Safe flavored water packets for toddlers w/ no aspartame????

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1

I have a hard time getting my daughter to drink water. Are there any safe, low sugar flavored packets to put in the water bottle that are safe for toddlers? I notice a lot of teh packets like crystal light, sugar free wylers, sugar free hawaiian punch all have that artificial sugar and/or aspartame whiuich I've heard is not good for kids. i did notice pedialiyte has those packets for water to replenish electrolytes when kids ahve diahrea or vomiting. is pedialyte only used when kids have diahrea or can it be used for normal drinking?

or does anyone have ideas of how to flavor the water safely and in a healthy way?

2

I have not found any. I heard recently that Crystal light now doesn't have aspartame, but I have never found it in the store. I use fruity herbal teas for my son. (Celestial Seasonings, they are caffeine free and safe.) I steep it and keep it in the fridge. He loves it!!

3

If you don't want any added sugar then try a squeeze of lemon or lime. You can use the juice from watermelon or a pineapple. You could also buy a bottle of 100% juice and put just a splash for some flavor. I would stay away from any of the packets, they aren't good for anyone. Pedialyte is probably fine but IMO (and my daughter's) it tastes terrible.

4

YES. The Brand "Hint". It is an already "flavored" water. Totally natural. No fake sugar OR real sugar. Just a nice hint (pun intended) of a taste of fruit. We do all organic or all natural stuff- so I'm very careful about this stuff.

It comes in a variety of flavors. It is pretty nice:)

Hope she likes it!

5

Good for you for trying to keep away from that artificial, chemical junk. Aspartame is bad for ANYONE. Some of the side effects of it are: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain. NOT GOOD, so stay away from that awful, awful stuff! :)

I've done as Bug said, and steeped herbal tea and watered it down for my kids to drink. Also, just splash a little bit of pure juice into her water for flavor. Or cut up watermelon, cucumber, peaches or other fruit, and put them in a pitcher of water. It lightly flavors it.

6

Hit an all natural grocer such as Whole Foods, they have all natural things like that. Or, you can do what I do and do a splash of 100% juice in water.

7

Honestly, I can't see the need to put sugar flavorings in a toddler's water. Plain water is just fine, or a squeeze of actual fruit in it. If you absolutely insist on putting sugar in your toddler's water, you could always use a tiny bit of kool aid powder or even raw jello.

8

I love this question because I have been looking for the same thing. I am watching the answers you get to see if there is anything I can try. I don't like plain water that much unless I am exercising or working out in the heat. As far as drinking it throughout the day, I just don't. I love flavored drink mixes though, but worry about the aspartame like you. I think there was one thing I found on Amazon that is sweetened with Truvia, but I haven't gotten to read up on it yet.
Good luck and good for you for looking for something safe.

9

save all the hassle - encourage drinking regular water. if she absolutely pitches a fit (first thing i would do is banish anything else from the house), add a squeeze of fresh fruit. that's as far as i would go. you are the mom. good for you trying to encourage healthy habits, but water is best.

10

The Propel packets are 2 gms of sugar and NO aspertame!!! I love them. The propel in the bottle does have the extra junk, but not the packets. We also recently bought a soda stream machine (to make your own soda) but the soda mixes have splenda, which I dont like. We bought the Mio drops. They do have sucralose though.

11

I think the best thing to do is to water down real juice. Even if you find a packet with no aspertame, it is chemicals. I try my best not give my son anything with artificial colors or flavors. Sometimes its unavoidable though so just try to add as much water to any kind of juice she will drink.

12

You REALLY don't want to use pedialyte or gatorade unless you're sick or VERY physically active.

Have you tried a few cucumber slices, some lime, and maybe some mint? Just let it sit in the fridge and then pour into bottles yourself.

