Offering Juice

A comment about your MIL's "good enough for you kids..." blurb:
Back when her children were growing up, ingredients were more natural.....there's not a lot left that has been left for nature to do its course.....our food sources (crops and animals) get contaminated water and growth enhancers and all kinds of human intervention - even organic isn't as natural as it once was. Kids these days do not get the nutrition content that we took for granted.

Hi J.,
I would hold off on the juice as long as you can. My pediatrician always frown at juice use with babies/toddlers. They don't need it, in fact, it is not very good for them. Has a lot of sugar, etc. I think your instincts have been right on in this case. My mom had tried the same "I did it with you and you're just fine" guilt trip too... but I realized that her own parenting came under attack (she did it to herself, not me) when I did things differently from her. The "talk" that helped? I told her that a lot of things have changed in 30 something years... we have more research and medical evidence that suggest that eating /drinking (whatever it is) is not the very healthy/good for a baby this age... If we/you knew this information when I was a baby, you probably would have done something different too. Once my mom stopped feeling so inadequate... things got MUCH better! Good luck

Hi J.,
No, he isn't missing anything from not having juice. He doesn't need it. Sounds like you are doing a good job with feeding him. Make sure to stick to your guns with your MIL.
Chris

according to my doctor no. We didn't start juice until 1yr old and he still doesn't get full strength, we water it down 50/50. Juice doesn't provide the nutrients he needs, the food you are feeding him along with his formula/breastmilk is providing most of it.

I was told, a Mom knows best! You know your child and you know how you feel and how you want things to be. It isn't up to your MIL or anyone else. I have an Aunt that wanted me to start giving him solid table food at 4mo "that's what I did"....I know, it isn't right for me or my son. You can start weening from bottles to sippy cups at 9mo but just put milk in it. I made the mistake of never putting milk/formula in it and now my son refuses to drink them from a sippy cup.

J.

If you start your baby on some of these kinds of foods too early, they could develop food allergies. Most people do not know this. The allergies in children have gone up significantly and this is part of the problem

I don't think your son is missing anything. When my son was your son's age, I started giving him half water and half juice, but then I stopped cuz I thought about all the sugar content. He drank milk and water out of his sippy cups even after his 1st bithday and beyond. My son his very healthy and right on the charts.

As for your MIL, how could you take a 9 1/2 mth old off the bottle? I have a 14 mth old still on her bottle and she's fine. I think that is way too young to even think of that. Good luck with your son and MIL:)

Absolutely NOT! My pedi warned me to keep my daughter off of juice, it is very high calorie, even 100% juice, and they get everything they need from actual fruit. Get them to learn to drink water, it is the best habit a child can form that will benefit them the rest of their life!!!!

Our daughter gets juice once in a while when we eat a nice dinner, and all she wants to do is guzzle it down before eating. I know I'd be battling getting her to eat meals and drink water if juice was a part of her diet.

Stick to your guns with MIL, and when you do do juice, mix it at least 50% with water. You're the mommy and you get to decide and she NEEDS to respect your wishes. These are formative times for your child's taste buds and its best to get them used to eating healthy foods now!

Best wishes

I wouldn't give him juice...as my ped said...it's just calories. I didn't give my son juice until he was 2 and then from 2-3 it was at least 50% water. My 22 mos old is a juice fiend...it was hard to keep her away when he brother got juice.

Stick to your guns about food. He is your child and your MIL should respect your wishes. (although graham cracker and unsalted saltines are probably ok:))

At least your MIL is asking, instead of just doing what she wants. Just trying to look on the bright side here. You know that nutritionally you are doing fine, and she wants to get the warm fuzzies about spoiling her grandchild, and eventually you will find a happy medium. If you let her give him a treat once in a great while, it really isn't going to hurt him and may pacify hher for awhile. His eating habits will change quickly throughout the next year, and these disagreements won't even matter then.

My son is 12.5 months and has never had juice. It is definitely not needed. Also- my son still takes his milk in a bottle. I am in no rush to stop. He drinks water from a sippy, but milk from a bottle.

As a side note- I hear what your saying about the "it was fine 30 years ago." Sometimes my mom makes it seem like I am judging the way she raised me by doing it differently. She is very supportive, but I can tell it bothers her at times.

