Mammals don’t drink juice

You’ve probably noticed by now that I am a pretty strict Mom. Some people will probably think I’m a control freak, a perfectionist, a military sergeant. And you’ll be right on all counts. I like rules and I like order. And I know these are not children’s favourite cups of tea, but I’m ok with who I am.

Luckily I have a husband that is the complete opposite of me, and so, my children are fortunate to have some kind of balance. My blog, however, is not about Daddy, so I’ll press on, giving you more of my (possibly over the top) parenting tips. As always, I’m happy with my parenting decisions, and I’m happy with yours too – whether you agree or disagree with mine 😉

When babies are ready to start eating, something that invariably has to start happening is that they have to also start drinking water. If you don’t give them water, they soon get constipated and ill, and, trust me, you don’t want that. Their whole digestive system is changing, and in order to “dispose” of the food they’re taking in, they need to be well hydrated.

But of course, up until this point, they’ve only ever had a sweet sweet nectar called milk (Mommy’s or otherwise), so it’s not surprising that they don’t particularly like water the first time you give it to them.

My latest experience is with Miss A, who I started weaning in the last few weeks. She bluntly refused to suck any water from the bottle (I was using a milk bottle, as she was more accustomed to that). Some parents, in desperation of seeing their kids dehydrate, quickly take the easiest road.

But that road, as in most other situations, is a highway to worse problems later on. I really don’t like shortcuts and tricks that parents can use just for the moment, or for that week. Because for a baby or toddler, a trick you use a few times, feels like a lifetime to them, and then they will expect it all the time.

Giving juice to a baby is one such thing. I can’t even express in words how against it I am. “Yeah, yeah” I can hear you saying, “but then what? I can’t leave my child without some liquid!”

Well, I can only speak from my own experience and what I’ve done. On one hand, I changed the bottle to a proper water bottle. One where the spout is soft and so easy for them to take the water out, that they hardly have to suck. And then, I offered the water at every couple of spoons of food at meal times. The first few days, she hardly drank any. But persistence is key here. Eventually they will drink more and more. Miss A drinks around 250ml now (a few weeks in).

“But what about IN THE MEANTIME??” – I hear you. Well, in my case, the first foods my kids had were fruit and vegetables. So I am careful to give them a combination of things that will naturally produce soft poo (for example: avoid bananas at first). The other thing is that I always add some water from cooking the vegetables when I am pureeing them – that increases the water content even more.

The upside of offering them alternative drinks, for example juice, is that they will of course, prefer the sweetness, so they will gladly drink copious amounts and you will sigh of relief because they won’t get constipated. The downside is that they will be much more resistance to ever liking water (i.e. tasteless). And as I’m sure you want the best for your child, I don’t think you will want them moving on to other sugary or carbonated drinks by default when they grow older.

We are built to be weaned off milk and to drink water. Lots and lots and lots of water. Our skin and our internal organs really like that. I try to think long term in all my parenting decisions. Even today, my kids’ drink menu consists of water for the most part. As usual, on weekends and holidays, if we eat out, they can have fruit juices, and they can also drink the natural juices that Daddy makes at home (with loads of healthy vegetables and fruits).

As an aside, don’t forget to brush their teeth more often when your kids drink juices, because the sugar is really bad for teeth. But don’t do it straight after – this was a tip from my Hygienist – wait at least 30 minutes and then rinse with water and brush. Otherwise, you’ll do more harm than good by rubbing the sugar more on the teeth and into the gums.