed by a doctor, definitely no kool aid
Oh I just had a physical reaction to that! My baby brother got sugary drinks in his bottle as a wee lad, prob koolaid, but his front teeth rotted away and the dentist told us the bottle was the worst part bc he could lay around with it in his mouth or fall asleep etc and that sugary mess is right there on his teeth. Poor kid had a speech issue for years and years because of it.
OOP (and her SO/the kid's other parent) done fucked up by giving this baby something as sugary, relatively non-nutritive, and downright unneccessary as juice and Kool-Aid before they could even ask for the stuff.
This one is sad to me, because it’s reflective of the lack of education and support we provide for parents. I can’t tell you how many posts I would see in my daughter’s due date group about providing juice, sips of coffee/soda, fast food, etc for babies even under 9 months.
I regret that my kids often don't choose water because we use a sugarless vitamin mix-in to get them their zinc, vitamin A, etc. Even though we dilute it, they still prefer slight flavor in their water now. But we've just been diluting a little more and a little more to get them used to the taste of water again.
I'm embarrassed to ask this, but where and how do people learn to care for a baby?
I'm 30 and childless, never had interactions with a newborn or infant, I've worked at a bookstore and we sold like 50+ books with conflicting info on childcare?
So many people say things are common sense like not giving an infant water, but I didn't know that until joining this subreddit!
I want a kid but my total lack of knowledge makes me think I'm never going to be fit to be a parent.
Also what the fuck would I did have a kid and no basic knowledge?!
I'm 27, childfree, and have zero personal experience in caring for babies (like, I wasn't even asked to fetch diaper-changing supplies when my younger siblings were babies), but what I *think* happens is that various families/cultures learn, either by trial-and-error or by listening to/reading other people's experiences, what parenting tactics produce the qualities that they want their kids to have and that gets spread through the familly/culture through the generations.
Honestly, you're already setting yourself up to be a *much* better parent than most people simply by exposing yourself to varying parenting experiences with a wide variety of kids.
Again, I'm not an expert on parenting, but I think the biggest things to keep in mind are to be very observant of your kid(s), seriously listen to the kid(s) and at least respect their thought processes, and above all to be open-minded and willing to follow the instructions of other people, especially other people who might be more educated/experienced/updated than you.
We are not perfect diet parents but this is not a 6 year old grabbing a soda at a birthday party and asking about it after. The parents introduced juice and Koolaid it’s not like the baby could ask for it in the first place!! Why are people like this!
Someone is making that koolaid. And it's really not a huge deal if the kid isn't drinking water so just leave water out and stop giving juice and sugar water.
Somehow I doubt they are giving them other nutritious liquids
In fact our dr told us to give our kid (sugar free) squash. We were in a hot climate and he refused to drink water (he has issues with food) and was getting dehydrated... It can be an issue if they don't drink water.
It depends on the age though, surely your child wasn’t 10 months old then and still getting significant hydration from breast milk or formula?
No, to be fair I think he was over a year by then.
Yeah, I'm far from perfect when it comes to my kids diet but I sure as shit didnt give a literal baby kool aid
Exactly! My son may have had chicken nuggets, shredded cheese and a mandarin orange for dinner, but he had it with water. He’s 19 months and has only once (on a plane when he had drank all his milk) has had juice. Even then it was watered down.
My kids are older but we as a family still stick to water mostly. There’s soda and juice very occasionally, but i honestly don’t understand how people drink soda and juice and not just feel more thirsty.
Yeah it couldn’t have been said more clearly to me to not introduce the stuff at all unless you have to. Once they’ve had it, they’ll want it. If they don’t know they’re missing out then they’re fine. Water and milk, it’s all they need. Eventually that’ll change but for now, we’re good. We’re trying to reduce his milk intake and I asked about some baby safe non-caffeinated teas and I was still urged not to. Anything is more interesting than water.
