Drinks for mindees

**sparkibobs** · 17-05-2009, 01:37 PM

Hi
Wasn't sure where to post this, so if anybody feels it would be better elsewhere then please feel free to put it in a different category x

I attended a course on oral hygiene the other night, it was excellent and I learned a lot.
I have always supplied sugar free drinks alongside milk and water, thinking it was better for their teeth etc. After attending my course I learned that most sugar free drinks contain the sweetener aspartame, which apparantley should not be given to children under 3. It has been copmpletely banned in America and has been linked to brain tumours and Alzheimers!!
I never knew this and feel awful knowing I've been giving it not only to my mindees but my own children for years!!
Has anybody else heard this?
I've now switched to diluting pure juice as was suggested.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
x

**michellethegooner** · 17-05-2009, 01:51 PM

I have only ever used pure juice (diluted) & water for drinks purely because I was told years ago the sweetners etc were worse for teeth than actual natural sugars.

so glad i do now

**nicole_kirsty** · 17-05-2009, 01:56 PM

I know its awful stuff - I have also heard it can apparently cause cancer!

Both my children wouldnt drink water - no matter how hard i tried! They also were neither big milk drinkers (but i hate it too!) My son stopped drinking most his milk at 11weeks! Was a nightmare! I now give them sainsburys high juice - sugar free. Mainly cause its a high juice content and also its sugar free with NO aspartame

**Daftbat** · 17-05-2009, 02:15 PM

I do a mixture of all drinks including very very very dilute sugar free cordials. I think that so long as there is moderation in everything i can't see the real harm.

Same with chips, sweets, crisps etc. Everything is bad for us if we have excess of it.

**sarah707** · 17-05-2009, 02:16 PM

I won't have aspartame or any other artificial sweetener in the house.

That includes anything that says it contains a source of phenylalanine.

Ds has lots of allergies and this is just one.

This is a good website for learning about the symptoms of aspartame poisoning -

http://www.dorway.com/

**Tatjana** · 17-05-2009, 02:55 PM

Yes i was aware of what affect sweeteners can have. There is now a sugar free calpol...i'm sure you can guess what's in it instead

I was shocked that my ds pre school uses squash and have told them not to give it to my son, i often give them juice to use instead.

They also give out biscuits as snacks

xx

**FizzysFriends** · 17-05-2009, 02:58 PM

I give them fruit juice (diluted without them knowing or they moan). I drink squash but not sugar free as they put something in that clashes with IBS (well mine anyway).

**singlewiththree** · 17-05-2009, 03:46 PM

I've never given sugar free as my daughter is allergic to sweetners so I buy High Juice and fresh concentrated juices and explain to the parents why.

It annoys me when I see young children with fruit shoots and ribena cartons as they both say not suitable for children under 36mths on the label.

**sweets** · 17-05-2009, 03:50 PM

my mindees drink water inbetween meals then have diluted fresh juice with their dinner, if i run out i will give them squash instead but i always buy the suger one. I always think that sugar is sugar and we know the harm it does but sweeteners are are just chemicals, and personally i rather my child had sugar!

**mum2two** · 17-05-2009, 04:46 PM

I was the same and thought I was being good by giving sugar free sqaush. I changed to hi-juice in the end. I was told it could make little boys infertile, & DS used to drink loads...! I would feel bad if when he's older he had problems, & I'd continued to give him stuff with sweetners. He will have fruit shoots occasionally if we're out, but not very often. (Plus the bottles are handy to keep for other days out!!)

My own kids have milk with breakfast & apple juice with lunch & tea, and hi-juice with snacks. Mindees have hi-juice with snacks, but if they want other drinks I offer water.

I decided to do this as DS was constantly drinking & the only way I could stop it was by telling him if he was really thirsy he could have water - which he didn't, and I couldn't then go & give mindees juice.

xx

**FizzysFriends** · 17-05-2009, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by mum2two

I was the same and thought I was being good by giving sugar free sqaush. I changed to hi-juice in the end. I was told it could make little boys infertile, & DS used to drink loads...! I would feel bad if when he's older he had problems, & I'd continued to give him stuff with sweetners. He will have fruit shoots occasionally if we're out, but not very often. (Plus the bottles are handy to keep for other days out!!)

My own kids have milk with breakfast & apple juice with lunch & tea, and hi-juice with snacks. Mindees have hi-juice with snacks, but if they want other drinks I offer water.

