Coke in a sippy cup !!

[poppet]

Over the festive season activities, we went to a couple of BBQ's. One in particular i saw a mother give her 23 mth old son coke in a sippy cup. I was mortified. I know, i know, each to their own, and who am i to judge, but i just could help thinking 'what is that doing to that little boys teeth?'. It happened thruout the whole day. Lovely, lovely lady mind you. I think she saw me looking when she was pouring like his 4th serving of coke into his sippy cup, and she said 'oh, he loves the stuff, gives me some peace and quiet' - oh......okay then.:eek:

[Tracey]

Yep, it takes all sorts to make the world spin... My kids never had anything other than milk or water in sippy cups & once Maddy mastered a cup holding it by herself only then if she asked did she get a bit of flavour in her milk or a bit of watered down juice..

I have a friend whose almost 3 yr old daughter drinks out of cups & cans of soft drink, but has to walk around with a donut style bottle (an oval hole in the middle) with coke or fruit juice or cordial in it!

I find that weird if she can drink out of cups & has cans of soft drink why the constant bottle too???

But I guess it works for them... I also wonder what the teeth will be like in the future as she takes the bottle with whatever contents are in it, to her cot every night!!???

[Astrid]

Can't find it now, but I read an article on how a child had to have all their teeth removed as the mother thought it was the normal thing to give their child a bottle of coke of an evening with some teaspoons of sugar added.

Not only does the sugar worry me, but what about the caffiene that would be running throught that poor child's system.

[nikbrad]

Uureal isn't it. All my neices and nephews have softdrink and the one time it was offered to Mackenzie (before I realised) she spat it out. Miss M will only drink water and Milk which I'm more than happy with (she won't touch juice either). I guess some people just don't think and will see the damage further down the track with a huge dentist bill and rotten teeth. I just feel for the kids. But as you said - each to their own.

[Pandora]

unbelievable. I see this sometimes if I take the train on the way home from work. Its insane.

[Tracey]

I must also add that the older sister (8yrs old) of the 3yr old I mentioned above weighs over 50kgs! The 3 yr old weighs over 35kgs.... Maddy & the 8yr old are a day apart with Maddy being older & yep I know she is tiny & petite but she weighs 21kgs!
They are also mixed Asian children, but the Dad says quite proudly, look your kids skinny, my kids chubby means I have more money to feed my kids!!!!
They actually try to forced food into maddy & it's not healthy food & they scoff at her when she asks for veggies with her meals!!!

Each to their own... I know the 8yr old has severe bowel & kidney issues as she is always at the Dr's & for the last 3 yrs they have been told to remove all sugars, choc & fats from her diet, but coz she cries about it they grab her 1 last chocolate (family block) on the wya home from Dr's & have never gone through with it... I wonder... Is that abuse???

[poppet]

wow, i cant believe they think that - fatter means richer !!! LOL it is almost hysterical....

Nutrious meals went out the window over xmas for my kids. Santa sacks full of lollies were much more interesting then broccoli and pasta.
after work last night i spent $30 at fruit and veges shop, there 2 days full of lollies and crap are over. My oldest actually asked for an apple yesterday..........

[Astrid]

Each to their own... I know the 8yr old has severe bowel & kidney issues as she is always at the Dr's & for the last 3 yrs they have been told to remove all sugars, choc & fats from her diet, but coz she cries about it they grab her 1 last chocolate (family block) on the wya home from Dr's & have never gone through with it... I wonder... Is that abuse???

I think it is. Definately is in the US. I saw on DR Phil that extremly overweight babies and toddlers were taken from their parents and placed into foster care, where thankfully they lost they weight and became healthy again.

[ShootingStar]

What i hate seeing while at the shops is kids/babies with coke in their bottles! Ive seem a few and was absolutely shocked. Whats wrong with juice if they want something flavoured! Theres no way my kids will be having coke for a very long time.

[Tracey]

Astrid, I cannot tell you how many times the school has called them to say they have taken her lunch from her as they send the 8 yr old to school with a can of softdrink & a fruit pop drink, 2 chocolate bars (full size) not a kids pkt of chips but you know those single bags you can get at the supermarkets (not the big ones but the single serve ones!) Plus a yogo! That's it...

At my place she constantly whinges that shes hungry & that can be after I have made a big bowl of fruit & yoghurt fopr Maddy & Her & her's is left untouched I just serve it up to her again & she says she's full, but then 10 mins later is hungry & wants a pkt of cheezels!

When she used to sleep over (I dont think she wants to anymore) I'd make a really big thing of veggies etc & she'd never eat any & actually tell me when she has friends over they usually get Take Away... I try but she wont eat anything healthy!!!

I do feel sorry for her coz next year in garde 3 & onwards is when kids will start to tease... Because she isnt shown better she will not be able to change & her sister is heading in exactly the same way...