I DESPISE the way water tastes. And yes, if you're a supertaster, you can taste water. Ugh. Makes me want to (and sometimes actually) vomit. Especially certain areas (soCal, Lousiana, and Seattle city water are my "worst evers" to date, but I don't experiment by drinking tapwater when traveling... ugh, ugh, ugh.) EVERY region, and city municipality has different tasting water. Very different. Add in all the flavors from individual pipes in people's houses. Icky. Seriously, I get nauseous even THINKING about drinking water. It's gross. Filtered, unfiltered, osmosis, you name it. Gross stuff.

That SAID... most water can be flavored (some can't, soCal water, for example won't even be covered up by applejuice at full strength -if you're mixing from a can- although grape juice at full strength makes it tolerable). My absolute FAV way is what I said above: Cucumber and Citrus in a pitcher overnight in the fridge. Completely changes the texture, taste, and aftertaste.

And forewarning: If your daughter hates water... she's PROBABLY a supertaster. Most people say silly things like "It has no flavor" or "It's just fine". Shudder. Hydration is what's important, imho. But the supertaster bit also usually comes along with a few other sensory issues, as well as not-so-usual "pickiness" in eating. This pizza sauce being yummy, that pizza sauce being gross. This brown bread being fabulous, that brown bread being disgusting. Supertasters really do taste a lot more than most people realize. ((I seriously couldn't understand when I was a child how people couldn't tell what kind of honey was used in bread. Or why they couldn't tell that THIS sauce had a quarter tsp of sage per liter in it, and that one used oregano. To me then and now, it's as distinct as if someone gave me two spoonfulls of different kinds of honey right after each other, or a spoonfull of sage or oregano. The flavors are THAT noticeable. Overwhelmingly so. Useful later on as a cook, wine connoisseur, etc., but kind of a pain as a kiddo when people don't believe you, and you can't understand why it's not as obvious to them as it is to you. It's like someone saying a red sauce and a green pesto taste the same. Or black and white are the same color. It's just baffling as a kid.))

13

I give my 2 yr old sun herbal tea. I buy the celestial seasonings mixed fruit variety pack. I make about 1 quart at a time so I use about 2 or 3 bags and mix up the fruit. Then I chill it and serve it cold. He LOVES it. It's healthy and sugar-free. If you really want you could add honey I guess, but my son likes it without, so I don't bother to add the sugar. Good luck!

14

I would add some real fruit juice to it. I have yet to see one of those low cal flavor packs that doesn't have fake sugar in it.

15

You can always mix a little juice in the water. Honest Kids is a brand of juice pouches with less sugar, no corn syrup and no artificial stuff. They have a good taste but less intense than most regular brands.

16

My husband doesn't like to drink water very often. Plain water! But... then I found Tru lemon & Tru orange. NO sugar!!! NO aspartame!!!!! It's great!!! I won't drink anything with aspartame in it at all I can taste it in the smallest doses, even if someone tries to trick me. lol This doesn't have it at all. I have found it at walmart but I know they have it at other stores. If you want me to I can scan the boxes and forward the pix to you. Let me know. :)

17

Try regular Koolaid. I only put about half the sugar in a pitcher of water and it tastes fine. You can pour in to each bottle from a central pitcher.

18

How about adding a little bit of 100% juice (no added sugar, corn syrup, etc) to the water? My son (22 months) drinks water (thankfully, and hopefully this will continue!) but sometimes as a treat he gets "Juice", which is a sippy cup with 3/4 or 4/5 Brita filtered water, and 1/4 or 1/5 juice.
I do notice he'll drink that FAR quicker than a sippy cup of plain water.

I think he's onto me though because he calls it "water juice". Ha!

19

My 2yr old had a sip of my flavored Lacroix (sparkling) and loves it. I let him have a sip because I thought he'd dislike the carbonation like my older son. It doesn't have any calories or artificial sweeteners. I suspect they use some "natural flavor" in such small amounts it doesn't provide any calories or enough weight to be required on the ingredient line.

20

gatorade this is the same,betterand cheaper. All artifical sweeteners are basically the same they go through a chemical process which in turn causes horrible side effects, hives, swelling specially becareful for the throat will also swell. Been there done that. People will tell you tevia is all natural but also goes through process. Be safe if you want I just add a little lemon juice.