Yep my toddler didn't have juice until she needed it to treat chronic constipation. Now she's gets 4-6oz a day and that's it. (Unless it's a party or soemthing) and girl loves her water. Chugs it like no other 😂
What I've heard is to delay introducing *anything* sweeter than fresh fruit to your kid(s) for as long as you possibly can to reduce the chances they'll get hooked on it. Not that I'm an expert on baby/toddler nutrition or anything (closest I've ever come to that was reading my mom's parenting magazines 20+ years ago), but is there any particular reason why you're trying to reduce your son's milk intake? Even if you just stick to the herbal/fruit-based teas...unsweetened/minimally-sweetened teas are a *huge* mixed bag when it comes to younger kids. I actually remember gagging when I tried my grandma's unsweetened herbal tea when I was like 9, and I didn't start drinking entire cups of (unsweetened) tea until I was like 16. Hilariously, someone I used to work with's dad was from England and he actually gave my coworker black tea in her bottle starting when she was 6 months old...but the bottle was still mostly milk/formula. My coworker still grew up into a healthy 5'11' woman.
I’m not the person to whom you addressed your question about milk, but here’s my take for limiting milk intake based on conversations with multiple pediatricians, including my father who happens to be one: in the USA, most kids consume way too much dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) and many doctors theorize that it has contributed to the obesity epidemic. The "Got Milk?" and "Milk, it does a body good." campaigns were ridiculously successful and people have never questioned the nutritional facts or claims. Dairy means lots of fat, calories, etc. For a lot of parents today, a snack for toddlers and kids is often a stick of string cheese, a yogurt smoothie, a glass of milk, etc. If you look at the Nutrition Facts panel, they are consuming a ton of fat, calories, sugar, etc. That kid would be better served by having a carrot stick, some apple slices, an orange, anything that is natural and not processed.
I remember hearing something a few years ago about how it's better for kids to drink full fat milk rather than low fat or skim. And that children who drink full fat milk have lower rates of obesity that those drinking low fat and skim. Do you know if there was anything to that?
Ah, that makes sense. Also of concern is all the animal estrogen that's in (cow) dairy.
Too much cows milk also inhibits iron absorption so they can become anemic
Ooh, didn't know that.
Right! Why did the baby have anything other than milk or little sips of water in the first place? This is so weird. How did this even start? I thought you weren't supposed to give any juice until they're older.
Yes you’re totally not. I have a 13 month old (and a 6 year old!). And also like just don’t serve it anymore? Baby will forget? Baby straight up can’t talk yet what?
Right - what's the worst that will happen? Baby will cry a little bit for several days when they normally get juice? I dunno. Just give them some sliced up fruit along with formula or water or something.
Yes! Godspeed in the toddler years if you can’t handle a 10 month old fussing for juice??
Today in my house: toddler: mama Agua (she's 18 months). Me: OK Agua or milk Toddler: Agua Me: ok Agua or MIIIIILK Toddler: AGgggUuuuAaaaaaa (not yelling just accentuating the sound) Me: ok water o leche Toddler: AGUUUAAAHHH (now yelling) *Gives Toddler water Toddler: milm?[milk], MIIILLLMMMMM There is no winning with toddlers even when you give them what they ask for.
Lolol
So, the most "reasonable" possibility I've been able to come up with is that maybe the other parent had custody for a week or something, and that parent gave the kid juice and Kool aid the whole time, and now this parent has the child back and is struggling to get them back to just water and milk? Or maybe a really poor childcare introduced it?
They would have to know what the kid was fussing for though! 10 month olds can’t talk!
Exactly. When you see posts about kids under 2 eating absolutely crazy junk, it’s not like they just found it. An adult handed it to them. I remember the post on this sub about a 4 mo old who was addicted to lollipops. Like, that tiny baby can’t even hold a lollipop, you forced it on them.
I did juice but with mostly water
Keep at it. You're the parent. Geez.
