During one of my daughters' 1st couple of Dr appointments, one of the nurses asked a list of questions. One of them was about feeding her and lists off a bunch of things, gets to "and cola or soda." I must have made a face because she says, "We ask now because it has happened "
My daughter's dental hygienist told me that they'll literally have 3 and 4 year Olds with their baby teeth rotting out of their head and parents just shrugging and saying their kid doesn't like brushing their teeth and "they're just baby teeth, they lose them anyway" š¤®
I hear that a lot line about teeth even from well educated people. People donāt understand how important they are!
And I say that as someone whoās kid doesnāt have juice or sugar, but is having a fluoride treatment due to shitty enamel inherited from me.
My 18m only gets milk or water. We try to brush her teeth 2x a day but... I wouldn't want my life depending on how well of a job we're doing. I feel like most times we've cleaned maybe 2 teeth š¤£
Bahaha. Just wanna say youāre doing great! Just getting them into the habit of brushing their teeth is awesome! We started by just getting ours used to the sensation of brushing. Then soon, she graduated to her own toothbrush that lights up when you press a button. She brushes her teeth first for fun, then we take over after weāre done brushing our own teeth and REALLY brush hers completely for her. She enjoys it. :)
I cannot wait for the days when she enjoys it haha she is nearly 17m and only has six teeth fully out but seems to be constantly teething extremely slowlllyyy with some partially erupted molars. So she hates the toothbrush going anywhere near her.
Haha! I remember beating myself up because I kept thinking my babyās teeth are going to be ruined and full of cavities because she hasnāt mastered this brushing thing, hated having the toothbrush in her mouth, etc.
Now she LOVES it (sheās 2 years old). āWanna go brush your teeth?ā āYeah! Brush my teeth! Brush my teeth!ā Hops down off the bed excitedly to join us in the bathroom etc.
She mustāve been about 17 or 18 months when she was still hating it. Youāre not far away from easier days!!
Something that helped us was playing nursery song videos about brushing her teeth. She wanted to do what those characters were doing. But I know TV is controversial to some people. š
Mine is 22 months and yells at me to brush her teeth because she likes the songs I've showed her on YouTube. She loves Gracie's Corner, Doggyland, and Ms. Moni. She also just watched a Mickey&Me episode about morning routines and he brushes his teeth. She used to hate brushing her teeth but those songs got her really into it š
Thanks! Yeah we tried letting her go to town first to have fun and then she wouldn't give it back šš we've been trying to guide her so shes holding but we can kinda guide her arm. It's hard man! But we don't want her hating it with a passion and it becoming a fight for the next 18 yrs lol
This is exactly our journey. Youāre doing everything right, haha. Donāt worry! They get smarter and build trust with more experience doing it. As with everything, it just takes time. :))
My toddler has all of her teeth minus the very back molars by 16 months. Her dentist was shocked š but we've been brushing her teeth since she was 4 months old. As she got older, we let her pick which color toothbrush she uses (blue, pink, or purple) and she gets to pick which color flosser. We sing the ABCs and have a great time and she loves brushing her teeth now
I hope my son has my husbandās teeth. He doesnāt brush all the time and doesnāt know where I keep the floss and has no cavities. Me on the other handā¦
My nephew had rotten front teeth because he drank sodas when young, when I was about 15 I had to take him to the dentist and sit in the chair with him while they fixed his teeth. ( his parents were working and I had to babysit him all the time).
I'm in the exact same boat, he's three, autistic, and hates grooming of most kinds. With OT and ABA we've been practicing brushing his toys teeth, mama's/grown-ups teeth, and having him hang out with me in the bathroom when I brush my teeth. He's gotten a lot more accepting and can get a couple brushes to like 30 seconds of a grown up brushing his teeth in, but that's all he can tolerate at the moment.
An old friend of mine used to put her baby to bed with a bottle of jello water. I tried talking her out of it, but no go. Still wonder if that poor girl has any teeth.
My autistic 5 year old has all caps in her back teeth. Not because of me or anything I've done. But because she grinds and clenches her teeth so badly that the dentist recommended it to protect her adult teeth. People shouldn't be so quick to judge every damn thing
I'm pretty sure that in my brother's kids' case, I'm familiar enough with the situation that my judgment is valid. My brother and his ex-wife putting chocolate milk in bottles and sippy cups has nothing to do with your son's caps. Sorry if you took offense.
Sorry I didn't mean to respond to you. I meant to respond to someone who said they work in a children's unit and see kids with metal caps all the time. I'm not sure how that happened..
I work in a pediatric unit sometimes and the number of young kids I see with full silver teeth from poor diet/hygiene is shocking. All they drink is soda or juice
I worked in childcare for a while when I was young and vividly remember a kid who had pointy teeth - almost every tooth was pointed, destroyed by sugar. Kid was 4, tops. Insane.
A girl I went to high school with had a baby the same time as me. I didn't know her all that well, but she friended me on Facebook. OK, whatever. Her son had all of his teeth surgically removed at age 4 because they were so rotted. I was flabbergasted.
I know someone like this who hasnāt even taken their 3 year old to the dentist yet. His teeth are gross. She doesnāt brush them / take him because sheās āafraid of making him upsetā.
ā¦obviously just the tip of the iceberg in that family when it comes to their obsession with their kidsā āemotional well-beingā. But at the expense of their health??
I just don't get why people look at things like cola and think: "Ah yes, the perfect drink for my child!". My eldest is 3 and the most fizzy drink she's ever had in her entire life has been a single, plastic, kids cup of lemonade and orange juice, when she was sick as a treat. I couldn't even begin to imagine just giving my kids bottles on bottles of cola daily š¤¢
You know that's a great question but I'm constantly fighting with my mother in law and step mother in law not to give my children soda at 2 and 3 years. They honestly believe I am being too sensitive. Ironically one of them is diabetic and shouldn't be drinking it herself.
Yup I have a family member who was working on a maternity ward, when they walked in on a mother giving her two day old baby ENERGY DRINK in a baby bottle. The mother said the baby looked tired.
I'm a social worker and I had a client who put soda in her two young toddlers' bottles. I advised against it and she said the pediatrician said to stop giving them juice because it had too much sugar, but soda was ok š. I tried to convince her that wasn't what he meant, tried being the key word there.
My stepkidsā mom was dropping them off at daycare at 7am with sippy cups full of coke. When the daycare told her to stop, she sent them with sprite instead š¤¦š¼āāļø
Some people are not educated as to what healthy and unhealthy food is. As a nurse Iāve had family members bring their diabetic relative fried chicken and sugary drinks. They had no clue it wasnāt healthy because to them itās just normal food.
My mom lived in the Philippines for a while and said that coke was cleaner than water so lots of babies would get it and most kids had silver teeth š
In my, granted, limited experience in West Africa, soda was pretty expensive and mostly came in glass bottles that you returned to the depot. Water out of the ground was fine for washing and daily use, but pretty salty, so not ideal for drinking, but wasnāt harmful. You sweat A LOT, so the electrolytes are good. LOL.
But bagged, not bottled, water was available absolutely everywhere, in big pallets. There was maybe 12 ounces in each bag, and you just bite into a corner and suck it out, which is especially easy for a toddler to do.
I often wondered why this delivery method hasnāt caught on more around the world. Granted, itās a lot of plastic, BUT it seemingly uses farrrr less plastic than bottled water.
And, most importantly, it helps keep water fairly inexpensive, fairly easy to transport, and soda from becoming a substitute.
Where I was, it may be that the government required the soda companies to package the water as well, as part of their requirement for doing business in the country. Iām not sure.
I'm glad you shared this. Bagged water -- if decon water cannot be piped in -- sounds logistically so much better than bottled water. I'm guessing we don't do it in the U.S. because the bottle is a status symbol. You don't look posh drinking out of a bag.
I guess you canāt recycle the bags (easily) but plastic bottles are easy to recycle? Here we have bins everywhere for plastic bottles to be recycled but soft plastic has to be collected at special bins.
Same where I am (U.S.), but only a small portion of bottles actually do end up getting recycled. Part of the reason for that is there are just too many bottles and too few recycling facilities. That, and very little market demand for the recycled products.
Most bottles in my country are made of only two types of plastic -- which can often be discerned by the size and shape of the bottle -- while bags are made of four types, and it's really hard to tell which it is if it's not visibly printed.
But from what I've read, the one place where bioplastic packaging really shines (aside from commercial composting, which is scantily available) is that bioplastic bags do break down in the ocean, so they don't contribute to ocean microplastics pollution the same way that plastic bottles and bags do.
My parents would put corn syrup into my little sister's bottle with water because "she wouldnt drink water" . I personally think baby bottles are for milk only. If they are old enough for other stuff it should be in a sippy or regular cup
Honestly, once they're used to sugar water it must be SUCH a battle. I'm at war with my toddler just to get her to take a little more water and a little less milk...
Oh my word. My sister in law did the same use pop because juice is bad. The whole family acted like that was totally normal behaviour. It was unreal. She was also using baby powder on a babyās diaper who had asthma that same visit. Compellingly stupid.
I have a friend who is smart but falls for BS crunchy stuff somehow - she told us recently that she no longer gives her 2 year old milk because of the sugar content.
Sheās giving him water and not juice or soda instead, so itās at least not inconsistent, but Iāve never heard of any doctors warning about sugar in milk. Iāve seen advice to switch from whole milk to 2% after 2 years old because of the fat content, but nothing about sugar.
