Alternative Drinks for My Toddler

I put icecubes in her water and a squirt of lemon juice and call it lemonade.. she LOVES it. Plus she thinks she's getting an adult drink as I drink it too.. :D

there is a reason why he is craing hte sweets mabye too much yeast in his gut? is he on a probiotic does he eat any meat or protein try feeding mroe protein and less wheat and dairy to help the balance out
J.

Hi L.,
When my chidren were that age, they too didn't like water. I used to put a marachino cherry in their glass of water, and once they got to the bottom, there was their treat. Another great way to spruce up water, is to add aa couple drops of lemon juice to it, and/or a slice of it to pretty them jup. Another option, is fruit/veggie smoothies. It's an easy way to sneek in their veggies for the day.
Take care,
L.

At this age, you just tell them, they HAVE to drink water, "we don't get juice anymore". Then you can offer milk at meals and water the rest of the day. He is unlikely to get dehydrated during this time of year from going a day without water and will drink the water eventually when he's thirsty. I would expect a tantrum or two, but I think cold turkey is the way to go. Once a good routine is established you can give the occasional "treat" of juice. Good Luck!

Our dentist and Doctor believe there is really no benefit for juice, so our kids get vertually none, only V8 fusion watered done, we just do not buy it so it is not in the house. Milk(with every meal) and water are it. We never introduced juice so it has not been an issue for us, but you may want to ask you doctor and dentist their thoughts. My kids are happy with either milk or water, was wondering why people want to give their kids other types of drinks? What for? Are their chemicals in those other drinks people have mentioned? Why put that stuff in their bodies? Why the added sugar?
Good Luck, I would say milk or water are your choices.

My son loves Propel (flavored water). Our Nurse Practitioner said that it is fine for him to have. There are tons of flavors too!

My son likes the crystal light Fruit punch. We don't give it to him all of the time, since he prefers water to milk.

I have the BEST idea..and I had the same issue...I use "Emergen-C" it's a packet of 1,000 mg of Vitamin C with 32 mineral complexes and B vitamins...It comes in a ton of flavors and I add it to water..(not the whole packet, about 1/3) and she sees that it's "colored" and has some taste to it...Mostly, it's healthy healthy healthy...plus she's drinking all water. Propel has sugar substitute..not as healthy as some might think. Gerber splashers are still loaded with sugars and other "substitutes". Gatorade has a lot of sugars too. I agree with the mom who uses Apple Cider with water.. another great drink...Watch out for the 100% juice trick...don't buy any that say from concentrate..just 100% natural..(usually only apple) good luck. m

I will be honest that I didn't read the 26 other responses but I wanted to give you what works for my daughter. If this is a repeat I am sorry.

Our solution was simple.....ICE!!! Once I started adding ice to her water she loved it and she started drinking more. Go figure. She loves to hear the rattling of the ice.

Good luck!

A flavored, no caffeine, herbal tea that is very diluted then made gradually stronger until you hear YUM!

Please don't give your son soda. My oldest son had an issue with his hip when he was born so he had to see an orthopedic specialist. The doctor told me that the best thing you can do for your children's bones is to not give them soda. He said that the soda leaches out the calcium in your bones and will cause osteoporosis at an early age. He said then (about 13 years ago) that he was seeing so much osteoporosis in young people (mid 20's) from them drinking too much soda. So we only have soda in our house when we have a big family party. My sons are teens now and their friends actually look forward to the different juices and alternative drinks we have in our home. I just heard on the radio that teens are actually drinking less soda. Just keep diluting that juice for your baby, that's the best.

I just love giving my daughter the light v-8 splash juice she then gets all her fruits and vegs. she loves it and I do not mind her having it because of all the vitamins in it. try or look at that.

How about pedialite or weak tea that has been sweetened lightly. Green tea is awesome. Juice is great but too much can lead to acid tummy.

Have you tried filtered water or the flavored water? Maybe he just doesn't like the taste of tap water if that is what your using. The other alternative would be that if he's thirsty enough just give him the water. If he's really thirsty he will drink it or maybe start getting used to it. Then stick to Milk for meals and a small cup of juice for snacks. That way he's still getting his fluids and won't get dehydrated. I am fortunate enough my 20 month old likes water, so I'm not really sure on any other advice. hope this helps.
H.