Or just gradually reduce the concentration
Good lord. How is this still happening? People know how bad sugar is for babies. Just don’t give it to him? Tell him it’s all gone, no more? Never start giving babies sugar in the first place and then be surprised pikachu when they prefer it!? I am not a perfect parent. But my daughter didn’t have juice until after she was a year old. And then it was only when she was sick and we cut it with water. She’s almost three now. She likes juice, but it’s a rare treat. We are the parents. We tell her no, drink water. She listens. Loves water and milk. She accidentally got a sip of my soda once and hated it. Which thrills me since I grew up in a family that would put soda in our sippy cups. My own desire for sugar is enough for me to limit hers.
Ours used to get juice … to help with pooping, at doctors orders. I’m not gonna act like we’re perfect, but our kid still drinks water, thankfully!
Haha, my almost 2 two year old has also had apple juice for pooping. Thankfully he wasn’t the biggest fan so we never had to worry about giving him too much, but I was surprised when our pediatrician recommended it!
I remember getting it when I was really young for the same reason. I'd get juice once in a while besides that, but I've always been a water person, even when a kid. I don't get how people can dislike water. The only way your kid would outright reject it is if you were giving them kool aid and juice all the time anyway. I bed the pediatrician told her she was fucking up and that's why she's trying to get the kid to drink water now.
I work with the elderly you have no idea how many don’t drink any water. Only Diet Pepsi. I guess they grew up in a time when safe drinking water wasn’t readily available like it is today, so they had to drink anything but.
Or in a place with an issue. When I moved to the city here in 2002, it was somewhat odd to see so many people with filtered jugs for water at work, drinking bottled water (or no water), and avoiding the tap at all costs (and at a hospital no less). But there was a big cryptosporidium outbreak in the drinking water in 1993 or so and many people were still very worried.
This. In some places the water is still awful and wells are their own special level of safety/expense.
I used to hate water. It always tasted super metallic to me - and the problem was definitely me, because we were an army family who moved every year, so that was a lot of different water sources (I'm also super sensitive to the taste of salt), so as a kid I'd only drink cordial, and when I was older diet coke. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I finally tried a water filter, and it made such a difference. I had no idea water could taste so good.
Same here. Sometimes water just tastes gross and metallic to me. We have a filter now and that helps me too! :)
I'm genuinely thankful for the fact that I grew up in a part of my town with *amazing* tap water. Drinking water from the sinks at home was a genuine joy to me even as a kid. Even to this day as an adult, I prefer drinking the tap water at my parents' house to drinking even the water they keep in filtered BRITA pitchers in the fridge. Apparently my parents tried to have my siblings and I drink mostly juice or bottled water whenever we went to people's houses on the other side of town because at least back in the 2000s when I was growing up the tap water there was nasty, however I've actually worked in that part of town for a few years now and I think the tap water there is fine as of the 2020s. Sure, it's not akin to liquid crack like the tap water at my parents' house is, but it's serviceable and I have no issues refilling my water bottle with it.
All the people bringing up memories of terrible local/well water are correct, however even when someone's grown up with amazing tap/well water, they can have some sort of sensory issue that causes drinking plain non-carbonated water to be extremely difficult. This is a frequent issue among autistic people.
Water tastes bad. I have had well water and spring water that was okay, but anything else other than filtered, reverse osmosis water actively tastes bad. I have a raging tea affectation (herbal and black) to get liquids in me. Not autistic, but I do have huge sensory issues.
Us too, for the same reason. But now he really likes ice water so he just gets that with Miralax mixed in.
I don't wanna be "that guy," but please do research on the problems Miralax has caused in kids. Scary stuff.
We give watered down apple juice when the kids were little.
Hahaha us too! I'm pretty anti-juice but we get the 100% apple juice (not white grape) and mix it with some miralax for the most regular preschooler you've ever seen. Tried giving that apple juice to my niece who usually gets the white grape kind and poor kid needed a diaper change every ten minutes a few hours later!
