Juice
I even struggle with this in my personal life. Just last week at my boys’ birthday party, a friend of ours asked where the “kids juices and waters” were. We had water, lemonade pitchers, and adult beverages, but hadn’t thought of “kid beverages” like juice boxes or flavored water pouches, because our daughter only drinks water and white milk. I wasn’t prepared for the fact that water and lemonade weren’t sufficient choices for a pre-school crowd, and hadn’t considered explicit beverage choices for kids. (And no, the irony of this does NOT escape meâ¦maybe it’s like the whole “plumber with a leaky faucet” thing.)
Personally, I’m a fan of ALWAYS having water and white milk available, and if I had to eliminate anything, I recommend removing juice. Eating fruit and drinking fruit juice is not the same, as fruit juice lacks the fiber that helps the body process the natural sugars in the juice. If your child is going to drink juice, I believe 100% fruit juice is the best option, but not nearly as good of an option as drinking water and EATING fruit. As a parent, my ultimate preference would be to only have water and white milk at school, or offer chocolate milk on limited days of the week. However, I understand that my personal philosophy is not necessarily shared by all of the other parents and school communities we serve.