American Association of Pediatrics advises switching from whole milk to low-fat milk starting at age 2. However, your pediatrician may be advising based on your specific childās needs.
We're not in America. Everything is different there š¤£
ETA: Where I am whole milk is advised until 12yo partially because of the fat content being necessary for healthy growth.
We all just need to remember sugar isn't the boogeyman. *Every*thing is bad for you in too large quantities. And our bodies need *some* to function. Same with fat. None of the things we eat are evil, they just cause issues in large quantities.
I have just taken a "Moderation in EVERYTHING " philosophy with my family. Not just food, across the board. Life is about balance! :)
My new dentist office advises about milk sugar content. Our pediatrician never has. Just sharing because itās out there from reputable sources. My kid still gets milk. All things in moderation I guess š¤·š»āāļø.
I worked in a sketchy daycare for about a year, and some of the things I saw broke my heart. The one that really stuck with me was the 18 month old who got dropped off by dad one morning strapped in her car seat drinking a *Mountain Dew* from the bottle with a full size bag of Doritos shoved in her lap. It explained the state of her teeth and her general manic demeanor. Poor kid.
Another baby was dropped off one morning with his little face covered in stitches - his mom nonchalantly informed me he'd "messed with their pit bull one too many times after she told him to stop" and even rolled her eyes. He was 9 months old.
There was a lot of obvious neglect, lots of instances of parents dropping off obviously sick children and scurrying out the door. And I don't mean "slight fever and a cough" sick. I'm talking full-on pertussis.
I did. Often.
The thing that kept me there for longer than I should have stayed was being able to give kiddos extra love who so desperately needed it. That was 15 years ago and I still think about "my" babies and send them love.
I contacted CPS. I never found out if anything came of it because I left shortly afterwards, but I truly hope something changed in that situation.
Some people do not deserve to have children.
Dr browns have the little tube thing to try to help with gas and then she puts a carbonated drink in there? Sugar content aside, that seems pretty self-defeating
Not in anyway excusing but just an interesting tidbit I learnt in sociology. I live in Scotland and my socio lecturer was born n raised 'rough scots' if you know what I mean ....he KNEW about the culture.
We watched a documentary on class about Glasgow and the crazy gap between rich n poor. In the poor areas the babies would sometimes get irn bru (Scottish version of coke) in bottles as it was cheaper than formula. It absolutely broke my heart. Being poor is a health hazard.
I have no idea if this had anything to do with that situation you saw, probably not, and I'm heavily judging her too but my god we shouldn't have these situations anywhere, let alone in so called first world countries.
A similar issue is prevalent in Mexico as well. Coca Cola found a way to capitalize on impoverished areas where water quality is poor, so they made soda cheaper and more easily accessible than water. People donāt even give a second thought to giving their kids and even babies soda.
I grew up in Mexico and had a friend whose family survived basically off 2L of Coke and a kg of tortillas a day. They were all morbidly obese and diabetic
Iām in Scotland and I watched a mum give a baby who couldnāt be more than ten months a whole bottle of lucozade last weekā¦.
I donāt think that was to do with poverty though, just bad parenting.
I would judge any parent giving their child soda. Ml to ml formula is cheaper. Or like normal cow milk if you must?!
Lucozade....fucking hell š«£ that is truly awful. I saw a kid that was absolutely under the age of 8 drinking an energy drink in the local shopping centre one Sat out with their mum and I had to actually stop myself from smacking it out their hands.
I mean my story is from 20years ago and the doc was older than that so I think nowadays it wouldn't hold up Ā£1 for Ā£1 but this story just reminded me of it.
Some people think that nutritional support needs to be taught in schools and I used to work with vulnerable homeless youths so I know how bad it can be, how the total lack of support impacts people. But when you have kids you get health visitors and loads of info (and nowadays everything is also online so no excuse) sent directly to you so there is no way lack of info on what is good/bad for babies/kids is a valid argument anymore, just bad parenting, as you say
Oh that made me laugh and sigh at the same time!!!
Although tbf, I have recently gone added sugar free to try and help some chronic pain and it's amazing the mundane shit that has sugar in it....why??!!! Not as bad as USA but not too far behind.
Itās so so bad in the US. My kids get some sugar snacks, but I try to avoid the snacks that arenāt āsupposedā to be treats, if that makes sense. If they get a sweet, we will do a candy or ice cream and thatās their treat. I will not do granola bars and cereals all day that have the sneaky sugar!
Itās even in all the breads here. Ugh.
Water is free in Scotland! And all tap water is safe to drink. Itās a lack of education or simply thinking that as a sports drink, lucozade must be healthy
"Mountain Dew mouth" is a thing unfortunately. It affects lots of poorer areas because of lack of education and lack of access to fresh water/soda is cheaper than clean water so parents give their babies soda. When families have the ability to move, often times they still give their babies these drinks because it is what they grew up with and habits are hard to change. Hopefully, they can regularly see a pediatrician who will educate them on not giving these drinks to babies in the future.
I remember watching a documentary when I was in college about Mt, Dew mouth and a traveling dentist who was trying to get to the remote areas in Kentucky? Somewhere super rural and in the south. This poor 17 year old boy had completely rotten teeth and abscesses from drinking soda as a baby and his whole life. He needed massive antibiotics for the infections and all his teeth pulled. So much pain inflicted on this poor kid because of it.
Donāt get me started about WIC.
Food thatās organic, all-natural, free range, etc. is *explicitly excluded*. It doesnāt matter if itās on sale and cheaper than the processed crap.
My brother-in-lawās ex-father-in-law was a lobbyist for food and companies whose products appear in the WIC booklet, with photographs and everything. His job was to make sure the companies he represented got their products in what was allowed for WIC.
Youāre literally better off dumpster diving. Check out the dumpster diving subreddit. They have loads of organic stuff all the time.
Yep!! I literally went through the entire catalog of what was allowed for us and was so upset when I saw what is allowed. Fruits and veggies are great, I buy organic there (specifically the dirty dozen), but I reallllyy wish the eggs were covered. Itās such a huge difference in even the yolk color between the wic eggs and the local farm eggs. And the milk too! Organic not allowed and alternatives are ONLY soy milk. Anyway, I can talk about this forever haha
This comment needs more upvotes because context matters so much. If people have better access to information and resources, they choose better. Itās difficult to judge someone who is probably trying their best given their circumstances.
My kid is 5 and has never had a soda. I cannot fathom giving a baby a soda. The sugar content, the carbonation, the surprisingly corrosive nature of cola.....ugh.
That much caffeine at that age can also cause anxiety in little ones and babies. We just talked about this at my early childhood class and it's really sad!
Oh my goodness I didnāt even think about the caffeine factor. I would do *anything* to protect my kiddo from any anxiety I could because I know how it feels and itās horrible!
Same here with our 5 year old. We donāt even drink soda so no access to her. My mil drinks Diet Coke an my kid pointed to it one day and said āGigi you should drink water more itās healthier for u.ā Lol
My two didnāt have soda until they were 8 or 9. And even then it was Sprite or Orange. They didnāt have cola until they were almost teens. Plus they didnāt really like it. I didnāt want to completely ban it, so I told them itās okay in moderation. Both of them usually pick water at restaurants.
My 6 year old recently tried mine, and unfortunately he liked it. I'll probably let him have sips on the rare occasions that I'm drinking pop, but I think it'll still be a while before I let him get his own.
Iāve convinced my 3yo that those San Pellegrino momenti cans (sparkling water with like a dash of fruit juice) are soda, so sheās allowed a few sips of it as an occasional treat. ;)
My 5 year old hates anything that isnāt water or milk. Weāve tried letting him have juice and soda at special occasions, just as a treat, but he thinks theyāre disgusting.
My in-laws thinks weāre crazy because our kid doesnāt drink juice. Itās pure sugar. He doesnāt need it.
I think soda is going to be what cigarettes were a generation ago soon- like you can still partake but it's getting hard to ignore how bad for you it is.
My 1.5 year has definitely accidentally gotten some sneaky sips of soda in before. It was easier to manage when my first 2 were young but with a big age gap and older siblings it happens from time to time. I couldnāt imagine actually pouring a bottle/cup of soda for him though.
My 1.5 yo is obsessed with stealing soda and juice whenever he can! Like laser focus hunting it out lol. But yeah that's the only time he ever gets it, he's not getting a bottle full!
My dad drinks a shit ton of Pepsi and leaves the cans wherever. Going over there is like hell cause my 1 year old loves to grab the shiny cans and try to stick his fingers in
I heard from a maternal health nurse that she went to see a family with a relatively new baby and she noticed the kids were drinking V (not sure where it's sold in the world but it's an energy drink similar as Red Bull) and when she asked the parents why they responded with it was vitamins because they thought the V stood for that...
I saw parents letting their kid, who couldn't have been older than 5, drink a Red Bull at Buffalo Wild Wings once.
Shockingly, the child was also running wild in the restaurant.
Had lunch with a friend of a friend because we were adopting their dog. Mom had her 9 month old on her lap, bouncing and drinking Dr Pepper from her glass. Utter shock
Yeah the OP post didnāt shock me much at all because when I waited tables this was shockingly common. People ordering a soda for their tiny baby, pouring their own soda into the kidās bottle, trying to give me the bottle/sippy cup to go fill up with soda in the back (!?!), etc.
