2 1/2 Yr Old LOVES Juice!

Motts has a juice box called Motts for Tots that is 40% water - and there is another product called Wadda Juice in a bottle that's also about 1/2 water - and they both taste quite sweet - maybe the novelty of the containers would help her overlook the fact that they are watered down. I usually let my son have 2 servings a day...the rest is milk or water.

Hi K.,

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting juice to 4 to 6 ounces for children aged six and under. Here's an article that you might find interesting about juice consumption and kids http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/fruit_juice.htm

Hi K.,

I know you aren't going to want to hear this, but I think you probably know the answer already. Stop buying juice.(Watering it down does help, but it only proves to them that they did get their way and aren't being forced to try something else.) After a few fits she will give up. You are the boss. Kids are testing us all the time.

What are you drinking? Kids afterall, do what mommy and daddy does, not what mommy or daddy say. Showing a good example can work wonders. Either way, juice is not a good option. It is full of sugar. There is no fiber, it is pasteurized and kids fill up easily on them and then have no appetite. It also will also contribute to cavities, sucks all the calcium out of her bones and weakens her immune system. Given today's epidemic of obesity and blood sugar problems, I do believe this new experiment of guzzling juice daily is a dangerous one.

Try different bottles and cups to see if she gets excited about one. Keep offering the water and do not give up.

All the best.

C.

The answer to your question is NONE! Juice has no health benefits! Eat the fruit instead.

As a dentist and a holistic nutritionist, Im here to tell you to get off the juice habit ASAP!!! You're setting the stage for creating a sugar addict/ picky eater who will end up with loads of cavities!

Allergies and behavior are also directly connected with the loads of juice she's getting. Juice is a concentrated sugar hit affecting mood, blood sugar levels and more.

I understand that this can be a challenge, but remember YOU are in charge here! Do yourself and your daughter a favor and start making serial dilutiions to that juice and get her onto 100% water ASAP. Each week, add 10% more water until you've got it down to full strength water only.

Taste buds CAN and do change. The sooner you decrease the sweet, the better.
Read Bob Flaws book on Keeping Kids Healthy with Chinese Medicine to learn about how "cold and damp" foods such as fruit juice can lead to allergies, asthma, and repeated upper respiratory infections in our kids.

Also note that "flavored waters" and watered down juices such as Motts for Tots are complete hype! Major marketing dollars at work to make you belive you need this silliness! Save your wallet and your waistline and drink real water instead! Buy a water filter if necessary and some cool reuseable bottles such as Klean Kanteen or Sigg.

Dear K.,

I asked a similar question on Mamasource about a month ago, and got pretty much the same reply: get him (in the case of your daughter, her) off the juice or water it down.

We actually had an amazing result, which I want to share with you.

My son always had a lot of digestive problems and I had been giving him calcium-fortified apple juice b/c he couldn't handle milk.

Once we got him down to cups of about 25% juice, 75% water (we started with about 90% juice, 10% water and transitioned gradually), his digestive problems just about disappeared. We're taking the milk gradually, but my son can now have yogurt for the first time. It's clear to me now that the acidity of the juice was interfering with my son's digestion. I can't believe I didn't figure this out for myself, but that's one of the reasons I really value Mamasource.

So yeah. I recommend getting her off, or at least diluting the juice. I know it's hard to transition a toddler away from something she really likes, but summer might actually be a great time to get her off juice, since you can offer her (a limited amount of) yummy fruit as a substitute or as a reward for accepting water.

Good luck!

Mira

If you are giving in to tantrums about juice, than this is not really about juice. It is about you being the parent and sticking to your guns. If you can manage to let your daughter know NOW that indeed you are in charge and she is not, it will be a great benefit to both of you as she gets older and challenges you in other areas.

More and more kids are having obesity issues at younger ages and juice is one of the culprits of this epidemic. Personally I would stop buying juice. Period. My 5 year old gets 3-4 juice pouches (100% no-sugar added) a week. He gets milk with meals, and any other time it is plain old water. Does he complain? Of course. But we teach him and remind him that juice is a treat and it is not healthy to have too much.

Hi K., My kids are now 15 and almost 12, but I remember those days when they were little...What I did, because my kids also were BIG juice drinkers was do half and half...half juice and half water, sometimes even more water. I did this until they were like 5 years old...they never complained!!! Maybe start by adding a little water and working your way up so the taste difference is minimal??? Just an idea....

Motts for Totts is great! It's already diluted and comes in juice box form. I've even found it in bulk form at BJ's!

children are not supposed to exceed 4-6 oz of juice/day. i have a 2 year old and do not give him any juice because i feel it has little to no nutritional value; instead of make him smoothies with fruit and milk so that he gets his daily fruit allowance in.