Don't know if anyone else mentioned it, but Clif brand is now making a kid friendly electrolyte drink mix. I bought some at Fruitful Yield and it is very good. All natural, no high fructose corn syrup or coloring. I also give my son Vitamin Water when he won't drink "regular" water. They are just sweet enough to be enticing to little guys.

try Propel powder packets, i hate regular plain water, and need the flavor. i really like the lemon (its a sweet tasting, crisp lemon flavor). i get the packets and put it in a 20 oz. bottle. it takes me about a week to go thru the 10 packets of powder, and it's about 3 bucks. it's by the kool-aid in my grocery store. with summer coming, he will really need to benefit of extra hydration.

I found a flavored water drink by Gerber Graduates. It's called Fruit Splashers. It has 40% less sugar than the leading 100% fruit juice,100% daily value vitamin C, 10% calcium and 3 B vitamins, and no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. Fruit Splashers have 15g of sugar per 8 fl. oz. serving compared to 27g of sugar per 8 fl. oz. serving of 100% apple juice. It comes in 3 different flavors: Kiwi Strawberry Splash, Grape Splash and Tropical Fruit Splash. You can get a coupon on gerber.com. I've bought them from Walgreens, Ultra Foods, Walt's and they sell them a few other stores. My daughter loves them. You should try them . ithnk they are about $2.oo and some change.

There is a new product called Wateroos, they sell it at Garden Fresh and Sunset Foods. I haven't tried it, but have heard good things about it.

www.wateroos.com

How about the flavored waters? It's still water, but with a twist of fruit flavor!

Try a flavored water, but be sure to check that it does not have aspartame (many of them do). Perrier or La Croix are good options - they come in flavors, but they are carbonated so your child might not like that at first. I drink a lot of Perrier and my daughter always wanted to drink it if I had it. The first few times she made funny faces because of the fizz! But now she loves it. There are no calories and it comes in lemon, lime and I think other flavors (maybe orange?) Check your grocery store for options.

Hope this helps!

L. A.

I had the same problem with my babysitting kids. All I kept doing was add a little less juice in the water and by the end of two weeks I had the kids drinking water with no juice in it. Try that I hope it works for you as it did for me.
L. B.

My 23 month old twins drink milk, juice, and finally water. It's recommended that they only get 4 oz of 100% fruit juice per day. I never give it straight - it's always 4 oz juice and 4 oz of water. When the doc said they were drinking too much milk (they should be at 16 oz per day and the rest of their nutrition and calories coming from food), he said they needed to drink water if they were thirsty, period. To get them to make that switch - since I believe they weren't actually thirsty but their cups were like a pacifier or soother of sorts - I gave them water in a sippy cup with juice ice cubes. The juice they normally drink is just apple, so I got fruit punch Juicy Juice to give it a different taste. I just pour the juice into the ice trays. I started with 3 juice ice cubes in each 6 oz cup of water. Then went down to 2 and 1 and now just plain water. I also give them their milk, juice, and water in different cups. It sounds odd, but then they know what they're getting if it's in X cup...it's consistent, not sneaky, and I'm not surprising them. They respond well to that routine. They also think that drinking water through a regular straw or out of a little dixie cup is great. They drink so much more then just because it's fun. When I give them water, they still sometimes ask for juice, but they know now they're getting their one cup a day and that's it. If we are in the car or out or something, I'll just bring water, and they realize it's their only option, so if they're really thirsty, they'll drink it!

I have been buying the flavored water juice boxes. I think one is called Roaring Waters.

My son drinks the yogurt smoothy drinks. He loves them. In the isle at the grocery store where the yogurt is. My son is going to be 2 next week.

L.:

I have 3 kids and we only buy gatorade from the grocery store. There is also a juice brand which has water within it. I buy these juice boxes for my 5 year old to put in her lunch box. My twins - who are 3 - drink only milk, gatorade, and water. We are really pushing the water more and it has worked out fine. I think as your toddler gets older, he will enjoy drinking water more. I understand your concern as I feel I am always looking at the back of bottles and cartons for sugar content. You should give yourself an 'A' for effort on this as when I see parents loading their kids with soda, it makes me cringe. My kids do not even know what soda is.

