Sometimes when I sit in a restaurant and look around, I get pretty discouraged by what I see kids drinking.

I really don’t want to be judgmental, but if you read my post on diabetes, you know that I get pretty fired up about the damage that sugar does to people.

Kids are drinking all kinds of juice and pop. And, man, once you open that door, it’s a really tough one to close.

I know, I know… we’ve been the “bad” parents for a while now – and it’s not exactly fun.

Even yesterday at a restaurant, my 4-year-old daughter was looking around and says, “Dad, why are we drinking water and those kids are drinking juice? and those kids over there have pop?”

I really don’t want to deprive my kids. And we really don’t…. except, perhaps in the case of the sugar drinks.

But, honestly, there’s really no good side to them for our kids (or for adults for that matter).

This article discussed this issue, and it was pretty informative.

Essentially…

1. Don’t give kids pop or juice with any added sugar. Just don’t.
2. The main things they should drink are water and skim or low-fat cow’s milk.
3. If you do give juice (on special occasions), it should be 100% juice… and it would be even better if you dilute it with water.

And, really, parents, (this is that annoying part of being a good parent), it is up to you to set the example. You’ve got to get rid of those 2-liters!

Obesity and diabetes in CHILDREN is epidemic right now. It’s terrible. (Nearly 20% of kids are obese now, and diabetes is also on the rise.)

Maybe they appear to be burning their calories pretty well at the moment, but they won’t be able to forever. And it’s not just weight gain, you’re also setting them up for cavities, inflammation, mood swings, poor sleep, and reduced concentration, etc.

Think about it this way, we freak out about EEE when there’s a 1 in a gazillion chance of getting it. Meanwhile, we are actually paying for and encouraging our children to get life-limiting, disabling, and destructive diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer every day by what we feed them!

I tell ya, we humans are a truly crazy lot.

So, again, I don’t mean to be cruel or condemning, but I do want us to take this sort of thing seriously.

Your kids won’t die if you make them drink water.

In fact, they’ll live longer.