No pop:until 12 yrs.

[shootingstar]

http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercour...-d838deabca47#

Article on forbidden "bad" foods for children and dealing with it.
In last paragraph of lst page in above link, an experienced registered dietician who has lectured and written books on feeding children, recommends not offering pop/soft drinks to children until they are 12.

Wonder how well this would work in families these days when soft drinks are so ubiquitous...if not at home, at children's friend's homes, etc. However it is within still living memory of some TE members here , when soft drinks were considered occasional/special drinks for parties, etc.

[lph]

My dh and I don't like soft drinks much, and our son gets it only on special occasions. Yup, he's mad about the stuff and will drink litres of it if he can. But I truly think he would have done so no matter if we had restricted it or not. Now he gets it maybe once a week.

[HoosierGiant]

We rarely have pop in the house, and, yes, I'm one of those old enough to have grown up learning that it was for special occasions only. Interestingly enough, neither of my girls (ages 15 and 12) can stand the stuff.

[jp4995]

We never had it in the house growing up. My husband likes Coke and used to drink about a can a day, but he's down to once or twice a week now. I think I drink pop maybe once a month.

[andtckrtoo]

When DD was small, I drank only water, juice, coffee and milk (and the occasional glass of wine). She grew up drinking water, juice and milk and even when we moved in with my current DH whose kids were crazy about soda, she never really took to it, thankfully.

[sfa]

I remember it being a special-occasion only drink too (and I'm not that old!). Slumber parties, mostly, and occasionally (1 - 2 times per summer) my father would come home with a case of weird flavors from the Pop Shoppe. Loved that!

Even though we keep the stuff around the house (DH is an addict) my kids can't stand it. They hate the sharpness and how it feels on their tongues, so they don't drink it at all. It makes it difficult when we go to cookouts and picnics--often soda is the only drink offered.

Sarah

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We never had soda when I was growing up, and we never had it in the house when my daughters were growing up either. Kids need nutritious food to grow on, not junk! Whether it's a 'special occasion' or just a normal meal, soda basically fills kids up with high fructose corn syrup and then they don't want to eat real food. In my view it's not a 'drink'- it's more like drinking candy.

Anyway, thought I mention that I went to a neighbor's house last week when she was giving a birthday party for her 9 yr old son. There were about 12 active boys there, and notably no soda at all. When the home made cake was served, everyone had a choice of milk, apple cider, or water. Most of the boys drank milk and thought nothing of it. Not your typical kid's party, and it seemed pretty refreshing to me for a change.

[Crankin]

There was soda in the house when I was growing up, but it was reserved for lunch/sandwiches on the weekends, or as a drink, maybe after school. We never had soda served with dinner. I drank water. I do remember hanging out and drinking Coke and eating fries as a teen, though!
I do not have soda in my house, unless you count seltzer. My kids had it at restaurants or other's houses. One drinks it and one does not, as adults.
Once in awhile I have a Diet Coke, but it has been less and less often as the years go by.

[sarahspins]

We don't keep soda in the house at all... but I don't restrict the kids from having some if they're offered it. Sure, it's not a healthy every day thing, but like ice cream, once in a while is just fine We don't generally keep juice in the house either - nutritionally it's so much better to just eat the whole fruit.

We ALWAYS had soda in the house growing up... but even then I don't remember drinking much of it until college when I got hooked on Mountain Dew.. but soon after I discovered coffee.. and I rarely drink soda any more

[shootingstar]

Can't remember what a cup of Coke or Pepsi truly tastes like --as a kid and teen, when offered, I found taste too powerful. So it's turned me off soft drinks in general. Will drink Sprite/Mountain Dew/7-Up ..as a last resort if offered/nothing else is available. We don't stock it at home. Usually a guest has brought a bottle and left it behind. I end up draining out the contents into the sink.

Main reason why I never gravitated to soft drinks was ..feeling gaseous and too full..too soon: not enough rm. for other food! It made no sense to go to a Chinese banquet with all this terrific food in front me... I was a hungry kid, just longing to explore.

For all the parties I've personally hosted with/without children in attendance, I've never offered soft drinks. Not much of conscious decision. Maybe am just absent-minded. It was just easier for me to have leftover juice ..if it didn't get all used up.

But I do get the powerful impression, that as adults some of us have changed..to drinking diet pop?

Bewildering to see some children (7-9 yrs.) hauling around...Gateroade juice bottles.

[Irulan]

Wonder how well this would work in families these days when soft drinks are so ubiquitous...

It will work as well as the warnings that second hand smoke is bad for the families that smoke, or that highly processed fatty foods are bad for the families that live on fast food, ... either people care or they don't

[lph]

It is like drinking candy, but um, nobody's suggesting drinking it instead of water, are they? We treat it as candy in our house, and serve it as a treat once in a while like any other candy or sweets. And I refuse to let our son have it with meals, desperately trying to teach him that liquid sugar and good food do not mix well

[arielmoon]

I havent had pop/ soda in over 15 years. To me it is not even a beverage option.

If I had a child he/she wouldnt even know what it is. I personally wouldnt give him/her something bad for them as a reward cause doesnt make sense to me especially when there are healthier options available. JMO obviously And it's probably a good thing I dont have kids cause they would probably hate me!

[badgercat]

*shrugs*
I drank pop all the time as a kid, all the way through high school. And I have always been of a completely average or even low weight, and have cavity-free teeth. Maybe I just got lucky with the genes, but my mom almost always put a balanced meal on the table at dinner... so it's not as though I was drinking soda all the time while also eating fast food all the time. My mom is Type I diabetic so in general my diet was quite low-sugar/low-fat.

DBF and I keep a small variety of canned pop in our house, but it's as a treat (or "medicine" when I know I might need a little caffeine buzz to stay awake during a long day so I'll pack a can with my lunch ). Probably 90% of all the liquid we consume is water straight from the tap. I didn't get into that habit until college, when I realized that in the dining hall I could pay for soda or drink water for free. I'm sure my body is much better off for that change, but I don't think there's anything wrong with having soda once in a while.

[bikerHen]

I remember when soda was a treat. Way back in the 60's. Gosh I feel old!

In college and beyond I use to drink diet pepsi all the time. I stopped when my daughter was about 4 years old. She saw me drinking it and thought that was what one should drink. Twenty year later, she has a serious milk, juice and tea habit and like her mother only drinks an occasional soda. About all I drink now is water, coffee and tea. And an occasional Scotch or Margarita.

It's nice to know, as a mother, I got at least one thing right! bikerHen