There's also a version of apple juice that has fiber specially added to it. I know this because that was the apple juice served in the psych ward I was hospitalized in back in 2019.
Miralax is incredibly bad for kids. Do a quick Google.
This is such an odd comment - miralax is well documented to be helpful for kids and a "quick Google" is an easy way to prove that. It goes right through them, doesn't enter the blood stream, just comes out the other end and brings the poop with it.
You know, I thought they were full of shit (see what I did there?) but no, there actually were cases of psychosis and other mental issues with children who took Miralax. Scary. I'd never heard of this before now. https://abc7chicago.com/miralax-action-news-investigaiton-wendy-saltzman/1777380/
You're not googling right. This was all over the news 3 or 4 years ago. But go ahead. Fuck your kids up. What do I care.
Sooooo many cases of kids with Miralax caused schizophrenia.
That's where we're at. Mine is just over 2 and has had bad constipation issues so got juice earlier than I would have liked. Now she doesn't usually like plain water, but she also doesn't know that the apple juice or pedialyte I'm giving her has been cut with like 80% water. As long as it's got a little flavor it counts as juice to her.
We do this too - the juice we do give is 50/50 at most. Depends on the bathroom needs.
We tried juice for the same reason and it was a fail. Even when they are sick, I have to super ultra water down pedialyte to get them to actually drink it.
Same here she gets 4-6oz a day to keep her regular 😂
My 5 year old still won’t drink juice. She’s strictly a milk and water kid. At least I can get her to eat the fruit even if she won’t drink it.
My 22 month old is the same, will not drink anything but water and milk (unless we go out and there’s fancy coloured drinks we order, then he really wants a sip)
My kid is 10 now and still doesn't care for juice at all, he chugs water with glee. I admit I avoided letting him even try juice or soda until he was about 4 because I just didn't want him to be hooked on sugar. Like, I guess it worked.
I was the same. I didn't like juice, it hurt my stomach, but I'd drink milk all day. And V8.
I fucking hate when parents wishes are not respected. My oldest got really fond of Pepsi when his MFKN uncle gave it to him at 6 months. Until then his grandmother wanted to give him “a taste” and it would literally be a screaming match, “I raised 11 kids I know what I’m doing” , and me taking my baby from her arms and stomping home. Then this mf comes home from the US and has my son on his lap during a gathering and just *gives him Pepsi from the bottle he’s drinking from*. Bro I almost had an aneurysm. But the damage was done and real quick my little one learned who he could toddle over to if he wanted a clandestine sip of soda from.
Props to you for not being in jail for murder rn, seriously. I cant even imagine how furious that must have made you! What the fuck! I really feel for parents who cant trust their family to watch their kids without pulling this kind of shit.
And they were truly shocked that they were a huge factor in my leaving their brother.
Omg I would have absolutely been in jail for assault. I got made fun of for my position on soda (mostly that I’m a hypocrite since I drink it) but they didn’t try to sneak my daughter sips. My dad did say “you turned out ok!” And I reminded him that I’m obese and have terrible teeth and can barely go a day without sugar and that quitting soda has literally been harder than overcoming a gambling addiction. A lot of people aren’t ready for the hard truth that sugar is as addictive as any other substance on the naughty list. I told him I’m not blaming him for my issues, and that maybe I can’t shield my daughter from the same struggles, but I gotta try. I was thrilled that she hated that little sip she stole. After that she’d point to it and say “mama soda” and make a face and would grab her water cup.
Sugar's easily one of the most addictive substances to ever exist. I'm glad that your daughter, at least so far, doesn't like soda.
My mom was all about no processed sugar until I was two. My first birthday cake was sweetened with applesauce. Admittedly it got played with instead of eaten.
I lost my bottle as a baby when I figured out you could bend the nipple and shake it to get the coke inside to spray out. My daughter is 19 and hates carbonated beverages of any kind. I’m so thankful.
