Drink Up! The Best Beverage Choices for Your Kids

                The two most important liquids for preschool age children to drink are water and milk. Water and milk provide children with the nutrients they need and keep them hydrated and healthy. In some cases, juice can be an okay alternative, but you have to be careful when choosing the type of juice to drink. Try to avoid soda, energy drinks, and other sugary drinks as much as possible.

                  The body is 70% water and we lose water every day through sweat, urine, and other daily activities. The best way to rehydrate ourselves is to drink more water to put it back in our bodies. For kids of all ages, water is one of the best choices for a drink. Water is calorie-free, and drinking it allows children to accept a low-flavor, no-sugar beverage as a thirst-quencher. It is suggested that you always offer water first to your children because it is the best thirst quencher. It also helps if you let your child see you enjoying water as a drink of choice, because your kids want to be like you.

                  According to whymilk.com, a cup of milk can give children as much vitamin A as two hard boiled eggs, as much calcium as 10 cups of raw spinach, as much phosphorus as 1 cup of kidney beans, as much vitamin D as ¾ ounce of cooked salmon, as much riboflavin as 1/3 cup of whole almonds, and as much potassium as one small banana (“The Facts on Flavored Milk in Schools”, 2011). Milk has 9 nutrients in it that are essential for children to grow healthily. These include: calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein, potassium, riboflavin, phosphorus, vitamin B-12, and niacin (“The Facts on Flavored Milk in Schools”, 2011).

                  There is some debate over whether or not flavored milk is okay, and some schools have even gone so far as to ban flavored milks. However, flavored milks still offer the same nutrients as white milk and does not add that much sugar, so it can still be a good option for your child to drink. In fact, studies have shown that those who drink flavored milk meet more of their nutritional needs, do not consume more added sugar or fat and are not heavier than non-milk drinkers (“The Facts on Flavored Milk in Schools”, 2011). Those who drink flavored milk also tend to drink fewer sodas and other fruit drinks (“The Facts on Flavored Milk in Schools”, 2011). If your child will only drink flavored milk, don’t worry, flavored milk is better than no milk at all, just be sure to keep it fat-free or 1%. In the past 5 years, the average calories in flavored milk have decreased to about 40 more calories than white and the added sugar has declined by 30% (Hayes, 2011). The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans listed calcium, vitamin D, potassium, dietary fiber as four nutrients of concern, and milk, flavored or white, contains 3 of these four nutrients (Hayes, 2011). Your child needs 1000 miligrams of calcium per day, which can be obtained in about 3 glasses of milk since each cup has about 300 milligrams.

                  Juice does not have to be a bad choice of drink, and is still better than soda or some other drinks, but you have to be careful with what kinds you offer and how much. Remember, giving your child real fruit is always better than fruit juice. Juice can be a good source of vitamins but use it in moderation (Bradford, 2011). Make sure that you are buying 100% fruit juice with very little or no added sugar. Many juices can even be just as high in calories as soft drinks. Try to stick to one serving a day and mix the juice with water to dilute it but still keep the flavor (Davis, 2007). Drinking too much juice can also decrease the amount of healthier beverages your child drinks.

                  It has been reported that the average child drinks a couple of sodas every day, and a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that found that girls who drank soda continued the habit as adults, opting for sodas over nutrient-rich drinks, such as milk (Dove, n.d.).  Soda can cause many problems for a child. Soda has no nutritional value and is extremely high in sugar. Many boys get 15 teaspoons of refined sugar and many girls get about 10 just from sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks (Davis, 2007). This is the maximum amount of sugar a child needs from all foods in a day’s time. Almost 90 studies have linked sweetened beverages and children's weight problems. Even one or two sweet drinks a day can cause a problem. In addition, drinking soda does not make a child feel full so they will still eat the same amount of food as they normally would, and sometimes, it can lead to kids eating more. In most cases soft drinks just serve as extra, unnecessary calories for your child. Soft drinks can also rot kids’ teeth. Their high sugar content and high levels of acidity pose problems to teeth (Davis, 2007).  In addition, because kids usually substitute soft drinks for healthier beverages, such as milk, they are not getting enough calcium to keeps bones and teeth strong (Davis, 2007). This does not mean that you should never let your kids indulge in a soft drink, but try to keep it as an occasional treat, not an everyday occurrence.  By educating kids on the hazards of soft drinks and other sweet drinks -- and stocking the kitchen with the right drinks -- it's possible to lower the connection between children and soft drinks.

Resources: 

Hayes, D. (29 August 2011). The flavored milk wars: Is a tempest in a milk carton good for kids’ nutrition? International Food Information Council Foundation. Retrieved September 16. From http://www.foodinsight.org/Blog/tabid/60/EntryId/507/The-Flavored-Milk-Wars-Is-a-Tempest-in-a-Milk-Carton-Good-for-Kids-Nutrition.aspx.

No author. (2011). The facts on flavored milk in schools. Got Milk? Retrieved September 16. From http://www.whymilk.com/school_milk.php?gclid=CMrkhcHOjKsCFQteTAodXQR-wg

Davis, J. L. (18 July 2007). Children and sweetened drinks: What's a parent to do? WebMD. Retrieved Sept. 7 From http://children.webmd.com/features/children-and- sweetened-drinks-whats-a-parent-to-do?page=2.

Dove, L. (n.d.). 10 drinks your kids should not be drinking. TLC A Discovery Company. Retrieved September 9. From http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/10-drinks-kids-should-not-drink11.htm.

Bradford, A. (4 April 2011).What juice to give toddlers? Livestrong.com. Retrieved September 10.  From http://www.livestrong.com/article/534804-what-juice-to-give-toddlers/.