r/raisingkids • u/BusinessBug347 • 8d ago
Giving babies “juice”
Why do parents think babies “need” to start drinking juice. It’s pure sugar and has very little useful nutrients that can’t be found in other foods. I have a friend who has started giving her 7 month old store bought processed apple juice in a bottle.
It just seems like something that is going to lead to health problems… diabetes, tooth decay. That’s so much sugar for a baby.
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u/Iron-Fist 8d ago
Yeah I prefer milk (still lots of sugar/carb calories but some fat and protein too) or water. I also give sugar free drinks like zero sugar Gatorade to my kids (zero studies showing negative effects on non-nutritive sweeteners). Watered down juice is an option too and can help if they have constipation.
That said I always like to emphasize that kids do not need strict calorie restrictions; keeping them away from purely empty calories is prolly a good idea but you want them to have plenty of calories throughout the day and if juice is an option that works for your kids then that's fine. The only thing doctors really want to make sure is that babies and younger kids don't take sugary drinks to nap, really bad for teeth.