Keep doing what you are doing... Water down the juice a little bit more and more. My three year old asks for "juice" constantly all day. We are down to 9 drops of real 100% fruit juice in every full size sippy cup of water. I actually counted one day. Smoothies are also fun to make with toddlers use yogurt, milk and any bagged frozen fruit. I never met a toddler that didnt love drinking them and love making them!

Shaklee has a sports drink called Performance which comes in lemon lime and orange. You can flavor the water with it or give it as a drink. Shaklee doesn't use any artifical flavors, colors or preservatives in any of their products and have a 50 year history of product integrity. Splenda and other artificial sweeteners are getting added into a lot of products these days. Several months ago I was searching for a flavored water that wasn't artifically sweetened, I only found one company in California who used a natural sweetener. Every other company was adding artificial sweeteners.

I have found that it is best to not even introduce juice or pop to your toddlers. Water and milk are the only fluids they need. Water is cleaner and healther. As a matter of fact, corn syrup in elderly has shown to decrease their brain activity. Corn syrup is in Capri Sun, Sunny Delite, soda, and just about everything. I just thought I'd warn you especially since all the kids will be outside and asking for a juice box. If you must, Give juice that is cloudy. It contains more of the fruit verses the filter juices and therefore healthier. I have been giving my son apple cider with water. My little girl is not going to have juice as long as she is with me. I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear but it is true.

Best of health to you and your family

My daughter loves the Danimal yogurt drinks. They come in quite a few flavors.

How about some caffeine-free herbal iced tea? There are loads of fruit flavors, and you can brew your own to make it the strength that's right for your son. Plus, it's sugar free.

Try putting one of those 3 gallon spicket containers in your fridge and let him fill the water into his cup by himself (with a lttle assistance from mom of course). You can find them in the bottled water section. It's very important for us all to drink water. We americans don't drink enough of it.

my 23 month old loves gatorade. he prefers it over juice. He also loves water especailly with ice in it why not try adding a piece of fruit to his water so it gives him a litle flavor, lemon, lime, oranges even grapes or watermelon. Good Luck

Maybe you could put his water in a cool water bottle. We bought my son a pirate waterbottle and my daughter a Hello Kitty one from www.mysigg.com. (They are the eco friendly ones that don't leach plastic. It makes the water taste fresh, even if you don't change it for weeks.) We also bought two for ourselves. We like not buying throw-away waterbottles for our outings, plus tap water has flouride so it's better for the kids.
Anyway my son likes his waterbottle so much that he brings it instead of a juice box to school. He calls it his Pirate Water.

I just moved here with my 2 daughters (2 & 4) from Hawaii. Since the beginning they have loved coconut water. It is so good for them! It is the closest thing to human blood. We were sadly thinking we would have to give them up, but recently found that if we order them by the box (of 9) they are only $11/box (at Caputo's). To me, for the amazing healthy goodness of fresh alive and nutrition-loaded sweet drink that they love, the price is right! Together they drink 1 small one, so the box would go a long way for your little guy. I am not talking about the brown cocos with the hard meat inside. I am talking about the white ones in the cooler area of the produce dept. They also have a sweet delicious and soft meat inside that my girls love. If you are interested get back to me and I'll describe how I open them (very easy with a big kitchen knife).

Give it a try... :)

I agree that water and milk should be the primary drinks. Juice is not good for the teeth, or health (when it replaces food) as has been mentioned. All the nutrients in juice is better recieved from the fruit itself. Your son, along with SOOO many others have simply "learned" to not like water (my husband was the same way). It takes intention to retrain them to like water again. The sweet taste of course is "better" than water given the choice, but when water is what is available, it tastes really good as a thirst quencher...just need to not have juice so readily available. My kids ask for water over milk relatively often. They especially love water in a water bottle I refill for them. So a fun container is also a good idea as has been mentioned. I drink water all day long. The kids have milk at meals and water between meals generally. We started juice with potty training as it helped to train my first son so fast. It is treated the same as candy here and referred to as a "treat". My first son especially LOVES it. He gets one glass a day when he wants it, so not even every day and that's his treat that day (except when we have parties or something of course...then he gets more treats). All under the category of juice are juice, flavored milk, yogurt drinks, etc./anything that's not regular milk or water. A child's "normal" is what you determine it to be. So my kid's are very happy with that seeing it as normal and you could train your son to know juice is not the regular daily drink, as well. Best wishes to you!