Hi J.-Youare smart to not do the juice! My girls (now 8 & 10) NEVER had anything but milk and water. If they go to a party, they might have a capri sun, but otherwise, never. They are super healthy, no visits to the Dr except well checks, and never one ear infection! Your baby is sooo young! My girls never had a bottle, but I don't think 9 1/2 mos is time to get rid of it yet. He needs the nutrition from his bottles still. Your MIL needs to do as you ask-things are different now-when we were kids there weren't car seats either, but things progress for the better, and she needs to accept that. She needs to know you are not putting her down for the old ideas, we just have more information available, and things have advanced!
Good luck!

Our children only get milk and water until they are 2! They do not NEED juice and we are trying to set up a good habit of drinking water.

Hello,

My son (who is now 11) never drank juice either. He just didn't like it and we didn't push it. Actually he doesn't like anything but water. When he was 3 -4 years old the parents would kind of look at me like I was a bad mother because he didn't drink juice (ie Juice boxes and all the commercial stuff) but now they envy me because he doesn't drink soda or the energy drinks. I asked the Pediatrician way back about it and he thought it was wonderful. Encouraged me to give him cut up fruit for the same nutrients and more fiber.

Your MIL wants to give all those sweet treats to your child because it will gratify HER - she wants to see the smile on his face when he puts a wad of sugar-laden whatever in his mouth - clearly for her benefit as he gets nothing out of it nutrition-wise. At 9 months of age, he doesn't need it and seriously, people need to start thinking about good food habits when their kids are young. Obesity is at epidemic levels with kids as young as two! Your MIL probably is the type who overfeeds her pets too with people food because it makes her happy, even though it is terrible for the animal. My mom is exactly the same!! Her dog looks like a giant sausage. I will get off my soapbox now!

my kids didn't get juice untill closer to a year old and when i did give them juice it was watered down, they drink it a little more now, but its amazing how sometimes they choose and ask for water over juice, which drives my mom crazy lol

I would keep him on the water thing, juice does have alot of sugar, some more than others. I think the key is this...is it regular sugar or one of the many "-oses" High fructose corn syrup isn't good. Now the news is it contains high levels of mercury. EATING the fruit is better than the juice anyway. He is taking formula and the other foods you mentioned. No worries. As for the snacky things and your MIL...you could take your own snacks for him when he is in her care so she doesn't sneak in ones of HER choice. Battles with MILs are no fun! Good Luck!

I don't think he needs juice yet - water is fine - and his bottles more important for sure. I do think, thought, that your MIL has got half her idea right - she wants to introduce more table food to him but I don't think salty crackers are a good idea or frosting! Instead, he should be having the food you and your husband have the night before heated up for a meal - mashed or chopped up finely. Don't put salt in the food beforehand, add it at the table for yourselves, and don't make things too spicy. Also, check with your doctor, but soon he can have things like cottage cheese, mashed avocado and banana, chopped up small pieces of peach......don't be afraid of giving him real food instead of baby food. It's much better if you can give him a huge variety of regular food. Also, how about strips of toast with butter on for him to suck on (actually, check about the butter, can't remember if dairy products are introduced yet - may have to a margarine like Smart Balance). Best of luck - Alison

I gave juice to my kids (now 8 and 11 years) and regret it. I wished I only gave them the actual fruit and water in sippy cups. Juice is really just sugar water even if 100%! My kids now really do not like water and only want juice. Stick to your guns with the foods. Your gut feeling is correct!!!! Call your pediatrician for more factual info. Infants do not need the sugar or frosting, keep up the good eating habits. Tell MIL your Dr recommends no sugary juices or foods??

J.; no you are doing well if they are eating the 3 jars for lunch im assuming one of those is fruit, even when you do offer juice they only need 4 oz a day, even us adults, my sister in law gave her son juice all the time, and it was not good for him his urine was dark orange in color and very very stinky, when i went to dr, with my child i asked him about it, he said urine should never be that dark nor should it stink, and that only 4 oz a day not an all day thing, it filled him up and he did nt want to eat any other food, i cut him back on his juice when with me and he was right he was a much better and happier child and ate good foods as well, drinking the right things helped his urine to run clear and not stinky , so dont worry about pushing juice, if you do keep it to one 4 oz a day, have fun and it sounds like you are doing good, on giving him the good foods, he will get juice and fruit in the jars, but you can have it in a sippy cup, during te day, and most juices need to be watered down for young ones, buy the gerber juice, and see what he likes my kids would not drink it either, unless watered down, have a good day ,D. s

There is nothing wrong with juice. It will not hurt your baby to have juice.. but he doesnt need it and will be fine without it.