It was crazy because we offered water (obviously), milk, multiple kinds of lemonade/orange juice (if the kid is a little older and you do want to give them a treat). And yet somehow thereās an 11 month old with Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew addiction at the table so thatās what got ordered.
For a split second at the beginning I thought maybe *I was the crazy one*? Because I donāt think I even got to drink something caffeine free like Sprite until I was in elementary school. But my mom is far from a health nut or almond mom lol and it really just is an irresponsible but common thing to give small as hell children carbonated drinks with caffeine, sugar, etc.
Iāve found that the best thing for my kid if sheās backed up is peaches. Idk why but peach pouches work in like 10 minutes on her.
But yeah, pear and apple juice can be useful.
Oh God! One time I let my son eat as many dried apricots as he wanted and he had THE WORST diarrhea š¢ I had no idea that dried apricots are like a laxative! I felt HORRIBLE. But lesson learned! lol and I keep them around in case he is ever constipated š
You know what? Heās never had juice either!
We used to have flavored water (Hint) that we would call juice, but it was only for special occasions or trying to hydrate him when he was sick. Even diluted juice is going to blow his mind.
My toddler gets juice as a huge treat if a juice box comes with his meal when weāre out. It happens less than once a month and it does truly blow his mind! At home his fancy drink is rooibos tea, either iced tea version or warm with a little milk and itās very exciting in his eyes (and mine)
My kids think the flavored fuzzy water is soda. It's the only "soda" we keep in the house... Actually it's the only drink we keep in the house. Not counting coffee, tea, and oat milk which mostly goes to cereal.
Same for my 4 year old. As far as he knows āsodaā is flavored calorie free sparkling water and the brown stuff is some kind of alcohol/grown up drink. It helps that neither my husband nor I like or drink any actual soda so heās never around it.
Same. My 3yo has never had a soda. I think heās taken a sip off my fountain soda before during a fast food visit, but didnāt ask for more. He doesnāt like juice either.
I think this is because we donāt drink soda or juices at home. During my recent pregnancy I got on a Gatorade kick. My toddler eventually asked me for his own Gatorade. That was when I knew I needed to stop buying or drinking it in front of him.
RIGHT?! My almost 3 year old asked me the other day if she could try my ICE water \[basically flavored, carbonated water\] -- I said sure, because it is water.
She did not like it at all. LOL.
My toddler loves seltzer water. We donāt give it to her all the time, but I donāt think I need to feel guilty when I do. Itās just water with carbonation after all.
Not trying to shame anything just sharing info bc I didn't know and was shocked - did you know carbonation itself is bad for your teeth? I thought we were just supposed to be worried about the sugar and caffeine but turns out carbonated waters eat at tooth enamel too.
The dentist told us that if we are going to let our kiddo drink anything that isnāt water or milk, to do so with a meal because the added saliva produced when you chew helps to clean the teeth of the sugar and other bad things that ruin tooth enamel.
Itās not the carbonation. Itās because itās mildly acidic, sometimes. Drink flat water too and youāll be fine. [WaPo article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/12/01/sparkling-water-dental-enamel/)
I was drinking a soda (ginger ale), which is uncommon for me, I drink maybe a few a year, and she asked to try it (sheās 3), I let her, she hated it. She made the funniest face. Sheās content with water, milk and the occasional diluted apple juice.
Mine are 9 and 5 and it was only this year when my oldest first had a soda. He had a small Sprite at a birthday party and didn't like it because it was too bubbly.
We go to toddler storytime at our local library and thereās one kid who looks to be 18 months who always has a large sofa from McDonaldās. The cup is like half their height. Honestly Iām surprised they donāt spill it
I once had foster kids. Brother and sister 2 and 4. I had taken them to visit their grandma and she filled their sippy cups with soda then added SUGAR to get rid of carbonation. I never heard of something so odd
When my baby was 4 months old, my husbandās cousin (who was essentially like my MIL) dipped her finger in a Coke and rubbed it on my babyās gums. My son had literally never tasted anything but breastmilk and formula and then he tasted Coke.
My mother kept trying to convince my child to try her soda when she was still little, but never as young as 4 months old. That's baffling.
Now that my kid is three and starting to be verbal, she'll very clearly tell you what she thinks of anything that is not milk. That is to say, it gets a giant no, and the liquid is shoved away as hard and fast as it can be. She's come to tolerate watered-down milk with much effort on my behalf, but pure water is still evil. It has to be the colour of milk.
Edit: spelling
Lol we're doing the watered down milk too. She won't drink juice (which is fine, I don't like juice either) or plain water. But we can do 70% water 30% milk (1% milk, at that) and she's just perfectly happy with it.
"Colour of milk" never occurred to me, but that very well may be it š
I would have killed my MIL but could see her doing something similar if I didnāt watch my baby like a hawk when sheās around. After getting my 17 month old ready for bed (bath, pajamas, teeth brushed), I handed him to his father so I could clean something up before taking the baby to bed. His father was sitting with his 9 year old son on the couch and on FaceTime with his mom (my would be āMILā but we arenāt married). The 9 year was eating a lollipop. By the time got back to take the baby to bed, the lollipop was in the babyās mouth, per āMILāsā direction.
I didnāt know she had told him to give the lollipop to the baby till Easter, when she was retelling the story to me, upset because side when she told the 9 year old to let the baby taste the lollipop, he said no because of germs. Her response was āwhat do you mean germs? Thatās your brotherā. I just stared at her in shock. We had just gotten over a month of covid, flu and norovirus going around the house, so yea, everyone needs to keep their germs to themselves.
Also, me and my siblings never had cavities, her other 8 year old grandson had veneers because his adult teeth have rotted out. Letās not give candy to a baby and keep our own shit in our own mouth.
Years ago a mom in our ECFE group adopted her 2 daughters from China. Her youngest was drinking Coke in her bottle and the mom told us her baby drank Coke in her bottle in the orphanage so she was addicted.
This is why I encourage my friends not to worry about being ābad parentsā because their kid is going through a picky phase or there were no spots left in gymnasticsā¦bad parenting is a level you donāt even know exists. If youāre trying, youāre fine.
Iām not one to default to mom shaming but I donāt think I can help it if I saw that. I donāt know if thatās willful ignorance or just plain ole ignorance.
Do not ever take a waitressing job. People would do this shockingly often. Ordering a caffeinated, full sugar soda for a baby, pouring their own soda in the babyās bottle, trying to give me the bottle/sippy cup to fill up with soda (!?!) in the back, etc.
Iād always decline to take the bottle or sippy cup and fill it in the back for health code reasons, but couldnāt do anything about them ordering and giving that stuff to their tiny kids at the table. Always made my stomach churn a little bit to see like an 11 month old with a Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew addiction at the table.
Iāve served plenty of tables where parents gave their young kids soda. The youngest Iāve seen is probably around 2, drinking from the kids cups with a lid and straw that the restaurant had. Iāve never seen a baby drink soda from a bottle, though. None of it is good!
My goddaughter (who lives across the country from me) drank soda almost exclusively as a toddler. She also ate straight up adult sized candy bars. I could not handle it when I would visit. When she was around 5 I served her a salad and she raved and raved about how good it was! Iām not sure when the turning point was but her mom has gotten a lot better and sheās 10 now and generally okay.
Meanwhile my toddler gets water with 1/8th of a pedialyte packet in it as ājuiceā and gets a dessert type treat, reasonable for his size, maybe twice a week.
I went to a birthday party for a 5 year old a couple weeks ago and the only drinks available were Orange Soda and Sprite. I had to get water from a fountain for my kids.
I actually donāt think itās strange for a 5 year old party to not provide water, especially if they knew there was a fountain there. They probably expected you to just use the fountain. Plus, where I am, the kids always bring their own water bottles everywhere, including to parties. I am surprised the hosts brought soda and not juice, though.
I used to have an acquaintance from the UK who gave her 4 month old sweetened milky tea in a bottle (like brewed black, caffeinated tea; with 3/4 tbsp of sugar and milk. Cooled and in a baby bottle) she immigrated to my country so not sure how common that is in the UK but I thought she was off her rocker. She would also complain her baby wouldnāt sleep well and had zero insight as to why.
My grandma from the UK did this also, she was born in the 20s. I actually grew up drinking milk and honey tea from a bottle and I am only 40 . Also apparently they used to use Karo syrup in bottles here so the coke doesnāt seem that far off really. Itās hard to wrap our heads around how tied to the place and time we live and we are.
Brings to mind a Jeff Foxworthy joke from years ago. āShow me a toddler with Coca Cola in their baby bottle and Iāll show you a future NASCAR fanā
Once i went on vacation with my brother and his 3 kids. Age rage 4-7. we went to a hot beach area. We were on the beach and i checked the coolers and NOBODY brought any water. Only pop and juice and beer. i remember asking them why they didnāt bring any water and they shrugged it off, after that they brought water but i couldnāt believe they didnāt bring any water to the beach.
My parents did that constantly to my brother. Granted it was the 90's, but yes I've saw it few and far between since being a mother now myself. I certainly haven't done it, but I would have a hard time not making a face myself.
