A few weeks ago the educators from a local pediatric dental office were out at North Hills during the Open Play and Creative Exercise time doing dental education for parents. They cheerfully gave out toothbrushes and answered questions all the while encouraging parents to bring their toddlers to the office for a free preliminary checkup. Great marketing- so smart. And I learned something- or rather I learned that I was right all along and it feels so good!
Monty’s grandmothers love him to death and really want to give him healthy stuff. They really want to give him juice though- and in my book it doesn’t qualify as healthy stuff for toddlers. Why juice, which has loads of sugar, when he loves milk and water? But secretly I wondered if the grandmothers were right… is juice supposed to be on the menu for toddlers?
Well, the pediatric dental educators emphatically said, “No! Please don’t give your child a sippy cup full of sweet sugary juice to carry around all day- think of the sugar and acid sitting on their teeth just eroding away the finish.” Score one for mom! “And brush his teeth for him every night with plain water before he goes to bed”, they said. So- we have that to work on next.
But is juice inherently evil? No. It can be on the menu for a toddler but should be diluted to ½ strength and limited to kids over 1 yr old, and to just 4-6 oz per day. Your child is better off getting his or her nutrition from the actual fruit itself but when that’s not possible juice is a viable alternative. Gatorade, lemonade, sweet tea, and soda? No! We shouldn’t even be drinking them like we do as adults.
Disclaimer: This post was written while sipping a Diet Coke. I’m a work in progress too!
No comments:
Post a Comment