Juice and toddler drinks

AAP's 2017 juice policy and CDC toddler tips match. Children 1 to 3 years should have no more than 4 ounces of 100% fruit juice a day, with food, not in a sippy bottle that lasts the afternoon. Whole fruit is the better default. AAP juice policy is the paper. The parent version is: you can skip juice entirely.

CDC milestones by 15 months and CDC milestones by 2 years say water, human milk, or plain milk. Skip sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and flavored milks. Those are not hydration strategies. They are desserts wearing athletic clothes.

A pouch of juice in the stroller is still juice. A smoothie that is mostly fruit juice is still juice. Read the label. If sugar is doing the heavy lifting, it does not become a vegetable because it is cold.

Try this

1. Default to water and milk. Serve juice only if you mean to.
2. If you serve juice, pour 4 ounces with a meal and stop.
3. Offer whole fruit instead of a second pour.
4. Leave toddler milks on the shelf unless a clinician asked for them.
5. Give other caregivers the same rule so weekends do not undo the week.

Dentists see the all-day cup. Pediatricians see the child who is full of sweet liquid and not interested in lunch. You can prevent both conversations with a smaller glass and a closed kitchen between snacks.

If a grandparent believes juice is a vitamin, hand them the AAP sentence and the fruit bowl. You do not need a speech. You need a shared pour.

In the house this month

Restaurants will hand you a juice as if it were water. Ask for a cup of water. Bring your own if you need to. You do not have to make a scene. You have to make a pour.

Dried fruit and fruit cups in syrup are not the same as a clementine. If you want fruit, offer fruit. If you want a sweet, call it a sweet and keep it small.

Toddler drinks in the formula aisle are priced like insurance. They are not insurance. They are a can. The clinician can tell you if your child needs something other than food and milk.

If a caregiver believes juice prevents constipation, talk about water, fiber, and the clinician instead. Juice as medicine becomes juice as a habit by Thursday.

What you can skip

Skip juice as a vitamin. Skip sports drinks. Skip a sippy that lasts the afternoon.

Skip arguing with a grandparent for twenty minutes. Hand them the four-ounce sentence and the fruit.

Keep the range in view

You can skip juice. If you serve it, 4 ounces of 100% juice with food is the ceiling. Water and milk do the everyday work. Toddler drinks are marketing unless a clinician ordered them.

Check in if

Call your pediatrician or dentist if most calories are coming from sweet drinks, if teeth worry you, or if the child refuses water and milk. Bring the actual cartons to the visit if that helps you tell the truth.

Related ages: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 24-36 months. Pillars: Food.

Sources

1. Heyman MB, Abrams SA. Fruit juice in infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2017;139(6):e20170967. publications.aap.org
2. American Academy of Pediatrics. Healthy beverage quick reference. AAP PDF
3. CDC. Milestones by 15 months. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/15-months.html
4. CDC. Milestones by 2 years. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/2-years.html