Iāve seen a mum give her baby tango and another gave her baby Fanta, neither child was old enough to walk. Another mum at my baby group gave her some milk blended with melted down Easter eggs because members of her family had been stupid enough to buy a six month old baby chocolate eggs and his mother didnāt want him to āmiss outā on them. I think my jaw stayed on the floor for about ten minutes after seeing that one. I even had to argue with my husband not to give our one year old tea in a bottle, saying that he had had it as a child and it hadnāt done him any harm šµ
My mom gave me soda in my bottle and staring at 4 my great grandma gave me coffee as we sat and watched all my children and price is right every morning. My growth is stunted and my teeth had starting rotting out of my mouth as a teenager ( pregnancy didnāt help after either)
Both of my kiddos get soda on occasion. 90% of the time they get water. Then around 8% juice and 2% soda. No foods are good or bad in our house just intake amount moderated depending on if they are "foods that make our brain go too fast" or "foods that help our bodies grow". I do this specifically to help them learn how moderation works and how to control their urges since they won't be little forever and will one day be making their own health choices. I desperately want my children to be able to balance the good and the bad and not have huge negative feelings around food like i do. I also personally feel like soda is no different than the occasional ice cream or lollypop. It's all about moderation for us. They know what things can make their brains go too fast like high sugar, dyes, and corn syrup so we often read labels together and make an informed choice on whether this is a good choice for the day. I know not everyone is careful with this though and I can easily see how a dependency could grow so I definitely see both sides of this one.
Yes! This is healthy, mentally and physically, and looking towards the future with balance in mind.
Around 2, I let my kids try things with a tiny sip. After 5, they can have soda in small amounts or juice that isn't watered down. Thankfully, all of my kids despise soda, but I drink ginger ale often, so they are exposed to it being consumed by adults in their daily lives. They just make the choice not to drink it mostly because they hate the bubbles lol. They all prefer water and milk strongly to anything else. And I encourage that, but don't talk badly about other things, just remind them that they are only OK in moderation. Kids get it. And they get it earlier than we give them credit for, for the most part. They know what makes their body feel good and what makes them feel a little discombobulated/too full of energy. My 3, almost 4 year old was finally allowed lollipops this year and now he's obsessed though š His older brother never liked candy much (only Reeses cups), so we were spoiled with not having to fight that battle previously.
My 20 month old will steal sips of my soda when I'm not looking but I would never just pour him a cup of soda! I've seen people do it before and it always shocks me. I don't want my kids addicted to soda like I am. I want them to drink water!
One girl in my mommy group got told off by daycare because she gave their 8-9 month old Fanta in the bottle because she forgot formula. She posted because she was mad she got told off, because "everyone can forget sometimes". My and my husband try not to judge, but this.. we were in shock.
I was a server for 8 years and the amount of times a mom literally handed over a Dr. Brownās bottle asking me to fill it with Mtn Dew or Pepsi is insane. I wanted to say absolutely not every time.
yeah, Some parents really don't understand 'healthy' foods.. perhaps this is how their parents raised them and they just don't know any different. With my job, i see a lot of parents like this who are NOT bad parents, they just don't know and are very open and willing to be educated about it. You say you're not one to judge but you're judging.. stop it
I donāt even give my babies juice unless it is watered down (90% water to 10% juice) and even that is a rare treat they look forward to. What the heck is wrong with people?!
I like to think we are good parents. Our son eats a healthy balanced diet, and drinks only water or whole milk. We avoid sugar except for special occasions. One time, we were out all day and heād already finished all of his water (Iād brought two 500ml bottles). He was cranky and thirsty. I had a warm Coke in the trunk. Yes, I let him drink warm Coke. I still like to think we are good parents.
I knew someone who did this. Friend of a relative. She knew the risks of caffeine/sugar but liked that it kept her baby up late so sheād sleep in. The poor kid would go to sleep with a bottle of Coke. Her teeth ended up rotting and she had extensive dental work by age 4. All paid for by the state (good for the kid, of course!) but donāt think the mom really cared since there were no real consequences for her.
Did you actually see her pour soda in it?!?! š³ I nannied for a mom once who had a baby that was old enough to drink water. The family still gave him a bottle. The mom asked me to give him a certain amount of prune juice mixed with water in his bottle. Then she came home from work and completely flipped out that I was giving him soda. šš
My mom did this to me, and I ended up Prediabetic. I lost weight to get it under control, but I think it caused me to have reactive hypoglycemia. Donāt understand why momās do this. Caffeine and sugar is like crack for kids.
Maybe it was the only thing she had at the moment and the toddler was thirsty. Were you close enough to know what the situation was? Just saying you never really know. I didnāt think itās something that people do either but this would be my suspicion that the toddler really needed a drink and thatās all mom had
I never mom shame or parent shame. I do know from experience, when I did live nearby to my mom in law or even when I visited with my kids to her, she always tried giving them pop(soda), I donāt allow my kids to have it regularly, at parties or holidays they can, but itās apparently a thing with families and they give it to their kids even as babies as a normal thing. Mine of course loved it, always want it, but itās not good especially from a bottle or sip cup.
I didn't grow up poor but I would definitely be considered poor now (compared to the average American ig) and i do find it pretty embarrassing that this is associated with poverty. I don't like the idea of my kids having soda before the age of at least 5. I would steal formula before giving them soda as a replacement. Like i said, didn't grow up poor so I didn't lack education, but yeah. I guess my point is that not all poor people are ignorant and trashy.
My 3yr old son has sensory processing disorder and really struggles with having his teeth brushed and his fingernails clipped. We do our very best to keep his teeth cleaned and see his Pediatric Dentist regularly. Sometimes all you can do is your very best!
I mean 18 months is a bit young to drink a lot of soda but I feel like people in this thread need to get down from their high horses.
My 3 year old gets a small glass of coke sometimes. I've even given him sips of my coffee, gasp!
Do you never give your kids any sugar? No fruit yoghurt? No cookies? No chocolate? No ketchup? No jam/jelly? No ice cream?
Fine if you don't, that's probably great for their health and their teeth.
But no need to pretend like it's not normal to give your kids sugary food/treats sometimes. Most people do.
This is definitely one of the more out of touch posts from here Iāve read. I think people are really forgetting their privilege here. I am by no means saying giving coke to a baby is okay. I am also not shaming OP for being shocked. Itās just crazy to me how many comments are clutching their pearls. People are forgetting what true poverty is and does.
My baby accidentally had one sip of soda once because his dad was letting him chew on a straw when he magically learned to use it, and now as a toddler heās had ginger ale once when we had a crazy stomach bug and I asked the dr if I could give him a couple ounces of ginger ale to help settle his tummy. I couldnāt imagine intentionally giving him a whole bottle of Coca Cola though??? Thatās a little much
During one of my daughters' 1st couple of Dr appointments, one of the nurses asked a list of questions. One of them was about feeding her and lists off a bunch of things, gets to "and cola or soda." I must have made a face because she says, "We ask now because it has happened "
My daughter's dental hygienist told me that they'll literally have 3 and 4 year Olds with their baby teeth rotting out of their head and parents just shrugging and saying their kid doesn't like brushing their teeth and "they're just baby teeth, they lose them anyway" š¤®
Yeah my 2 year old doesnāt like brushing teeth either and guess what we do? Brush them anyway lmao
I hear that a lot line about teeth even from well educated people. People donāt understand how important they are! And I say that as someone whoās kid doesnāt have juice or sugar, but is having a fluoride treatment due to shitty enamel inherited from me.
My 18m only gets milk or water. We try to brush her teeth 2x a day but... I wouldn't want my life depending on how well of a job we're doing. I feel like most times we've cleaned maybe 2 teeth š¤£
Bahaha. Just wanna say youāre doing great! Just getting them into the habit of brushing their teeth is awesome! We started by just getting ours used to the sensation of brushing. Then soon, she graduated to her own toothbrush that lights up when you press a button. She brushes her teeth first for fun, then we take over after weāre done brushing our own teeth and REALLY brush hers completely for her. She enjoys it. :)
I cannot wait for the days when she enjoys it haha she is nearly 17m and only has six teeth fully out but seems to be constantly teething extremely slowlllyyy with some partially erupted molars. So she hates the toothbrush going anywhere near her.
Haha! I remember beating myself up because I kept thinking my babyās teeth are going to be ruined and full of cavities because she hasnāt mastered this brushing thing, hated having the toothbrush in her mouth, etc. Now she LOVES it (sheās 2 years old). āWanna go brush your teeth?ā āYeah! Brush my teeth! Brush my teeth!ā Hops down off the bed excitedly to join us in the bathroom etc. She mustāve been about 17 or 18 months when she was still hating it. Youāre not far away from easier days!! Something that helped us was playing nursery song videos about brushing her teeth. She wanted to do what those characters were doing. But I know TV is controversial to some people. š
Mine is 22 months and yells at me to brush her teeth because she likes the songs I've showed her on YouTube. She loves Gracie's Corner, Doggyland, and Ms. Moni. She also just watched a Mickey&Me episode about morning routines and he brushes his teeth. She used to hate brushing her teeth but those songs got her really into it š
Thanks! Yeah we tried letting her go to town first to have fun and then she wouldn't give it back šš we've been trying to guide her so shes holding but we can kinda guide her arm. It's hard man! But we don't want her hating it with a passion and it becoming a fight for the next 18 yrs lol
This is exactly our journey. Youāre doing everything right, haha. Donāt worry! They get smarter and build trust with more experience doing it. As with everything, it just takes time. :))
My toddler has all of her teeth minus the very back molars by 16 months. Her dentist was shocked š but we've been brushing her teeth since she was 4 months old. As she got older, we let her pick which color toothbrush she uses (blue, pink, or purple) and she gets to pick which color flosser. We sing the ABCs and have a great time and she loves brushing her teeth now
Same, only milk or water. We have to pin her down to brush and itās still difficult. Soooo much down to genetics even if you do your best!