Sometimes we make herbal fruity ice teas for our daughter. Unsweetened, caffeene free. Its really easy to make, just throw a tea bag into cold water in a cup or water bottle and wait a few minutes. I usually just leave the tea bag in until she's done. You can add more water if need be. She seems to really like it and feels like a big girl getting to drink tea.
-T.

Hi K.,
My 2 year old little girl is a huge juice drinker also...she will drink water and loves her milk, however she will not drink milk from her sippie...I spoke to her pedi about this and he actually said the more you dilute the juice the less vitamins etc. they are getting...I have started buying her Fruitables by Apple & Eve, which is pretty much veggie and fruit juice....she loves the Strawberry Mango flavor...not many added sugars or much of anything bad at all....actually smells pretty nasty but she loves it....Juicy juice is also a good juice for them...if you get the 100% juice it isnt as harmful as everyone makes it out to be....I will also sometimes put ice with the juice instead of watering it down as the ice will do that. Hope this helps!!
Meg :)

Juice has as much sugar as soda. We water it down, with "pure" juice at special occasions. I think you`ll simply need to weather the tantrums, this is too important an issue to give in. One third juice, two thirds water is what my kids get at every meal. Water the rest of the day.

As an author & parent educator, I see many parents serving juice throughout the day. I always step in and rec. that parents serve one small cup of juice daily - or one of those small juice boxes...Unless they have a juicer

As for health, avoid juice "drinks" because they contain many artificial ingredients. Also, avoid serving any juice drinks with artificial sweeteners. Children should not be consuming these harmful poisons.

A few tantrums a day are a normal and healthy part of a toddler's development. It's okay to say no to the juice. And it's normal to give in to a tantrum every so often.

One time, I rec. that a parent (who would only serve juice in a box) have a special basket in the kitchen. I had the mom put a juice box in the basket every morning. When the basket was empty, it wasn't going to be filled until the next day.

It took 9 days of tantrums before the basket idea worked.

Mom realized that if her toddler had the juice box in the morning, just before going to the park for a few hours, the basket was forgotten about.

Parenting a "spirited" toddler can be challenging!

Now that the warm weather is here, carry water when you're not home. Too much pre-packaged juice isn't healthy!

I own a juicer. It's always fun to juice fresh watermelon.
You can juice veggies, too! This is the healthiest alternative!

Kristen Colello

Hi K.. My son was juice crazed too about the same age. We had to switch over to water because it was just too much sugar. It's such a bad habit. He cried and screamed for a "real drink" when I gave him water, but it came down tothe fact that when he was thirsty he drank it and then really after the first couple of days he was fine with the water.

I read your responses and just wanted to say, someone suggested flavored water, but I wouldn't do that. I htink the flavors or sweeteners are worse than regular sugar. it's best to go regular plain water. Just my opinon.

Good luck. hang in there Mom...be tough. You need to win this one.

Juice has alot of sugar in it. 2 glasses of it a day is enough. Best bet is trying to see if she will drink flavored water. There are no caleries and will still taste good.

4 oz a day max for fruit juices with sugar. I will let my son have 8 oz of calcium enriched orange juice in the morning, but that is all he gets. My older kids, 6 & 4, get 16 oz of o.j. a day (I have this weird thing about oj and its super germ fighting powers) but the rest of the day its either water, milk, or crystal light.

A.

I still water down my kids juice by about half...and they're 4 and 5...there is virtually no nutritional value in it. Our pediatrician says to forget it all together.

Maybe you can give her a soy milk instead? I would never give her full strength juice, unless orange juice, I guess...but then that may be too acidic for her?

Call your pediatrician and see what they say...also, mabe you can water the juice down in the bottle, so she thinks she's getting it full strength? If she sees you do it, that may start a 'problem'...

HTH,
J.

It's a bad habit but you can break it....I gave my oldest son(now 8yrs) juice whenever he wanted when he was younger but now it's milk or juice at mealtime (my little one is also allergic to dairy) and water for the rest of it...get her a really cool water bottle to drink out of and that should do the trick...you can tell her the doctor said that we all have to drink more water to stay healthy and after a couple of days to a week it won't be a problem anymore...My little guy drinks the V8 splash smoothie or OJ for breakfast and dinner and usually another calcium fortified apple or cran mix for lunch...and I still water those down...he takes a multi vit. and a kids tums for extra calcium.... a lot of juice just has too much sugar! Goodluck!