The funniest thing is she will always say stuff to Maddy about being too small, skinny & POOR!??? Maddy doesnt get offended by anything like that & so she just ignores it..

[kmh]

Madison will only have soft drink when it is watered down, and the only reason she will have it is when her cousins have it, and i MAKE my BIL water it down. and if we do it, it is a cup full of water and a drop to colour the water, Madison loves her milk and will drink water, Why give children coke when there is so much better drinks out there, I try and not drink the stuff if possible.

[nikbrad]

Tracey, unfortunatly kids are more than not a product of their environment. I hope this poor little girls parents change their ways and quickly. This could almost be considered abuse! Not saying the parents are nasty people but sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind IYKWIM?

[Trillian]

As a rule, we don't let our kids have soft drink at all, except when we go out they have a glass of lemonade or raspberry. While I don't agree with what others do, I genuinely think they don't fully realise the harm it is doing to their children, or else why would they give it. I do think in the case where the child has become ill because of her diet, that if the parents refuse to follow Dr's orders, then it is a form of abuse. It would be the one case where I would say not to let the child get the upper hand over you and give in to them.

[Tracey]

Sherie,
This is exactly what these ppl we know do... We have actually distanced ourselves from them, as they would seriously be yelling at Maddy why doesnt she eat more etc & actually he said to my DH once...
You know if your kid gets sick, she has no fat to get better & might die!
So Dh said to him (Asians' they have no tact!) your kid gonna have a heart attack from so fat, the other Dad just laughed!!!

I once tried to help her at 4 or 5 yrs of age to put on bathers & they were a size 12 girls & I couldnt get them on her as they were seriously cutting off her circulation!

When the Mum has menmtioned the school & Dr's things to me, I have been really OTT, like OMG, I hope you can help her coz she will be a priome candidate for Diabetes etc, but she just said... It's hard when she loves all that stuff, we try, but what can you do she's just a kid!!!

I told her as her Mother she really should remove it from the house & her diet to save her from a life of injecting at the worst & she just shrugs!

The kid's definately rule their house!! The oldest eats a whole roast chicken to herself & they brag about it... Kinda like the only proud attention she gets is from the amount of food she can put away!!!!

[Trillian]

There is also a problem similar to this Tracey in China (when you talk of Asian people relating weight to wealth), which they think is partly to do with the one child policy, that they have turned their children into a nation of "Little Emperors" (which is their endearing nickname for them) by giving them food and lots of it and spoil them rotten because it is their only child and the Chinese are very affluent these days to be able to afford everything for them, but apparently Chinese medics are seeng rising numbers of obesity related problems you normally only see in adults and they are working really hard to try to combat this with national sports programs through school etc. There was a fab doco on SBS about it a while back.

[shellbell3]

I just saw the title and had to cringe. The occasional drink is not bad but that sounds like a regular thing. Plus why introduce a baby to coke? If they don't know about it they can't ask for it.

[lilprecious75]

I get so upset when I see kids eating junk food - it just drives me up the wall! Before my DS arrived in Feb I was a casual teacher and I was shocked at the play lunch and big lunch that some of the kids would bring to school. It is no wonder they struggled to stay awake and focus on the lessons.

My husband's family has a lot of health problems that are due to poor eating habits (diabetes, high cholesterol and heart problems) so I'm being VERY careful with the baby - to the point of being over cautious I'm sure but I would rather be safe then sorry.

When I was pregnant I only craved and could actually only eat really healthy food. I would actually get sick if I ate lollies and chocolate so I ate a lot of fresh fruit and veggies which I was very glad of - though I know not everyone is so lucky!!

Since DS turned 6 months (he is 10 months now) and has been eating solids, I am being careful what I give him. I make my own baby food and don't give him any of the custards or baby desserts you can buy. Hopefully I can instill good values in him when it comes to eating. It is okay to have "fun" foods in moderation - but a lot of people seem to have forgotten what moderation is. And in every aspect of life - not just food!

Thus far the only drinks James has are water and breast milk - and I'll add cow's milk when he turns one but I'm going to avoid juice as long as I can and forget the soft drink and cordial.

I think a lot of the problem is due to the fact that it is easier and more convenient to feed the kids something they will eat without a fuss. But who said parenting was supposed to be easy huh??? :P

I just about died when I read the comment about the mother who gives her child multiple sippy cups of coke because it gives her peace and quiet! WOW!!

[Rouge]

Even if its a treat I still think its not a good thing (sorry to disagree neverplan just my personal opinion). Paris is 4 and has never had coke in her life, she actually thinks its yucky (not that she's tried it) and if anyone were to offer it to her she says no and screws up her face.

*hugs*
Cailin