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Are Your Kids Hooked on Juice?

by Karla Heintz (Subscribe to Karla Heintz's posts)
Dec 23rd 2009 8:45AM

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Filed under: Toddlers Preschoolers, Preschoolers, Big Kids, Nutrition: Health, Mealtime, Single Parenting, Dear Karla

Dear Karla, I am a single mom of two little girls and have the hardest time trying to get them to drink water. I worry about this, as I don't want them to become dehydrated, so I give them juice many times throughout the day, which makes me feel guilty. Do you have any tips on how I can change my girls from juice guzzlers to water drinkers?

Thanks,
Julie


This is something I deal with almost weekly with many parents. It's very easy to get caught up in the habit of serving juice every time our little ones want something to drink and refuse to drink water.What may come as a shock to many is the fact that health care professionals do not recommend that their patients drink juice. Why? Simply put, the juice in your local grocery store does not compare in nutritional value to that of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. The Canadian Pediatric Society set limits on the maximum amount of juice one should consume in a day for this exact reason:

  • Children 1 - 6 years of age: 1/2 cup or 125 mL a day
  • Children 7- 18 years of age: 1 - 1.5 cups or 250 mL - 375 mL a day
As you can see, it's easy to hit that maximum with just one serving. And many bottles of juice found in corner stores are around 590 mL in total, which equals almost 2.5 cups.

The main reason kids want juice is that it tastes good. Big or small, we all have a natural tendency to prefer sweet flavours, and if you start the introduction of foods with sweeter things, it will heighten the taste buds to continually desire sweet things and thus want more and more of them. Keep in mind that juice is much sweeter than a piece of fruit, as it contains sugar from 5-12 pieces of fruit in one cup.

Here are some simple things you can do to cut back on the juice and focus on water:

  • Only buy juice labelled 100% fruit juice, as this means it has no added sugars. This is much better than those juices labelled "cocktails."
  • Start diluting your child's juice with water at a 75:25 ratio (juice:water), and then 50:50, next 25:75 and finally, just water.
  • Place pitchers of cold water in your fridge and don't be shy to add real fruit to your water such as raspberries, lemons, orange slices etc. Cucumbers and kiwi taste great, too. If you offer water that's more "dressed up," your child is more likely to find it appealing.
  • Have your child pick out a fun water bottle. This will make them feel like a big kid and then they'll have a snazzy bottle to guzzle water from. (Otterbottles are a great, BPA-free, eco-friendly option.)
  • If you want to give juice to your child now and then as a treat, make it yourself from a juicer or blender, and be sure that you use the entire fruit and/or vegetable so that no fibre or nutrients are lost.

Karla Heintz (BSc), is a nutrition educator and national author of Picky? Not Me, Mom! A Parents' Guide to Children's Nutrition

Tags: apple juice concentrate, AppleJuiceConcentrate, Dear Karla, DearKarla, Juice Williams, JuiceWilliams

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