sorry to tell you but basically what the others said. 4-6 oz(which is less than a cup) daily. yes, juice could substitute for food, but aside from that, juice is the number one cause for cavities in young children. juice also is adding calories to her diet which isnt setting up good habits for later in life. juice, even though i would say is better than soda, still is complete sugar, and too much sugar in the diet affects her activity level, and diabetes concerns later in life. my doctor while pregnant actually told me not to drink more than one glass a day as well.
of course, no one is saying she is going to be ruined for having a lot of juice, but if you are asking if its good to drink alot, the answer is no.
i know its hard, but just let her cry. what we have been doing with tantrums is telling our daughter if she is going to cry, she needs to go to her room and do it there. we bring her in there and she screams by herself until the tantrum is over, then comes out. you are in control, and you want to make sure she doesnt think crying will get her what she wants. i would agree with the other saying just dont buy the drinks. also, try and only get the "real juice with no added sugar". its more expensive, but def more healthy. and then only give her 2 oz with like 4 oz of water. actually it would be better to put like 1/3 of a pitcher, then fill the rest with water and put it in the fridge. that way, it will be quicker, she wont actually see you water it down, and you will be more consistent on how water down it is so it will always taste exactly the same to her. that way she can have 3 cups a day. she may be all upset knowing its watered down but in a week or 2 she wont even care. just tell her its that or nothing, put it on the table and walk away. if you stick to your ground, and only give her the water down 3 times a day, she will eventually know thats just how it is.
aside from that, i would really encourage you to give her more milk and water. if she has no allergy problems with it, give her soymilk, and again, she may not like it at first, but will get used to it. also water is really important to get a child to like it to set up good habits for the future.
my daughter is 3 1/2 and has had juice about 5 times. her teeth are perfect, and she asks for organic milk only, and i also give her water. i know if she had juice, she would want it all the time. i also think if i ever let her have chocolate milk, she would only want that as well. the easiest thing to do is to never give it to her, and then she doesnt know it exists. otherwise if she has something sweet one time, she refuses all else.
good luck, im sure you can do it:) just remember, she will adjust, they always do!

I think the pediatrician said to limit it to 4-6 ounces a day. My daughter prefers ice water over juice. She feels grown up drinking her water with ice and her sippy cup makes a cool sound when shaken. It's worth a try.

Unfortunately it is always going to be easier to just give in but you have to be consistent. I have three boys, 7 1/2, 4 1/2 and 9 1/2 months. If my 2 older boys are thirsty, they will go get water about 7 times out of 10. They only have a small glass of juice once every few days.

She's 2 1/2. Of course she is going to "demand" the juice and that it be full strength. This is definitely one case where I would gradually start watering down the juice little by little until she is down to half and half again and then don't give her full strength juice AT ALL. After all, how else did she learn what all juice tasted like unless somebody has been giving it to her that way? If you don't offer it, she can't choose it.

Let her throw a tantrum. Eventually she will drink it and eventually it will become what she knows again. My husband used to drink Pepsi all the time and said it was terrible when he switched to Diet. Now he is so used to the taste of Diet that if he is accidentally given Pepsi, his face gets all contorted because he feels like he is drinking sugar. You develope a taste after a while. I used to be bad about drinking water but now there are times I actually crave it.

You are the mom and just because she isn't substituting her food doesn't make it ok. Too much juice is not good for her. I would be thinking of the sugar personally.

Our pediatrician has always said that the children should be limited to a total of 4 ounces of juice a day where the amount of juice is only 25 to 50% of the serving and the rest is water. From Kidshealth.org: In general a 2 year old should be drinking 16 to 24 ounces of 2%milk, 4 oz of juice (at most) per day and the rest of the time should be drinking water (no soda).

Yeah it's going to be hard and a pain for a while in the beginning but keep in mind you are giving her lifelong eating lessons now. I cringe when I see people giving their toddlers and young children soda because I see them ending up just like my husband and me. My husband still goes through a 12 pack of Diet every 3 days at the most whereas I had to eventually retrain myself to stop drinking soda. Now I only drink it a couple of times a week and usually it is something clear like Ginger Ale or Sierra Mist but it was hard because that was all I used to drink.

Again, I would just think about her future health and make the adjustments now. You'll thank yourself later. :)

Good luck,
L.

hi K.,
i prepare lots of tea almost every morning, than my son can drink it the whole day, warm, cold, diluted with water or with little seltzer...there is so many options, herbal ones, fruit ones...they taste great and are healthy and very refreshing! I don't put any honey or sugar, just keep it as it is. Sometimes just splash of lemon.

Hi K.,

your 2 1/2 yr old should only be getting between 4-6 oz of juice per day. You can try giving her propel water, but be careful, because there are a lot of carbs in it, but the flavored water might trick her into thinking she's drinking juice.

Good luck.