Hi,
I have been giving my 14 month old daughter 100% fruit juice diluted in water (limited to less than 6 ounces per day). There are moms in my Mommy and Me group that say that they never give their toddlers fruit juice and only give caffeine free / chamomile tea diluted in water instead. Is this a better alternative or does it matter? I'm concerned that the juice has too much sugar even though we limit the amount and she loves it. By the way, I noticed that the moms giving the diluted chamomile tea are all from a different country, so maybe it's a cultural preference? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.
When I worked in a group home for pregnant and mothering teens I saw this a lot, especially with the Latina girls. I think it is a cultural thing as I had not seen/heard of this before (I'm about as white as they get, or as my dad says we are pink since any sun turns us pink, hehe). I would say give the tea a try and if your dd likes it go for it. just make sure she is getting lots of plain ol' water too.
Hi LA Mommy, They have juice that is pre deluted in the supper market, how ever when you delute the juice you delute the nutrition as well, I see nbothing worng with the chamomile tea, but i would not use it in place of juice. My kids are all grown now, but when they were little they had Juice with breakfast, and milk for lunch and dinner, inbetween I gave them water, and a little juice. The sugar in the juice is natural sugar. ou need to look at the nutrition value of camomile tea. J. L.
I agree with Laurie. Both of my kids, ages 3 and 5 drink water more than any other beverage. I give them tea with honey or just hot water w/honey & lemon when they are coughing or not feeling well.
When they do get juice, it's 100% fruit juice (still a lot of sugar, but a natural sugar).
Best wishes,
M.
Both are good. Follow your heart and your daughter's preferences. Too much juice can be a very good thing in terms of sugar and calories but it does have it's benefits. I like drinking chamomile tea and probably isn't bad for your daughter as long as it you can verify it is hasn't been produced in China (China doesn't have a good track record of late). But if you limit the amount of juice your daughter drinks each day and water it down, it should be just fine.
Actually, my biggest issue of late is making plain water the beverage of choice. Water is the best thing for you and, when you are out and about, sometimes that is the only thing that is available to you and I don't want my children to reject it because they are so used to flavored drinks.
It's really about doing what you think is best. Perhaps it is a cultural thing... and I myself do not know about the "pro's/con's" of giving Chamomile tea to children... some use it to keep a child calm... that's what I"ve heard and read. And if you notice, "Chamomile" are in teas and some homeopathic products to aide in "calmness" and "sleep."
Though, giving juice is really not required. If your child eats fruits...then that is sufficient. For us, we did not give our children juice (diluted with water), until after 2 years old. And even then, it was just at lunch time, or a meal time. Other than that, we gave them water. We gave them "juice" only about 2 time a day... 2 at most, and only about 4-6 ounces.
Its really up to you. But as my Doctor says... juice isn't really necessary... and be careful of the "habit." try to give "whole" juices, or 100% juices... with no corn syrup in it, or the "no sugar added" types.
Good luck,
Susan