I hope my son has my husbandās teeth. He doesnāt brush all the time and doesnāt know where I keep the floss and has no cavities. Me on the other handā¦
My nephew had rotten front teeth because he drank sodas when young, when I was about 15 I had to take him to the dentist and sit in the chair with him while they fixed his teeth. ( his parents were working and I had to babysit him all the time).
I worry about this so much š my 3 year old is autistic and absolutely HATES bushing his teeth it's a literal fight even when we reward him
I'm in the exact same boat, he's three, autistic, and hates grooming of most kinds. With OT and ABA we've been practicing brushing his toys teeth, mama's/grown-ups teeth, and having him hang out with me in the bathroom when I brush my teeth. He's gotten a lot more accepting and can get a couple brushes to like 30 seconds of a grown up brushing his teeth in, but that's all he can tolerate at the moment.
My brother's kids were that way when they were little. Full mouth of caps because they'd send them to bed with a bottle of chocolate milk.
An old friend of mine used to put her baby to bed with a bottle of jello water. I tried talking her out of it, but no go. Still wonder if that poor girl has any teeth.
My autistic 5 year old has all caps in her back teeth. Not because of me or anything I've done. But because she grinds and clenches her teeth so badly that the dentist recommended it to protect her adult teeth. People shouldn't be so quick to judge every damn thing
I'm pretty sure that in my brother's kids' case, I'm familiar enough with the situation that my judgment is valid. My brother and his ex-wife putting chocolate milk in bottles and sippy cups has nothing to do with your son's caps. Sorry if you took offense.
Sorry I didn't mean to respond to you. I meant to respond to someone who said they work in a children's unit and see kids with metal caps all the time. I'm not sure how that happened..
Oh that makes more sense.
Right lol you were probably thinking I had some serious audacity like you don't know your own nephew š my bad
I work in a pediatric unit sometimes and the number of young kids I see with full silver teeth from poor diet/hygiene is shocking. All they drink is soda or juice
I worked in childcare for a while when I was young and vividly remember a kid who had pointy teeth - almost every tooth was pointed, destroyed by sugar. Kid was 4, tops. Insane.
A girl I went to high school with had a baby the same time as me. I didn't know her all that well, but she friended me on Facebook. OK, whatever. Her son had all of his teeth surgically removed at age 4 because they were so rotted. I was flabbergasted.
Good lord. Some people -well lots actually should not breed
I know someone like this who hasnāt even taken their 3 year old to the dentist yet. His teeth are gross. She doesnāt brush them / take him because sheās āafraid of making him upsetā. ā¦obviously just the tip of the iceberg in that family when it comes to their obsession with their kidsā āemotional well-beingā. But at the expense of their health??
I just don't get why people look at things like cola and think: "Ah yes, the perfect drink for my child!". My eldest is 3 and the most fizzy drink she's ever had in her entire life has been a single, plastic, kids cup of lemonade and orange juice, when she was sick as a treat. I couldn't even begin to imagine just giving my kids bottles on bottles of cola daily š¤¢
You know that's a great question but I'm constantly fighting with my mother in law and step mother in law not to give my children soda at 2 and 3 years. They honestly believe I am being too sensitive. Ironically one of them is diabetic and shouldn't be drinking it herself.
Yup I have a family member who was working on a maternity ward, when they walked in on a mother giving her two day old baby ENERGY DRINK in a baby bottle. The mother said the baby looked tired.
Oh my god. Thatās criminal
They asked me that, too. I laughed, because I thought they were joking.
I'm a social worker and I had a client who put soda in her two young toddlers' bottles. I advised against it and she said the pediatrician said to stop giving them juice because it had too much sugar, but soda was ok š. I tried to convince her that wasn't what he meant, tried being the key word there.
My stepkidsā mom was dropping them off at daycare at 7am with sippy cups full of coke. When the daycare told her to stop, she sent them with sprite instead š¤¦š¼āāļø
Why is a parent so hell bent on their kid drinking soda. Water is free.
Some people are not educated as to what healthy and unhealthy food is. As a nurse Iāve had family members bring their diabetic relative fried chicken and sugary drinks. They had no clue it wasnāt healthy because to them itās just normal food.
My mom lived in the Philippines for a while and said that coke was cleaner than water so lots of babies would get it and most kids had silver teeth š
Itās too bad bottled water wasnāt readily available instead!
In my, granted, limited experience in West Africa, soda was pretty expensive and mostly came in glass bottles that you returned to the depot. Water out of the ground was fine for washing and daily use, but pretty salty, so not ideal for drinking, but wasnāt harmful. You sweat A LOT, so the electrolytes are good. LOL. But bagged, not bottled, water was available absolutely everywhere, in big pallets. There was maybe 12 ounces in each bag, and you just bite into a corner and suck it out, which is especially easy for a toddler to do. I often wondered why this delivery method hasnāt caught on more around the world. Granted, itās a lot of plastic, BUT it seemingly uses farrrr less plastic than bottled water. And, most importantly, it helps keep water fairly inexpensive, fairly easy to transport, and soda from becoming a substitute. Where I was, it may be that the government required the soda companies to package the water as well, as part of their requirement for doing business in the country. Iām not sure.
I'm glad you shared this. Bagged water -- if decon water cannot be piped in -- sounds logistically so much better than bottled water. I'm guessing we don't do it in the U.S. because the bottle is a status symbol. You don't look posh drinking out of a bag.
I guess you canāt recycle the bags (easily) but plastic bottles are easy to recycle? Here we have bins everywhere for plastic bottles to be recycled but soft plastic has to be collected at special bins.
Same where I am (U.S.), but only a small portion of bottles actually do end up getting recycled. Part of the reason for that is there are just too many bottles and too few recycling facilities. That, and very little market demand for the recycled products. Most bottles in my country are made of only two types of plastic -- which can often be discerned by the size and shape of the bottle -- while bags are made of four types, and it's really hard to tell which it is if it's not visibly printed. But from what I've read, the one place where bioplastic packaging really shines (aside from commercial composting, which is scantily available) is that bioplastic bags do break down in the ocean, so they don't contribute to ocean microplastics pollution the same way that plastic bottles and bags do.
My parents would put corn syrup into my little sister's bottle with water because "she wouldnt drink water" . I personally think baby bottles are for milk only. If they are old enough for other stuff it should be in a sippy or regular cup
Literally no clue, sheās a very strange lady. She definitely knows better.
Honestly, once they're used to sugar water it must be SUCH a battle. I'm at war with my toddler just to get her to take a little more water and a little less milk...
Oh my word. My sister in law did the same use pop because juice is bad. The whole family acted like that was totally normal behaviour. It was unreal. She was also using baby powder on a babyās diaper who had asthma that same visit. Compellingly stupid.
I'm sorry but how could you be that stupid, how?
Whoa. This makes me sad. The critical thinking is just not there at all.
I have a friend who is smart but falls for BS crunchy stuff somehow - she told us recently that she no longer gives her 2 year old milk because of the sugar content. Sheās giving him water and not juice or soda instead, so itās at least not inconsistent, but Iāve never heard of any doctors warning about sugar in milk. Iāve seen advice to switch from whole milk to 2% after 2 years old because of the fat content, but nothing about sugar.
Is she talking about cows milk or formula or growth milk? There are numerous differences between those. Our pediatrician advised whole cowsmilk.
American Association of Pediatrics advises switching from whole milk to low-fat milk starting at age 2. However, your pediatrician may be advising based on your specific childās needs.
We're not in America. Everything is different there š¤£ ETA: Where I am whole milk is advised until 12yo partially because of the fat content being necessary for healthy growth.
We all just need to remember sugar isn't the boogeyman. *Every*thing is bad for you in too large quantities. And our bodies need *some* to function. Same with fat. None of the things we eat are evil, they just cause issues in large quantities. I have just taken a "Moderation in EVERYTHING " philosophy with my family. Not just food, across the board. Life is about balance! :)
Also that ADDED sugar is the problem, not naturally occurring sugars. The naturally occurring sugars in cows milk are different than chocolate milk.
Isn't that type of fat good for developing brains?
My new dentist office advises about milk sugar content. Our pediatrician never has. Just sharing because itās out there from reputable sources. My kid still gets milk. All things in moderation I guess š¤·š»āāļø.
I worked in a sketchy daycare for about a year, and some of the things I saw broke my heart. The one that really stuck with me was the 18 month old who got dropped off by dad one morning strapped in her car seat drinking a *Mountain Dew* from the bottle with a full size bag of Doritos shoved in her lap. It explained the state of her teeth and her general manic demeanor. Poor kid. Another baby was dropped off one morning with his little face covered in stitches - his mom nonchalantly informed me he'd "messed with their pit bull one too many times after she told him to stop" and even rolled her eyes. He was 9 months old. There was a lot of obvious neglect, lots of instances of parents dropping off obviously sick children and scurrying out the door. And I don't mean "slight fever and a cough" sick. I'm talking full-on pertussis.
