fresh orange for toddlers

jopsey

As every parent I want the best for my little boy who is 20 months old ,I only gave him water to drink but when he got aware of other childrens drinks ie fruitshoots and a lot worse ,I gave him fresh orange or apple which he loves .

A friend of mine has warned me that drinking fresh orange through a straw can be as bad for the teeth as a sugary drink

I normally buy asda smart price cartons if out and about ,or just asda own brand juice if this makes any difference

astonsmummy

I'm not sure if it's as bad as sugary drinks, i used to give ds wartered down fesh orange, no squash though, but now he just has water coz he constantlu wants a drink if he has juic :rolleyes:

victory

I am not sure about the sugary side with the straw but when I gave it to my son when he was little it gave him the trots!!
Orange juice is quite acidic and harsh on the stomach so did not give him anymore, even now years later he only has a very little if at all xxxx

tankgirl1

i also give DS watered down fresh orange, on the advice of the doc as he has a tendancy to be constipated, and this seems to help.

however i'd be interested to know if its ok for his teeth!! especially as he is going through a stage of refusing to brush them! :eek:

tankgirl1

astonsmummy wrote:

I'm not sure if it's as bad as sugary drinks, i used to give ds wartered down fesh orange, no squash though, but now he just has water coz he constantlu wants a drink if he has juice :rolleyes:

lol- DS had a fruitshoot at my sisters house, and almost downed the whole bottle in one :rotfl:

lottee

Not too sure on the best brands, but I always make up cordial for my son quite 'watery' if that makes sense!
But he is getting to the age now where he asks for coke and other fizzy drinks... I have told him that if little boys drink too much coke then their teeth may fall out !!! Wicked I know, but it works!

fatnbald

Pure orange is very acidic and damages the teeth enamel, advice from dentists is to give it watered down for children, even until they get their 2nd teeth, according to my dentist.

Using a straw does concentrate to flow to one particular area so it would worsen the effect in that area, brushing the teeth afterwards would help but the taste of toothpaste and orange juice is horrible lol

astonsmummy

I'm sure i read on here that brushing straught after sugary drinks is actually worse for the teeth, i'm sure it was toothsmith who said it.

fesdufun

I was advised not to brush your teeth straight after drinking acidic juice as it is better to wait for your saliva to neuturalise the acid.

IMO it is better to give just water or milk between meals and offer watered down pure fruit juice with meals. Did you get a book from your health visitor? - "Birth to five" as it mentions drinks for the under fives in this.

The other advantage to getting your child use to drinking plain water is it is also always available. I buy a pack of bottled water with cartoon characters on them and just refill with plain tap water.

In terms of brands of juice I look for juice that is "not made from concentrate" although this is more expensive.

HTH

Justie

as fesdufun says if you have any worries about any forms of drinks then only give them to your child at meal times and stick to water in between. I've noticed with my godson that if he has lemonade (he doesn't get offered coke) then he's hyper because of the amount of sugar in it, noticeable different to having juice even undiluted.

Becles

I always gave mine watered down fresh juice, or watery high juice squash.

There are natural sugars in fruit juices, but IMO they are better for children than loading a drink with other sugars and sweetners.

I was told not to use a straw as it's bad for teeth, as the drink swills over the teeth and lingers in the mouth, whereas when you drink from a cup, it goes straight down with no lingering. My two only had straws occasionally, and I weaned them off training cups and onto normal cups as soon as they were steady enough to hold one for the same reason. Bottles for toddlers can also damage teeth.