The juice problem!

[nukuspot]

I am concerned I have created one of those toddlers that is obsessed with juice. I personally never drink juice (unless I juice with my juicer or occasionally Knudsen blueberry juice.) I used to only give DD water in her sippy or BM from me to drink (she still BFs many times a day at 17 months).

However we were visiting family on the East Coast and it was super hot. DDs pee was dark colored and I was concerned she needed more liquids. It has always been hard to get her to drink much water from her cup, and she didn't want to BF, probably because she was so hot. So at my mother's suggestion I mixed about 1/6 organic apple juice in her sippy. She went CRAZY for it. The rest of that trip I mixed organic juice and coconut water in her water, never more than 1/2, and she stayed well hydrated.

HOWEVER...Now we are home and she points to her cup and says "JUICE" or brings it to me to fill. I always put just water in it and she takes a sip and throws it and says "Juice!". So I've been adding a splash of juice just for flavor to her water, about 1/8-1/6 of the amount of water. She seems very happy with this arrangement...But I have this weird guilt about it like she should just be happy with water and this is going to be bad in the long run.

Help...Did I do something bad here? If so, how can I fix it? She won't drink plain water anymore, even if I say "MMMM water" and show her how yummy it is.

BTW...We aren't talking about cups and cups of it a day, she still BFs for most of her liquids and maybe drinks just one "kleen kanteen" sippy of the juice/water mix a day.

[Baby_Cakes]

Oh man, same problem here! I dilute the juice so much it's basically water, but if I give her plain water she KNOWS. And she does the same thing, asks for "Juice??" and throws the cup.

[texaspeach]

we don't do juice but I don't see the problem as long as it's well diluted, she isn't falling asleep with it in her mouth and she isn't filling up on it and not wanting food/milk.

I would see if you can make it more dilute over time so she gets used to less and less flavor. maybe after a few weeks of gradual change you can get her to accept plain water again.

[tzs]

i hear you. i have a class of 18 month olds and on the one hand it really bugs me to see them go totally nuts over juice (and yeah, i water it down hardcore, but we have to give it to them as part of their meal if there is no milk.) they flip out. it's really annoying.
on the other hand, we have started them on open cups which most of them dont do at home and we had a couple of hold-outs who i thought couldn;t do it physically or not without complete help. i was worried about them getting dehydrated. but the first day of juice i learned otherwise. that one of them is a total pro but was holding out and just wasn;t motivated with teh milk. the other is not allowed even a taste of juice so poor kid (btw, i also dont allow my babe juice at the same school so i'm not juice-biased) never drinks and i have no idea if she would do so if motivated.

[Norasmomma]

Toddlers are quirky creatures and flip out about almost anything. Seriously.

It could be juice, not wearing clothes, whatever thing they are into. IDK I really don't see watered down juice to be that much of an issue, if it was a straight on sugar fest of undiluted juice, yeah that may be an issue, but if it's as diluted as you say, eh, let her have it.

FWIW-my DD is/was a milkaholic, she loooooooooves milk, she's 4 and it we diluted her milk at bed only. She drinks juice and at that age I swear she went though a phase of juice, but juice makes her like crazy bonkers, even diluted and especially at that age. Oh, geez did it ever. So we really monitored it.

[micah_mae_]

That happened to us except we had started because of constipation. We just diluted it more and more as time went on. Made sure we put lots of ice in it (he's like his mama and wants his drinks arctic) and gave it to him. He still calls it juice even though it's water.

[mamazee]

I don't think juice watered down to that extent is a big deal, personally. Give yourself a break and don't feel guilty!

[redvlagrl]

Personally, I don't give juice, however there have been times when she's had it (while doing the 3 day toilet training to encourage her to drink, in the car on long trips etc). I don't keep it in the house so if she wants to drink something it's water. If she asks I just say the juice is all gone and here is some water.

[just_lily]

We do juice in very limited amounts. I think it is ok for my daughter to ask for juice, and I also think it is ok for me to say "Not right now honey, if you are thirsty you may have water."

There have been times that she had a fit about it, so I just picked up her cup, set it on the coffee table and told her it was there for her if she changed her mind. Then I went about my business. Once she realized I wasn't giving in, she drank the water.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by micah_mae_

That happened to us except we had started because of constipation. We just diluted it more and more as time went on. Made sure we put lots of ice in it (he's like his mama and wants his drinks arctic) and gave it to him. He still calls it juice even though it's water.

Yes!! We started with apple juice with DD because she was so constipated, and I thought that was preferable to laxatives. But now I have a toddler that drinks 3 sippies a day of 1/3 juice 2/3 ice/water... which means a full sippy of juice a day.

I don't know how to stop it without dehydrating her, which I am NOT willing to do.

[rightkindofme]

I really don't care for the taste of water much so I drink more juice than is preferable. When my daughter is pushing for juice I give her a squirt of straight lemon or lime juice and she thinks it is awesome. There's not much sugar in it but it makes the water taste better.

[Drummer's Wife]

I agree that b/c it is so watered down, I wouldn't even worry about it. We don't do juice (except really rarely), mainly b/c I don't like it myself, so I don't think to buy it often. So, my kids have just never had it regularly to insist on having more.

[marispel]

Have you tried the V8 Fusion juice? My DS loves this. We do 1/4 cup of the V8 juice and the rest water. I have no problem with this because it has fruits and veggies in it. He still drinks milk and water - but loves his juice in the morning.

[The4OfUs]

at 1/8 to 1/6 ratio, I wouldn't sweat it. If it really bugs you I'd stick to the 1/8. Or see if she'll go for water with a lemon wedge or lime wedge or orange wedge in it, make it look fancier and more grown up!

[Everrgreen]

I also do a lemon wedge in my ds's water and he thinks it's awesome. He also really likes to drink out of 'adult' glasses, even if it's just plain water inside.

[JudiAU]

My sister always does this in a similar proportion. I don't but I would if I was worried about hydration. I would just keep the mix low 1:6 or so and maybe you can wean her off in time.

Sometimes, a different cup can help like drinking water out of your glass. It seems special.

[Honey693]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

Oh man, same problem here! I dilute the juice so much it's basically water, but if I give her plain water she KNOWS. And she does the same thing, asks for "Juice??" and throws the cup.

This is what's happening at our house. I just give in and give her the splash of juice. It's not impacting her solid food eating and she's eating just as much real fruit so I'm just trying to think of it as extra calories. The only time I don't budge on water only is bedtime. It took a few days, but she finally got that juice is not for bedtime.