Juice boxes and soda may offer prepackaged convenience for hurried parents and kids, but they shouldn't be the main drink of choice for children of any age. Still, a new study shows that kids are consuming far more sugary drinks these days, with the popular beverages accounting for a whopping 10% to 15% of kids' daily calories — putting them at greater risk of cavities and excess pounds.

Looking at two national surveys of more than 20,000 kids' daily diets (spanning from as far back as 1988 and as recently as 2004), researchers found that 2- to 19-year-olds are making sweetened thirst-quenchers like soda, 100% fruit juice, fruit punch, and sports drinks a big part of their everyday diets.

They found that, on a typical day from 1999 to 2004:

• Young kids, ages 2 to 5, had 15.5 ounces (or 176 calories) of sweetened drinks at 10% of their total daily calories — that's more than two times the maximum recommended amount of no more than 4 to 6 ounces daily.
• Nearly 85% of teens consumed sugary drinks — an average of 30 ounces from sun-up to sundown. That's about 356 calories a day or 16% of their total daily calories.

With most (up to 70%) of the sugary drinks being served at home (instead of at school), the study also found that kids ages 6 to 11 drank far more sweetened beverages now than before (up 20% from 1988-1994 to 1999-2004).

What This Means to You

For kids of all ages water and milk are, hands down, the very best beverage choices.

Water is calorie-free and drinking it teaches kids that it's actually good for them to accept a low-flavor, no-sugar beverage to quench their thirst. And on top of calcium — which all children need to help build and maintain strong, health bones — milk is packed with other important nutrients like vitamin D, potassium, and protein.

To make water and milk the mainstay beverages in your home and keep your kids' sugary drink consumption to a minimum:

• Limit juice. That's 4–6 ounces for children under 7 years old and no more than 8–12 ounces for older kids and teens. Not only does juice pack on added calories, the sugar in fruit juice can eat away at tots' tooth enamel, especially if they're allowed to drink juice from bottles, cups, or boxes continuously throughout the day or at bedtime.
• Make it 100% fruit juice if you do serve juice. Although there's no added sugar in 100% fruit juice, the calories from the natural sugars found in fruit juice can add up.
• Don't give kids soda — they simply don't need it. That's because it has absolutely no nutritional value, but does have lots of useless empty calories and sugar. Plus, when kids drink too much soda, they're much less likely to drink the milk their bodies really need. And, no matter what kids' ages, too much caffeine from soda, tea, or coffee can cause:
  • jitteriness and nervousness
  • upset stomach
  • headaches
  • difficulty concentrating
  • trouble sleeping
• Look for flavored waters (if your kids aren't too keen on regular water), which usually contain just a small amount of sugar or sweetener and added calories. But make sure to check the drinks' labels before buying since some may have far more sugar and calories than others.
• Try sprucing up plain milk with a little flavoring like chocolate or strawberry syrup (if your kids tend to turn their noses up at regular milk, too), which may make it much more appealing and won't add a significant amount of sugar. But steer clear of premixed chocolate or strawberry drinks — they often contain a lot more calories, sugar, and fat than when you add in the flavored syrup to the milk yourself.

And, if you do serve your kids sweetened drinks on occasion, give them a straw to slurp them down, which lessens the effects of the sugar on their front teeth.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: June 2008

Source: "Increasing Caloric Contribution From Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and 100% Fruit Juices Among US Children and Adolescents, 1988–2004," Pediatrics, June 2008.