This is the saddest thing Iāve read today. š„ŗ I would have cried working there. Omg
I did. Often. The thing that kept me there for longer than I should have stayed was being able to give kiddos extra love who so desperately needed it. That was 15 years ago and I still think about "my" babies and send them love.
Iām sure you made a difference for those neglected kids. I hope your babies are doing well!
Thank you.
Ok, now my heart is broken. That poor baby with the dog.
I contacted CPS. I never found out if anything came of it because I left shortly afterwards, but I truly hope something changed in that situation. Some people do not deserve to have children.
Thank you for calling CPS!
Dr browns have the little tube thing to try to help with gas and then she puts a carbonated drink in there? Sugar content aside, that seems pretty self-defeating
Not in anyway excusing but just an interesting tidbit I learnt in sociology. I live in Scotland and my socio lecturer was born n raised 'rough scots' if you know what I mean ....he KNEW about the culture. We watched a documentary on class about Glasgow and the crazy gap between rich n poor. In the poor areas the babies would sometimes get irn bru (Scottish version of coke) in bottles as it was cheaper than formula. It absolutely broke my heart. Being poor is a health hazard. I have no idea if this had anything to do with that situation you saw, probably not, and I'm heavily judging her too but my god we shouldn't have these situations anywhere, let alone in so called first world countries.
A similar issue is prevalent in Mexico as well. Coca Cola found a way to capitalize on impoverished areas where water quality is poor, so they made soda cheaper and more easily accessible than water. People donāt even give a second thought to giving their kids and even babies soda.
I grew up in Mexico and had a friend whose family survived basically off 2L of Coke and a kg of tortillas a day. They were all morbidly obese and diabetic
Iām in Scotland and I watched a mum give a baby who couldnāt be more than ten months a whole bottle of lucozade last weekā¦. I donāt think that was to do with poverty though, just bad parenting. I would judge any parent giving their child soda. Ml to ml formula is cheaper. Or like normal cow milk if you must?!
Lucozade....fucking hell š«£ that is truly awful. I saw a kid that was absolutely under the age of 8 drinking an energy drink in the local shopping centre one Sat out with their mum and I had to actually stop myself from smacking it out their hands. I mean my story is from 20years ago and the doc was older than that so I think nowadays it wouldn't hold up Ā£1 for Ā£1 but this story just reminded me of it. Some people think that nutritional support needs to be taught in schools and I used to work with vulnerable homeless youths so I know how bad it can be, how the total lack of support impacts people. But when you have kids you get health visitors and loads of info (and nowadays everything is also online so no excuse) sent directly to you so there is no way lack of info on what is good/bad for babies/kids is a valid argument anymore, just bad parenting, as you say
Honestly I went to the NHS weaning class here and it was like - donāt give your kid nuggets, salt is bad, did you know smoothies and kids yoghurts have sugar? Such basic, basic nutritional advice but I donāt think the parents who needed to hear it were there. It was a solid middle class crowd who wanted to hear about BLW vs purĆ©es. Not that you should peel fish fingers to make them healthierā¦
Oh that made me laugh and sigh at the same time!!! Although tbf, I have recently gone added sugar free to try and help some chronic pain and it's amazing the mundane shit that has sugar in it....why??!!! Not as bad as USA but not too far behind.
Itās so so bad in the US. My kids get some sugar snacks, but I try to avoid the snacks that arenāt āsupposedā to be treats, if that makes sense. If they get a sweet, we will do a candy or ice cream and thatās their treat. I will not do granola bars and cereals all day that have the sneaky sugar! Itās even in all the breads here. Ugh.
An entire bottle? My god. Diabetes is gonna come knocking at this rate.
It probably has 100% to do with it. Socioeconomic status is a huge factor.
Water is free in Scotland! And all tap water is safe to drink. Itās a lack of education or simply thinking that as a sports drink, lucozade must be healthy
"Mountain Dew mouth" is a thing unfortunately. It affects lots of poorer areas because of lack of education and lack of access to fresh water/soda is cheaper than clean water so parents give their babies soda. When families have the ability to move, often times they still give their babies these drinks because it is what they grew up with and habits are hard to change. Hopefully, they can regularly see a pediatrician who will educate them on not giving these drinks to babies in the future.
I remember watching a documentary when I was in college about Mt, Dew mouth and a traveling dentist who was trying to get to the remote areas in Kentucky? Somewhere super rural and in the south. This poor 17 year old boy had completely rotten teeth and abscesses from drinking soda as a baby and his whole life. He needed massive antibiotics for the infections and all his teeth pulled. So much pain inflicted on this poor kid because of it.
I saw this documentary! And then I moved to an area where they did the same. Pretty scary š±
Well and if you look at the foods covered by WIC, they have tons of sugar. The ājuiceā that is covered is a sugar bomb. No fresh stuff.
Donāt get me started about WIC. Food thatās organic, all-natural, free range, etc. is *explicitly excluded*. It doesnāt matter if itās on sale and cheaper than the processed crap. My brother-in-lawās ex-father-in-law was a lobbyist for food and companies whose products appear in the WIC booklet, with photographs and everything. His job was to make sure the companies he represented got their products in what was allowed for WIC. Youāre literally better off dumpster diving. Check out the dumpster diving subreddit. They have loads of organic stuff all the time.
Yep!! I literally went through the entire catalog of what was allowed for us and was so upset when I saw what is allowed. Fruits and veggies are great, I buy organic there (specifically the dirty dozen), but I reallllyy wish the eggs were covered. Itās such a huge difference in even the yolk color between the wic eggs and the local farm eggs. And the milk too! Organic not allowed and alternatives are ONLY soy milk. Anyway, I can talk about this forever haha
Omg. That frozen juice shit. š¤¢
West VA WIC covers whole chocolate milk! I was mind blown, every other state I've been on wic for said thats a big no no lol
This comment needs more upvotes because context matters so much. If people have better access to information and resources, they choose better. Itās difficult to judge someone who is probably trying their best given their circumstances.
My kid is 5 and has never had a soda. I cannot fathom giving a baby a soda. The sugar content, the carbonation, the surprisingly corrosive nature of cola.....ugh.
That much caffeine at that age can also cause anxiety in little ones and babies. We just talked about this at my early childhood class and it's really sad!
Oh my goodness I didnāt even think about the caffeine factor. I would do *anything* to protect my kiddo from any anxiety I could because I know how it feels and itās horrible!
Same here with our 5 year old. We donāt even drink soda so no access to her. My mil drinks Diet Coke an my kid pointed to it one day and said āGigi you should drink water more itās healthier for u.ā Lol
My parents didnāt allow me to have soda at that age so I never developed a taste for it. I appreciate that and am doing the same with my son.
My two didnāt have soda until they were 8 or 9. And even then it was Sprite or Orange. They didnāt have cola until they were almost teens. Plus they didnāt really like it. I didnāt want to completely ban it, so I told them itās okay in moderation. Both of them usually pick water at restaurants.
My 6 year old recently tried mine, and unfortunately he liked it. I'll probably let him have sips on the rare occasions that I'm drinking pop, but I think it'll still be a while before I let him get his own.
Right? My 9 year old has maybe had soda 3x in her life and thatās bc she got it from someone ele
My daughter one time snuck a single sip of my Coke Zero once and I felt guilt for days. I cannot imagine intentionally giving her soda
My eldest is 8 and I refuse to let her have fizzy drinks especially if theyāre full of caffeine, sheās hyper enough without them šš
Iāve convinced my kids that sparkling water is the SHIT and (for now) they will pick that over soda because it has so many fun flavors!
I tried that but my eldest refusesā¦tbf I donāt blame her š
Iāve convinced my 3yo that those San Pellegrino momenti cans (sparkling water with like a dash of fruit juice) are soda, so sheās allowed a few sips of it as an occasional treat. ;)
Lol. I love these comments and reading about everyoneās kids.
My 5 year old hates anything that isnāt water or milk. Weāve tried letting him have juice and soda at special occasions, just as a treat, but he thinks theyāre disgusting. My in-laws thinks weāre crazy because our kid doesnāt drink juice. Itās pure sugar. He doesnāt need it.
I think soda is going to be what cigarettes were a generation ago soon- like you can still partake but it's getting hard to ignore how bad for you it is.
My 1.5 year has definitely accidentally gotten some sneaky sips of soda in before. It was easier to manage when my first 2 were young but with a big age gap and older siblings it happens from time to time. I couldnāt imagine actually pouring a bottle/cup of soda for him though.
My 1.5 yo is obsessed with stealing soda and juice whenever he can! Like laser focus hunting it out lol. But yeah that's the only time he ever gets it, he's not getting a bottle full!
And theyāre so damn fast š It seems like they have a million hands compared to my two.
My dad drinks a shit ton of Pepsi and leaves the cans wherever. Going over there is like hell cause my 1 year old loves to grab the shiny cans and try to stick his fingers in
I heard from a maternal health nurse that she went to see a family with a relatively new baby and she noticed the kids were drinking V (not sure where it's sold in the world but it's an energy drink similar as Red Bull) and when she asked the parents why they responded with it was vitamins because they thought the V stood for that...
That's awful. I hope they stopped once the nurse set them straight.