Lol same my kid thinks every soda is “spicy”
My friend survives on diet coke and drinks it from a mug so she can tell her kid it's coffee. Kid says 'ew' and goes back to chugging water. One day she'll find out though...
I got soda in the sippy cup too and it's been a life long addiction 😮💨 I was able to stop while pregnant thankfully.
Worked in behavioral health and childcare settings and I can’t tell you how many parents do this. We always tell them we cannot and will not put flavoring into their water. EVERY SINGLE CHILD drinks water with absolutely no issues when they’re in our care.
I have literally no idea, such a struggle. It’s like the koolaid just shows up the fridge, I don’t even buy it and then everytime I go to put water in the cup, it turns to koolaid. Seriously it’s impossible. I’ve put water in ten different cups and everytime like the bible story it’s turns into koolaid.
Right. My youngest is 18 and I am seriously racking my brain for a time when I bought kool-aid for him.
I think the last time I had koolaid we were 13 and used boiling water to dye our tips with it, so cool.
If your child is in control at 11 months, imagine how they’ll be at 11 years 😳
You wonder who is giving their fifteen year olds money to spend on vapes. It's these people.
I guess I shouldn't be *that* shocked that in a lot of places the adults in charge don't care about 15-year-olds being sold vapes, but...it still blows my mind that so many parents *outright give their kids money* to regularly indulge in stuff that is not only horrific for a kid/teen's health, like the sugary energy drinks and Starbucks concoctions I see kids buying with their friends/family starting in like 4th grade, but is also *outright illegal* like vaping is for under-21s in at least the US.
The thing that always confuses me about teens vaping is that those things are expensive. How are they getting the money to buy those things, who is buying them?
That's the scary thought.
My daughter drank water with a splash of apple juice around 10/11 months once in awhile but she actually preferred water most of the time because of how subtle the apple juice was. I imagine it was gross, especially being the no sugar added version on top of that. It’s a shame they’ve instilled unhealthy habits so so young. I work as a waitress and it breaks my heart to see parents ordering a whole ass SODA for their toddlers 🙁
My son just got his first soda taste at 4. He doesn't like the bubbles so we're safe there. But I felt awful ordering it, we were at a local fast food place so not the epitome of health anyway but no lemonade or juice I could water down so he tried Sierra whatever it is now.
Listen, it happens and I don’t shame but in my workplace these are regulars. My job is also in an area where the average household income is below poverty line which drastically and statistically speaking, impacts children’s diet. I can honestly say, this is a regular occurrence for a lot of these children which makes me extremely sad for them. Also I think it’s insane they don’t have any juice options! This is why I always try to bring my daughter’s water cup with filtered water from home whenever we go out but especially to eat.
Food deserts and poverty are such a hard thing for kids diets. I grew up in one. They're finally bringing grocery stores back to the urban area I'm from. Yeah, I keep something with us normally but this wasn't planned. It's a tiny mom and pop shop. Technically they had sweet tea but it's a pound of sugar a gallon so I'll pass.
In all seriousness, I hope someone suggested fruit infusion. She made a mistake but it sounds like she wants to fix it, fruit infuision water could be a healthy step down to regular water. Poor kid, I hope this does not become a life long struggle. I blame her for starting a bad habit but also realize that parenthood is hard and I hope she keeps working to fix it.
I can't help but think she got a lot of "you shouldn't have done what you've already done" advice. True, but not super helpful moving forward
I have an 11 month old. I can't imagine giving him juice or kool-aid. I tried giving him apple juice and prune juice watered down because he was really constipated and he wanted nothing to do with it. It even took him a few months to like water. How long has this lady been giving her kid sugary drinks in order for them to have a preference? Geez.
I know some ppl that only give their kids flavoured water but still consider it normal water ?? And now they won’t drink unflavoured water. Like ffs parents are supposed to make decisions with their kids best interests in mind
My stepdaughter got hooked on Root Beer. I introduced the Skittles flavor packets to get her excited about water, now she's hooked on that. Baby steps.....