There is no more sugar in juice than in some of the baby food fruits.

My daughter hated juice and prefers milk and water. my son loves juice adn would live on juice.

Juice is basically liquid sugar...as long as he is getting fruit during the day there is really no reason to introduce Juice at all.

In my humble opinion he is not missing anything by not having juice, since he is drinking water from a sippy I would stick with that. Apple Juice could be given but diluted with water. My 2 boys rarely received juice, they are now 14 and 7, and will grab water or milk over any other beverage. Good luck with you MIL, stand your ground though! :-)

Your son does not need juice and is not missing anything. While the juice itself is not bad (kids need calories), there are a lot of side effects. One is that it is bad for their teeth to be sipping sugary liquids a lot or all day. kids tend to drink over long periods from bottles or sippies at this age. the other problem is that kids who are fine with milk or water then want the juice once they get a taste of it.

i give my daughter watered down juice only occasionally, if i feel she hasn't had enough to drink, or if it's really hot out or if she is sick and needs fluids because i know she will drink it down. when we haven't had it in the house for a while, she forgets about it. she is underweight, but i prefer her not to have it because it is so bad for her teeth!

There really is no nutritional value in juice so not giving it to her is a good idea. My kids mostly drink milk or water and my daughter doesn't like juice at all (my son will drink it, though).

Also, in regard to your mother-in-law, sometimes you have to just let it go as long as she isn't with them all the time. My mother-in-law loves to fill my kids up with sweats and I used to get upset about it until I realized it wasn't a battle worth fighting. Yes, my kids see her regularly, but they also have a balanced diet with us and at daycare so the junk they eat with her is more of a special thing and not everyday.

I don't think he's missing anything by not having juice. Most dentists will tell you to stay away from it anyhow. You are right to be worried about the sugar...even in the 100% formulas. Fruits produce their own sugar so even 100% juice still has it...but that goes for normal fruit too.

If you want to experiment with juice I see nothing wrong with it. I used to just water it down for my girls. That way they get the flavor and only a little sugar.

If he is still taking a bottle, now may be a good time to try to ween. I did that with my girls so they would be off the bottle by one year. What I would do was start by making the formula cooler than normal, gradually making it colder and colder every few weeks. This will prep him for milk as well. I also would put their formula in a sippie once in a while to get them acclimated. My oldest wouldn't drink warm formula from her sippie, it had to be cold for some reason. Fine by me! Made transition much easier!

Good luck with everything. Also, although it's a bit of a pain,I'm sure she means well LOL. Sometimes though it's not a bad thing to let her give him new things...just think of what she's giving him when you AREN'T there! Try sending over some of those fruit and veggie puffs. Or cheerio's. Something not too intimidating for your son, but just enough to make MIL happy. My cousin...we're old school Italian...her baby is only 6 months and she is already eating pasta, bread, cookies, all kinds of things...as soon as she got a few teeth she was pretty much eating like the rest of us! You just have to watch them and your baby will give you hints as to whether or not he's ready.

hi there!! well i have a little girl 7.5 mon and i only give her juice now and then it is not a big deal that they dont get juice everyday. as for the mil you need to tell her take a step back you are the mom. i know it is hard. tell her when he turns 1 then we can get rid of the bottle and as for cracker and things he can start having those things but i would give them to him first then when you are coffy then tell her that she can do it but to tell you the truth she prob gives that stuff to him anyway without you knowing i do have other kids 9 and 7 and my 9 year old was on all people food by 10 mon he was ready and the dr gave me the go so go luck with it all and stay strong with the mil

Hi J. - I have a 2 yr old and a 1 yr old and neither of them get juice very often. They eat fresh fruits almost everyday so they don't need juice. I had issues with my SIL when I told her that I didn't give the kids juice. She thought I was nuts, but her kids have rotten teeth at the age of 8. So stick to your guns.