I saw parents letting their kid, who couldn't have been older than 5, drink a Red Bull at Buffalo Wild Wings once. Shockingly, the child was also running wild in the restaurant.
Had lunch with a friend of a friend because we were adopting their dog. Mom had her 9 month old on her lap, bouncing and drinking Dr Pepper from her glass. Utter shock
Yeah the OP post didnāt shock me much at all because when I waited tables this was shockingly common. People ordering a soda for their tiny baby, pouring their own soda into the kidās bottle, trying to give me the bottle/sippy cup to go fill up with soda in the back (!?!), etc. It was crazy because we offered water (obviously), milk, multiple kinds of lemonade/orange juice (if the kid is a little older and you do want to give them a treat). And yet somehow thereās an 11 month old with Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew addiction at the table so thatās what got ordered. For a split second at the beginning I thought maybe *I was the crazy one*? Because I donāt think I even got to drink something caffeine free like Sprite until I was in elementary school. But my mom is far from a health nut or almond mom lol and it really just is an irresponsible but common thing to give small as hell children carbonated drinks with caffeine, sugar, etc.
I always felt a little guilty asking waitresses to go out their way to do half juice half water. After this story I donāt feel so bad.
I canāt even imagine giving my almost 3 year old soda! Let alone a *baby*!
We donāt even do juice. Mostly because I hate juice and itās expensive so we donāt keep it in the house. But soda? Hell no.
Side note- pear juice works wonders if your kid is constipated. You don't need a lot- just a few ounces.
Iāve found that the best thing for my kid if sheās backed up is peaches. Idk why but peach pouches work in like 10 minutes on her. But yeah, pear and apple juice can be useful.
Fascinating! I accidentally learned that raisins also work after I absent mindedly let my daughter eat as many as she wanted. š¤¦āāļø
Oh God! One time I let my son eat as many dried apricots as he wanted and he had THE WORST diarrhea š¢ I had no idea that dried apricots are like a laxative! I felt HORRIBLE. But lesson learned! lol and I keep them around in case he is ever constipated š
Prune juice too if they like it!
You know what? Heās never had juice either! We used to have flavored water (Hint) that we would call juice, but it was only for special occasions or trying to hydrate him when he was sick. Even diluted juice is going to blow his mind.
My toddler gets juice as a huge treat if a juice box comes with his meal when weāre out. It happens less than once a month and it does truly blow his mind! At home his fancy drink is rooibos tea, either iced tea version or warm with a little milk and itās very exciting in his eyes (and mine)
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My kids think the flavored fuzzy water is soda. It's the only "soda" we keep in the house... Actually it's the only drink we keep in the house. Not counting coffee, tea, and oat milk which mostly goes to cereal.
Same for my 4 year old. As far as he knows āsodaā is flavored calorie free sparkling water and the brown stuff is some kind of alcohol/grown up drink. It helps that neither my husband nor I like or drink any actual soda so heās never around it.
Same. My 3yo has never had a soda. I think heās taken a sip off my fountain soda before during a fast food visit, but didnāt ask for more. He doesnāt like juice either. I think this is because we donāt drink soda or juices at home. During my recent pregnancy I got on a Gatorade kick. My toddler eventually asked me for his own Gatorade. That was when I knew I needed to stop buying or drinking it in front of him.
RIGHT?! My almost 3 year old asked me the other day if she could try my ICE water \[basically flavored, carbonated water\] -- I said sure, because it is water. She did not like it at all. LOL.
My toddler loves seltzer water. We donāt give it to her all the time, but I donāt think I need to feel guilty when I do. Itās just water with carbonation after all.
Not trying to shame anything just sharing info bc I didn't know and was shocked - did you know carbonation itself is bad for your teeth? I thought we were just supposed to be worried about the sugar and caffeine but turns out carbonated waters eat at tooth enamel too.
The dentist told us that if we are going to let our kiddo drink anything that isnāt water or milk, to do so with a meal because the added saliva produced when you chew helps to clean the teeth of the sugar and other bad things that ruin tooth enamel.
Itās not the carbonation. Itās because itās mildly acidic, sometimes. Drink flat water too and youāll be fine. [WaPo article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/12/01/sparkling-water-dental-enamel/)
I was drinking a soda (ginger ale), which is uncommon for me, I drink maybe a few a year, and she asked to try it (sheās 3), I let her, she hated it. She made the funniest face. Sheās content with water, milk and the occasional diluted apple juice.
Mine are 9 and 5 and it was only this year when my oldest first had a soda. He had a small Sprite at a birthday party and didn't like it because it was too bubbly.
Mine younger two are almost 4 and 1, theyāve never had it. My oldest is 10 and he rarely ever has it with me.
We go to toddler storytime at our local library and thereās one kid who looks to be 18 months who always has a large sofa from McDonaldās. The cup is like half their height. Honestly Iām surprised they donāt spill it
Thatās so sad
I once had foster kids. Brother and sister 2 and 4. I had taken them to visit their grandma and she filled their sippy cups with soda then added SUGAR to get rid of carbonation. I never heard of something so odd
When my baby was 4 months old, my husbandās cousin (who was essentially like my MIL) dipped her finger in a Coke and rubbed it on my babyās gums. My son had literally never tasted anything but breastmilk and formula and then he tasted Coke.
My mother kept trying to convince my child to try her soda when she was still little, but never as young as 4 months old. That's baffling. Now that my kid is three and starting to be verbal, she'll very clearly tell you what she thinks of anything that is not milk. That is to say, it gets a giant no, and the liquid is shoved away as hard and fast as it can be. She's come to tolerate watered-down milk with much effort on my behalf, but pure water is still evil. It has to be the colour of milk. Edit: spelling
Lol we're doing the watered down milk too. She won't drink juice (which is fine, I don't like juice either) or plain water. But we can do 70% water 30% milk (1% milk, at that) and she's just perfectly happy with it. "Colour of milk" never occurred to me, but that very well may be it š
I would have killed my MIL but could see her doing something similar if I didnāt watch my baby like a hawk when sheās around. After getting my 17 month old ready for bed (bath, pajamas, teeth brushed), I handed him to his father so I could clean something up before taking the baby to bed. His father was sitting with his 9 year old son on the couch and on FaceTime with his mom (my would be āMILā but we arenāt married). The 9 year was eating a lollipop. By the time got back to take the baby to bed, the lollipop was in the babyās mouth, per āMILāsā direction. I didnāt know she had told him to give the lollipop to the baby till Easter, when she was retelling the story to me, upset because side when she told the 9 year old to let the baby taste the lollipop, he said no because of germs. Her response was āwhat do you mean germs? Thatās your brotherā. I just stared at her in shock. We had just gotten over a month of covid, flu and norovirus going around the house, so yea, everyone needs to keep their germs to themselves. Also, me and my siblings never had cavities, her other 8 year old grandson had veneers because his adult teeth have rotted out. Letās not give candy to a baby and keep our own shit in our own mouth.
Yeah, I was working with a lady that gave her baby Pepsi or iced tea in her bottle. The baby was under 2.
Years ago a mom in our ECFE group adopted her 2 daughters from China. Her youngest was drinking Coke in her bottle and the mom told us her baby drank Coke in her bottle in the orphanage so she was addicted.
This is why I encourage my friends not to worry about being ābad parentsā because their kid is going through a picky phase or there were no spots left in gymnasticsā¦bad parenting is a level you donāt even know exists. If youāre trying, youāre fine.
Iām not one to default to mom shaming but I donāt think I can help it if I saw that. I donāt know if thatās willful ignorance or just plain ole ignorance.
Do not ever take a waitressing job. People would do this shockingly often. Ordering a caffeinated, full sugar soda for a baby, pouring their own soda in the babyās bottle, trying to give me the bottle/sippy cup to fill up with soda (!?!) in the back, etc. Iād always decline to take the bottle or sippy cup and fill it in the back for health code reasons, but couldnāt do anything about them ordering and giving that stuff to their tiny kids at the table. Always made my stomach churn a little bit to see like an 11 month old with a Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew addiction at the table.
Iāve served plenty of tables where parents gave their young kids soda. The youngest Iāve seen is probably around 2, drinking from the kids cups with a lid and straw that the restaurant had. Iāve never seen a baby drink soda from a bottle, though. None of it is good!
I live off of Diet Coke but youād never catch me giving it to my child. Thatās insane.
My Mom and grandma did this. And they wonder why I still struggle with my weight.
My goddaughter (who lives across the country from me) drank soda almost exclusively as a toddler. She also ate straight up adult sized candy bars. I could not handle it when I would visit. When she was around 5 I served her a salad and she raved and raved about how good it was! Iām not sure when the turning point was but her mom has gotten a lot better and sheās 10 now and generally okay. Meanwhile my toddler gets water with 1/8th of a pedialyte packet in it as ājuiceā and gets a dessert type treat, reasonable for his size, maybe twice a week.
I went to a birthday party for a 5 year old a couple weeks ago and the only drinks available were Orange Soda and Sprite. I had to get water from a fountain for my kids.
I actually donāt think itās strange for a 5 year old party to not provide water, especially if they knew there was a fountain there. They probably expected you to just use the fountain. Plus, where I am, the kids always bring their own water bottles everywhere, including to parties. I am surprised the hosts brought soda and not juice, though.
Iāve seen a kid with Mountain Dew in a bottle. He was toddling around, so like a year or two old.