I decided to do this as DS was constantly drinking & the only way I could stop it was by telling him if he was really thirsy he could have water - which he didn't, and I couldn't then go & give mindees juice.

xx

I have 2 mindees that constantly want a drink, the first thing they do when they walk through the door is asl for a drink and they don't stop asking. I've been giving them apple juice as thats what they've been asking for but they moan cos I water it down. Its costing me a small fortune.

I think im going to offer them water in between snack times but I know they will refuse it.

**madasahatter** · 17-05-2009, 06:19 PM

I have 2 mindees that constantly want a drink, the first thing they do when they walk through the door is asl for a drink and they don't stop asking. I've been giving them apple juice as thats what they've been asking for but they moan cos I water it down. Its costing me a small fortune.

I think im going to offer them water in between snack times but I know they will refuse it.

how old are they? if they are really thirsty then most children will drink water.

My mindees get milk or diluted fruit juice (in beakers) at breakfast, snacks and lunch and they have their own water bottle for between meals. They drink more water when it's in a water bottle than if it was in a beaker. They occasionally get diluted high juice squash. I've never bought sugar-free because I have always got a horrible after taste with products containing sweeteners. Then I found out about sweeteners being banned from foods specifically produced for the under 3 market (baby foods etc) from a pack I got from the food standards agency. On an oral health training session the trainer said that sugar free squashes were barely any better for teeth than full sugar ones because the fruit acids will cause tooth erosion too.

**HENNY** · 17-05-2009, 06:46 PM

A lot of things that say reduced or low sugar contain aspartame not just drinks foods as well.At home we avoid aspartame as I know it has been banned in America and some of the Nordic countries for years -it has also been liked to temporary blindness and some cancers.

**FizzysFriends** · 17-05-2009, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by madasahatter

how old are they? if they are really thirsty then most children will drink water.

They are 4 and 5 and from what I can tell are used to getting what they want to give mom a quieter life. Here it takes ages for them to get anything because they will first demand I give it them and I don't do demands I do manners.

Will try in half term and see what happends.

**sparkibobs** · 17-05-2009, 08:20 PM

Thanks for all the comments and the website too Sara.
Studied Nutrition and Hygiene at College when I did my catering course years ago and this was never mentioned.
I only ever gave it looking more like slightly coloured water anyway but I'm not using it at all now, apparantley the aspartame makes you more thirsty anyway. I do believe most things in moderation but this has put me off sugar free cordial for good.
The pure juice from Tesco is very reasonable in price and I stocked up on orange/apple and grape juice in my weekly shop. My older girls think it's Christmas so win win all round.
Thanks again for all the feedback.
x

**Ally** · 17-05-2009, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by Penny Cartledge

I do a mixture of all drinks including very very very dilute sugar free cordials. I think that so long as there is moderation in everything i can't see the real harm.

Same with chips, sweets, crisps etc. Everything is bad for us if we have excess of it.

I agree with you! If we followed everything we wouldn't eat or drink anything! Everything in moderation!

Ally

**huggableshelly** · 18-05-2009, 05:35 AM

all my mindees have water in sports bottles apart from one who has a drop of apple juice as he refuses to drink plain water.

my own children have a mix of things squash, fresh juice, water, coke for special days but normally only have water when i'm working.

**marzi** · 25-05-2009, 09:58 AM

I'm not minding yet but with my own children, they were asking for drinks every few minutes so i told them if you're thirsty get water, now they rarely ask for juice and just help themselves to water throughout the day. They're 9, 7, and 5 though.

That said my 2 year old won't drink water and hates drinking milk so has very watered down squash. Didn't even realise about aspartame so now will be buying proper juice instead!

**Chatterbox Childcare** · 28-05-2009, 06:26 PM

Mine have water. I learnt with my son who had sugar free drinks and it rotted his teeth. may daughter was brought up on water and that is all she drinks now.

**The Juggler** · 01-06-2009, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by madasahatter

how old are they? if they are really thirsty then most children will drink water.

My mindees get milk or diluted fruit juice (in beakers) at breakfast, snacks and lunch and they have their own water bottle for between meals. They drink more water when it's in a water bottle than if it was in a beaker. They occasionally get diluted high juice squash. I've never bought sugar-free because I have always got a horrible after taste with products containing sweeteners. Then I found out about sweeteners being banned from foods specifically produced for the under 3 market (baby foods etc) from a pack I got from the food standards agency. On an oral health training session the trainer said that sugar free squashes were barely any better for teeth than full sugar ones because the fruit acids will cause tooth erosion too.

Ha, mine get theirs watered down (stronger for older kids) but when they finish if they are thirsty they get water. I tell them they have to alternate between juice and water. They're older they can understand how important water is/why sugar in juice is bad if they drink loads.