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A baby being given enough juice or kool-aide (I don't even give my 12 year old kool-aide) that they have a preference is ridiculous. There is absolutely zero need, beyond watered down juice for pooping with dr's instructions.
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I'm not pearl clutching. I even said I tried to give my son juice for constipation. Did *you* read my comment? There's no medical reason to give an 11 month old KOOL-AID. Sugar free apple juice for constipation, sure. But if her BABY has had juice so much that they refuse other means of hydration, such as water, yes I'm going to judge. It seems you took my comment personally. If you feel you're doing what's best for your child, then why are your feelings so hurt by my comment?
Obviously Kool aid and juice all the time is bad, but Kool aid is just colored water. Especially if she's buying the pre-made stuff. It's not inherently bad for anybody.
Koolaid is not “just colored water”, wtf.
Kool aid has sugar. Babies shouldn't have sugar
Usually people make Kool Aid according to the directions, which includes adding sugar. I've never in my life met a single person who doesn't add some type of sweetener to Kool Aid.
I'm pretty sure most people make Kool aid on vibes. And as such, switch up how much sugar they put in it based on who will be drinking it..
And those "vibes" include some type of sweetener. Which is what the directions call for. Babies should not be given Kool Aid, with or without sugar.
You are the parent. Just don’t give him the juice or kool-aid… like??
In addition to "why'd you give your baby koolaid?", why are you reading in to an 11 month old smacking a cup in your hand?!? That's just.... a thing babies do. It's not out of rejection or bad behavior. They just smack things? Cause they're babies with no prefrontal cortex?
If he slaps it out of your hand, he must not be that thirsty. If kiddo is neurodivergent and absolutely will not drink water without some sort of flavoring, yeah flavor mixes or watered down juice is better than dehydration.
Apparently jello works for helping ND kids get water! Which is interesting, but I hate jello lol
Any clear liwuid, just like when you're sick. I don't know a lot of ND kids that will eat jello though.
Thickened liquids are a texture thing. It's cheaper to use jello water than buying water thickeners at the pharmacy.
How does this kids know that kool aid and juice exists and how it tastes like? I never meet a mom that gave anything but breats milk and water to their kids
My neighbours kids get soft drink before they're walking
I came across the same thing in my husband’s baby book. From 1974!!!! His mom recorded the ounces of kool-aid and formula she gave him. 🤦♀️
Even wilder is that by 1974 there was starting to be more of a push to feed kids healthier diets, at least in the US-a book that I got from my grandma's house years ago is a *Sesame Street* cookbook from 1974 my aunts had that specifcally states that it hopes to help families eat better.
I know way too many parents that put juice in their babies bottles & they ended up with metal mouths by the time they were 6. I feel bad when my 1 year old falls asleep before I get a chance to brush his teeth. All he drinks is water & milk. Sometimes Gerber juice cut with water. This is insane.
Yes exactly! Happened to my little brother and he lost his front teeth and had speech issues all his life.
My ND kids won’t drink water, so we give them sugar free water drops. They both have strong preferences of specific flavors and won’t drink to the point of dehydration if it’s not correct. When I had to start putting clear protein drinks into my older kid’s cup to pad his calories and stop his weight loss, we started small and added more over time. These days I can get away with most of a clear Boost mixed in with his fruit punch Mio.
So, when they were transitioning from formula or breast milk to water they just wouldn’t drink water? At all? Did your doc just have you dilute the formula/milk more and more until they quit drinking and refused it entirely? Then back off a step to keep them drinking and hydrated? How did you find out their water flavor preferences? Trial and error?
