No pop:until 12 yrs.

[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

[Owlie]

I grew up with it as a treat--if we went out to eat (not common until I was 10ish) or for special occasions. I really only drink it now if I need a caffeine boost and don't want to drink coffee. I usually drink water...but Cleveland's water is nasty.

[GLC1968]

When I was a kid, we had it for special occasions. I remember that it was always offered at birthday parties but they always only had Coke and I hated the flavor of cola. I'd always ask for water and my friends parents always seemed surprised by that. My brother drank it though. He's no worse for the wear, either. No weight problem, no teeth problem and he looks easily 10 years younger than he really is. Of course, back then, soda was sweetened with real sugar...none of this fake HFCS crap.

I don't remember ever having soda at home, but I'm sure we did. I just chose not to drink it. We had sugar cereals, tons of candy at Halloween, baked goods out our ears at Christmas... but a meal was not a meal with veggies, so it all balanced out.

[e.e.cummings]

We don't drink soft drinks in our house, and my 9 year old son has never had any (unless he has been to birthday party and had it without my knowledge!) We don't miss it. He drinks lots of 1. water 2. milk 3. juice. Actually the dentist warned about drinking too much juice during school hours when he did not have the opportunity to brush his teeth, and he went off juice for a while! Lots of milk then. Boy did he grow.