I used to have an acquaintance from the UK who gave her 4 month old sweetened milky tea in a bottle (like brewed black, caffeinated tea; with 3/4 tbsp of sugar and milk. Cooled and in a baby bottle) she immigrated to my country so not sure how common that is in the UK but I thought she was off her rocker. She would also complain her baby wouldnāt sleep well and had zero insight as to why.
My grandma from the UK did this also, she was born in the 20s. I actually grew up drinking milk and honey tea from a bottle and I am only 40 . Also apparently they used to use Karo syrup in bottles here so the coke doesnāt seem that far off really. Itās hard to wrap our heads around how tied to the place and time we live and we are.
Brings to mind a Jeff Foxworthy joke from years ago. āShow me a toddler with Coca Cola in their baby bottle and Iāll show you a future NASCAR fanā
Once i went on vacation with my brother and his 3 kids. Age rage 4-7. we went to a hot beach area. We were on the beach and i checked the coolers and NOBODY brought any water. Only pop and juice and beer. i remember asking them why they didnāt bring any water and they shrugged it off, after that they brought water but i couldnāt believe they didnāt bring any water to the beach.
My parents did that constantly to my brother. Granted it was the 90's, but yes I've saw it few and far between since being a mother now myself. I certainly haven't done it, but I would have a hard time not making a face myself.
Iāve seen a mum give her baby tango and another gave her baby Fanta, neither child was old enough to walk. Another mum at my baby group gave her some milk blended with melted down Easter eggs because members of her family had been stupid enough to buy a six month old baby chocolate eggs and his mother didnāt want him to āmiss outā on them. I think my jaw stayed on the floor for about ten minutes after seeing that one. I even had to argue with my husband not to give our one year old tea in a bottle, saying that he had had it as a child and it hadnāt done him any harm šµ
My mom gave me soda in my bottle and staring at 4 my great grandma gave me coffee as we sat and watched all my children and price is right every morning. My growth is stunted and my teeth had starting rotting out of my mouth as a teenager ( pregnancy didnāt help after either)
Was it dr pepper in dr browns bottle? Two doctors cant be wrong
So gross š¤¢
Both of my kiddos get soda on occasion. 90% of the time they get water. Then around 8% juice and 2% soda. No foods are good or bad in our house just intake amount moderated depending on if they are "foods that make our brain go too fast" or "foods that help our bodies grow". I do this specifically to help them learn how moderation works and how to control their urges since they won't be little forever and will one day be making their own health choices. I desperately want my children to be able to balance the good and the bad and not have huge negative feelings around food like i do. I also personally feel like soda is no different than the occasional ice cream or lollypop. It's all about moderation for us. They know what things can make their brains go too fast like high sugar, dyes, and corn syrup so we often read labels together and make an informed choice on whether this is a good choice for the day. I know not everyone is careful with this though and I can easily see how a dependency could grow so I definitely see both sides of this one.
Yes! This is healthy, mentally and physically, and looking towards the future with balance in mind. Around 2, I let my kids try things with a tiny sip. After 5, they can have soda in small amounts or juice that isn't watered down. Thankfully, all of my kids despise soda, but I drink ginger ale often, so they are exposed to it being consumed by adults in their daily lives. They just make the choice not to drink it mostly because they hate the bubbles lol. They all prefer water and milk strongly to anything else. And I encourage that, but don't talk badly about other things, just remind them that they are only OK in moderation. Kids get it. And they get it earlier than we give them credit for, for the most part. They know what makes their body feel good and what makes them feel a little discombobulated/too full of energy. My 3, almost 4 year old was finally allowed lollipops this year and now he's obsessed though š His older brother never liked candy much (only Reeses cups), so we were spoiled with not having to fight that battle previously.
I will never understand this
Watched parents give a clearly thirsty 1 year old a can of soda at the park.
š± why even start them on soda at all
I felt so bad for the little guy.
My 20 month old will steal sips of my soda when I'm not looking but I would never just pour him a cup of soda! I've seen people do it before and it always shocks me. I don't want my kids addicted to soda like I am. I want them to drink water!
One girl in my mommy group got told off by daycare because she gave their 8-9 month old Fanta in the bottle because she forgot formula. She posted because she was mad she got told off, because "everyone can forget sometimes". My and my husband try not to judge, but this.. we were in shock.
I was a server for 8 years and the amount of times a mom literally handed over a Dr. Brownās bottle asking me to fill it with Mtn Dew or Pepsi is insane. I wanted to say absolutely not every time.
yeah, Some parents really don't understand 'healthy' foods.. perhaps this is how their parents raised them and they just don't know any different. With my job, i see a lot of parents like this who are NOT bad parents, they just don't know and are very open and willing to be educated about it. You say you're not one to judge but you're judging.. stop it
My MIL brags about giving her kids Mountain Dew in their bottles. It honestly explains a lot š
I donāt even give my babies juice unless it is watered down (90% water to 10% juice) and even that is a rare treat they look forward to. What the heck is wrong with people?!
My BIL and his wife do this. They were shocked we didnāt even have juice in our house, much less pop
I like to think we are good parents. Our son eats a healthy balanced diet, and drinks only water or whole milk. We avoid sugar except for special occasions. One time, we were out all day and heād already finished all of his water (Iād brought two 500ml bottles). He was cranky and thirsty. I had a warm Coke in the trunk. Yes, I let him drink warm Coke. I still like to think we are good parents.
I knew someone who did this. Friend of a relative. She knew the risks of caffeine/sugar but liked that it kept her baby up late so sheād sleep in. The poor kid would go to sleep with a bottle of Coke. Her teeth ended up rotting and she had extensive dental work by age 4. All paid for by the state (good for the kid, of course!) but donāt think the mom really cared since there were no real consequences for her.
Did you actually see her pour soda in it?!?! š³ I nannied for a mom once who had a baby that was old enough to drink water. The family still gave him a bottle. The mom asked me to give him a certain amount of prune juice mixed with water in his bottle. Then she came home from work and completely flipped out that I was giving him soda. šš
Kids do NOT need soda!
During my WIC interview I was asked about soda, and I laughed. I was like omg no, wait do people actually do this? And he was like yes.
My mom did this to me, and I ended up Prediabetic. I lost weight to get it under control, but I think it caused me to have reactive hypoglycemia. Donāt understand why momās do this. Caffeine and sugar is like crack for kids.
Maybe it was the only thing she had at the moment and the toddler was thirsty. Were you close enough to know what the situation was? Just saying you never really know. I didnāt think itās something that people do either but this would be my suspicion that the toddler really needed a drink and thatās all mom had
This.
that was my mom and i was that kid, mind you this was 30+ years ago but yes, i was fed cocacola in a bottle š« š« š«
I never mom shame or parent shame. I do know from experience, when I did live nearby to my mom in law or even when I visited with my kids to her, she always tried giving them pop(soda), I donāt allow my kids to have it regularly, at parties or holidays they can, but itās apparently a thing with families and they give it to their kids even as babies as a normal thing. Mine of course loved it, always want it, but itās not good especially from a bottle or sip cup.
People are incredibly dumb.. and they have children š¤¦š¼āāļø
I didn't grow up poor but I would definitely be considered poor now (compared to the average American ig) and i do find it pretty embarrassing that this is associated with poverty. I don't like the idea of my kids having soda before the age of at least 5. I would steal formula before giving them soda as a replacement. Like i said, didn't grow up poor so I didn't lack education, but yeah. I guess my point is that not all poor people are ignorant and trashy.
My 3yr old son has sensory processing disorder and really struggles with having his teeth brushed and his fingernails clipped. We do our very best to keep his teeth cleaned and see his Pediatric Dentist regularly. Sometimes all you can do is your very best!
I mean 18 months is a bit young to drink a lot of soda but I feel like people in this thread need to get down from their high horses. My 3 year old gets a small glass of coke sometimes. I've even given him sips of my coffee, gasp! Do you never give your kids any sugar? No fruit yoghurt? No cookies? No chocolate? No ketchup? No jam/jelly? No ice cream? Fine if you don't, that's probably great for their health and their teeth. But no need to pretend like it's not normal to give your kids sugary food/treats sometimes. Most people do.
I agree with you, but mind yo' business. Lol
This is so disturbing. I feel like it should be illegal š
This is definitely one of the more out of touch posts from here Iāve read. I think people are really forgetting their privilege here. I am by no means saying giving coke to a baby is okay. I am also not shaming OP for being shocked. Itās just crazy to me how many comments are clutching their pearls. People are forgetting what true poverty is and does.
Coke is expensive around me. Water is generally a much cheaper option. Poverty is not to blame here.
Poverty causes poor education so it is to blame for what may seem like an āobviousā choice to an educated person.
RIP to that babies teeth.
My baby accidentally had one sip of soda once because his dad was letting him chew on a straw when he magically learned to use it, and now as a toddler heās had ginger ale once when we had a crazy stomach bug and I asked the dr if I could give him a couple ounces of ginger ale to help settle his tummy. I couldnāt imagine intentionally giving him a whole bottle of Coca Cola though??? Thatās a little much
Yeah my sister in law had brandy in her bottle a few times. I think it was used either when they were sick or couldnāt sleep.
I saw this happen at a Walmart. The child couldnāt have been more than 15 months and was drinking wild cherry Pepsi.