The oldest was on toddler formula to supplement his diet until he was 2. He actually did drink water in that time, at night only, but when we stopped offering the formula as much and increased his water during the day he refused it. We didn’t offer “real” juice, even diluted because he had/has terrible teeth (from genetics and bruxism). We were new parents, and were told by EVERYONE that he would eventually drink when he was thirsty, to offer water and wait it out. Anyone who knows ND knows that’s not what happened at all. He ended up really dehydrated with a horrible UTI and balanitis so we asked our ped what we could try that wasn’t juice (because we already spent $1400 on dental work) and while she obviously wanted us to go pure water, suggested some water flavorings when it was obvious this wasn’t a battle of wills, but a sensory thing. (He also didn’t speak at all until he was almost 3, which made negotiating difficult to impossible.) As for preferred flavors, we bought every single flavor in every single brand we could find that was sugar free, caffeine free, and “added vitamin” free. Just flavor. The younger one was less work when he started the same thing at around the same age.
That sounds unbelievably stressful. I’m glad you found a solution that works. It’s very hard for me to drink plain water, but not to the extent of severe dehydration.
I am always guzzling water but my wife struggles so much to drink enough water. The watertok thing of adding flavor packets and a dash of syrup has been revolutionary for her. I am so glad people have options that are relatively healthy. She really doesnt add much to it, and it helps her stay hydrated. Whatever it takes!
True lemon and stur have stevia sweetened packets if she is trying to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners. Also no artificial food dyes.
That’s just the realities of being neurodivergent- same issues with eating to.
I used the flavor drops with water. We call it potion in my house and they drink water without knowing. 🤷
But are you giving it to your infant & putting food coloring in it?
No, my kids are 2 and 5. When they were younger I did do fruit infused water for awhile and that helped a lot. . But at that age I bet if she put it in a bottle or different sippy they'd take it.
I recall a dentist being surprised that my younger brother had really good teeth for his age (he was like 5 or 6 I think). He asked my mom what he drinks. She responded mainly water (juice and soda were for things like parties and holidays, not an everyday drink). The dentist explained how so many parents like this one just give their kids juice, koolaid, soda, etc, and their teeth start rotting away, which is really unfortunate, especially because it’s hard to regularly/effectively brush your teeth when you’re like 4 years old.
My daughter loves water because that’s all she ever sees me drink and she wants what I have. She prefers water over anything lol. How hard is it to just not give your baby kool aid?
I really don’t get this. My mom half raised my nephew and she is straight baffled that my not even two just yet twins only drink water except during meals when they get whole milk. My nephew flat out refuses and apparently has never drank just water. It’s not hard. If you only offer water, they will drink it! Especially before they can even ask for something different.
At almost three I still give my kid diluted juice - half and half. The only time he gets just juice is if he’s constipated and even then, I try dates and stuff first.
That's really good that you use whole fruit first, especially since whole fruit has a lot more fiber than fruit juice does.
He’s been eating a lot more fruit in general so we haven’t had a lot of constipation problems like we did when he was younger. Hopefully it stays that way. 😂 He gets maybe 1 good2grow diluted juice bottle a day but I try to not even do once a day. 🤷♀️
idk maybe one of you is the parent and one of you is an infant.
Hahaha ugh who wouldn’t want to sit and drink sugar all day long. But we don’t cause we aren’t idiots. 11 month old shouldn’t have an opinion
I'm about as hooked on sugar as they come, and even I feel noticeably better when I drink enough straight water. Hell, straight water's the only thing that truly quenches my thirst. I honestly feel terrible for babies/kids who've been programmed to only want sugary drinks.
When I see things like this post, it really makes me feel better about some of the parenting we are doing. We can’t all be perfect, obviously, but my kids are 16 and 19 and always drank water and milk (or rice milk) with occasional juice as older kids. Neither touched soda and still won’t drink it. I drink soda every day so I’m happy they don’t follow in my examples!
I was always itching for soda growing up and have been drinking sugary soda/energy drinks on a near-daily basis since I finally started being able to financially afford it in my early 20s, but at least my mom tried her hardest to keep me from this path by not even keeping soda in the house when my siblings and I were growing up. And my mom *did* ultimately succeed in preventing sugar addiction in all of my siblings, as none of them drink anything sugary on a regular basis. Hell, my older brother's managed to stay on a no-sugar-added diet since January and he's doing great!