How about adding some fruit to the water - like a slice of lemon, lime or orange? Or if you want to get a little more creative, try pineapple or grapefruit.

My sister kept giving my niece juice w/water diluted all day and she stopped eating because she filled up on it. She even only had like a 1/4 cup of the juice and 3/4 water, but because it was sweet my niece drank it all dayl. She finally had to just start letting her run around w/a sippy cup of water and she only got juice or milk when she was up at the table. Shortly after that my niece started drinking the water because it was what she had available to her.

Does he drink milk? If he doesn't drink milk, then try those yogurt type drinks. I know plenty of kids that drink those instead of milk. They still have milk for their growing bones, but taste yummy. Good luck!

I would keep trying with the water, it's so great if you can get them to drink it. My son (17 months) loves when I put ice cubes in his water in the sippy cup. Makes it more fun. He has always been a great water drinker, so this might not help you, but he does seem to be even more interested than usual when it has ice cubes in there. Also a sippy cup with a fun straw could help? I don't think your son needs anything besides water, milk, and some diluted juice at this point. One thing we've done with the juice also is to juice it fresh with our juicer. This is pretty time consuming, but we do it on the weekends when we have more time and you can store it for 24 hours if you use some lemon or lime juice in there. That also reduces the amount of sugar he's getting and it tastes great!

My daughter also does not care for water except for when she is eating a meal. I do give her a total of approx 4-8 oz of juice a day... I only use the V8 V-Fusion. I dilute it into 4 sippy cups. This also provides 2 servings of fruits and veggies per serving- which is wonderful if you have a child who does not like them. Also has antioxidants and vitamins A,C and E. It has no added sugars to it either! The only downside to it is that it is more costly than some of the other juices out there... but cost vs benefit.

I also am trying to find other alternatives to this and have looked at the Yogurt drinks but they are also costly and higher in calories as well as sugar for a smaller size bottle.

I will keep checking back here to see if you found a solution! I am interested in knowing other things as well... I hope you find something. Many blessings to you and yours!

Target brand "Archer Farms" flavored water is awesome. Our kids drink it and think they are getting a treat.

Only give juice at the dinner table. The rest of the day you just offer water. At first, he will protest, but he needs his water and when he gets thirsty enough, he'll start drinking the water. Just put it in a sippy and give it to him.

Puree fruit, strawberries, pineapple, etc. and pour them into an icecube tray, freeze. After frozen, add one to the water bottle. It turns a natural color from the fruit and adds extra flavor as it melts, also keeps the water cool.
N.-Nutrition Naturally
www.jp4ahealthieryou.com

My kids love yogurt drinks!!! Great healthy drink!

Sounds like the best bet is to just put enough in to add flavor. I would just be sure to avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup, which is an ingredient now in everything from flavored water to bread. Our bodies can't process it, and it goes directly to fat storage. I believe it's even in the V8 drinks, but I'm not sure. That and of course, like you said, the additives that we don't know what the results will be in later years (like saccharine).
I think the best suggestion was to add some fruit sliced up, or really weak tea. Just reduce and reduce until you find he's almost back to just water.

good luck!

My son wouldn't drink anything but juice or chocolate milk for a while, but what I started doing is only bringing water when we went out. So he had no other choice if he was thirsty. We also bought fun water bottles with sippy tops that he liked to play with. Now at meals I ask "Milk or water" and if he says 'juice' I choose milk or water and thats what he gets.

I make the crystal light drinks and water them down for my kids. They love them. I got both of my kids to drink water by taking a bottle of water and freezing it. The other thing is I bought the jugs that are like sports bottles and told them they could only have water in them.
B.

Hi L.,
I have two children 6 and 2. They have rarely had cow's milk and are on the top of the growth charts. As for the juice, I also agree it is not good and that is why we only buy fruit smoothies such as Bolthouse Farms or Naked Juice. They actually have fiber in them and are thicker. If you were to water them down, you would be buying less juice and he would be getting a lot of nutrition. My children have little issue with water mostly because the older one has always loved it and the younger one loves to imitate him!
Good Luck.