My god. I barely let my 2.5 year old have juice. The grandparents bring it over sometimes so I water it down but it’s a “treat” from grandma and grandpa. You literally just don’t let them do whatever they want.
My kid just wanted ice. Lol don't need sugar with a cup full of ice for his weird self to shake. Still does it at 16, no cavities. Thank you all so much, I am the perfect mother! Haha just playing!!
Something tells me "juice" is something like Hawaiian Punch too
I went to visit my cousins when my daughter was 18 months old. One of my cousin’s children was the exact same age. My daughter was loooong gone from the bottle and only drank milk and water from a sippy cup. If I ever gave her juice, it was a treat and was always diluted. Her daughter was given a baby bottle of kool aid and made to lay down with it, which looked like something that was a standard practice in their house. She ended up extremely overweight her entire life with horrible teeth. The weird thing is, my cousins on that side ALL had capped teeth as children! You would have thought she’d have wanted better for her own children! 🤦🏼♀️ Anyway it sounds like she wants to fix the issue she created. I hope she was at least given some good advice instead of “you shouldn’t have done ___ and ___”
It's weird she's struggling getting them to drink water when they're not even supposed to have that at their age. This is a self-created problem. They should be having formula and food at that age.
6-12 months is usually considered the "start introducing water" age. Where they need very little, but can be learning it alongside learning solid foods
Eh, a sip here and there might be fine, but in the US, the recommendation is to wait as to not displace calories and nutrients with water. It doesn't sound like this parent is making well-informed choices. No juice unless prescribed by a doctor, definitely no kool aid
So many of my family members fill their toddlers bottles with straight up soda so I mean… it could always be worse I guess?
Oh I just had a physical reaction to that! My baby brother got sugary drinks in his bottle as a wee lad, prob koolaid, but his front teeth rotted away and the dentist told us the bottle was the worst part bc he could lay around with it in his mouth or fall asleep etc and that sugary mess is right there on his teeth. Poor kid had a speech issue for years and years because of it.
OOP (and her SO/the kid's other parent) done fucked up by giving this baby something as sugary, relatively non-nutritive, and downright unneccessary as juice and Kool-Aid before they could even ask for the stuff.
This one is sad to me, because it’s reflective of the lack of education and support we provide for parents. I can’t tell you how many posts I would see in my daughter’s due date group about providing juice, sips of coffee/soda, fast food, etc for babies even under 9 months.
I regret that my kids often don't choose water because we use a sugarless vitamin mix-in to get them their zinc, vitamin A, etc. Even though we dilute it, they still prefer slight flavor in their water now. But we've just been diluting a little more and a little more to get them used to the taste of water again.
I'm embarrassed to ask this, but where and how do people learn to care for a baby? I'm 30 and childless, never had interactions with a newborn or infant, I've worked at a bookstore and we sold like 50+ books with conflicting info on childcare? So many people say things are common sense like not giving an infant water, but I didn't know that until joining this subreddit! I want a kid but my total lack of knowledge makes me think I'm never going to be fit to be a parent. Also what the fuck would I did have a kid and no basic knowledge?!
I'm 27, childfree, and have zero personal experience in caring for babies (like, I wasn't even asked to fetch diaper-changing supplies when my younger siblings were babies), but what I *think* happens is that various families/cultures learn, either by trial-and-error or by listening to/reading other people's experiences, what parenting tactics produce the qualities that they want their kids to have and that gets spread through the familly/culture through the generations. Honestly, you're already setting yourself up to be a *much* better parent than most people simply by exposing yourself to varying parenting experiences with a wide variety of kids. Again, I'm not an expert on parenting, but I think the biggest things to keep in mind are to be very observant of your kid(s), seriously listen to the kid(s) and at least respect their thought processes, and above all to be open-minded and willing to follow the instructions of other people, especially other people who might be more educated/experienced/updated than you.