Advice About Low Sugar Drink Options for Picky Infant That Will Not Drink Milk

Motts Lite Apple Juice Plus clacium is very good, and V-8 slpashers light has calcium added also i believe

I have a 2 1/2 year old. We recently rediscovered soda water. It's just carbonated water but with a splash of juice or squeeze of lime it's a bubbly treat. She even loves it by it's self.

HI My suggestion is to try walmart drink mix. They have an apple and an orange drink mix that to me taste like the real thing. They have no calories and no sugar. You just mix them with water.

Have you tried the Gerber Graduates Fruit Splashers they are made with 40% less sugar and water already. It worked very well for my four boys and they liked the taste. Non of my children will drink milk either. www.workathomeunited.com/myfoursons

Have you tried the flavored water

Have you tried making her an herbal tea? There are great blends available. I suggest you make a cup of tea ( brew it hot). You can add a little honey while the tea is hot and it will blend nicely.Allow it to cool, by putting it the frig. Kids love to add things like orange or lemon slices to their beverage. Get her involved , encourage interest.I know of children who love fresh brewed Iced mint tea, catnip tea, Iced Chamomile tea. All these beverages contain a healthy does of nutrition, and by getting the childern involved you are also empowering them to find their own way to a healthier lifestyle.

My little boy will be three at the end of this month and he also will not drink much milk. I water his juice down a lot!!! The only juice that I buy is juicy juice, apple, white grape, and the peachy one. I do not buy dark drinks b/c he sometimes decides to play explosion with his mouth. Experimentation I guess. hahaha. Your only other option is to squeeze your own juice and that way you know that she is only getting the best. We drink a lot of hand squeezed orange juice around here. He loves to help me make it and it is a great learning experience for him. Good Luck.

Why not just water? It is the best thing for them.
That's all my kids drink.

try flavored waters or sugar free koolaid. If I don't mix it myself, I give my kids roarin' waters, I think it's made by capri sun

Try, Mott's Natural Fresh Pressed Apple Juice. It's not your typical apple juice, it's a little bit darker and has a better taste and we love it! My husband and I drink it too. Is it the milk or the sippy cup that's causing the problem? My daughter couldn't get the idea of the "sippy cup," so I started with a straw at about 8/9 months old! Worked like a charm. Don't always give juice, try just water, and if that won't work, just barely a splash of something to color it. Do make sure your 2 year old is getting his/her calcium from other dairy products - yogurt, cheese, sugar free pudding as a treat! I've also heard of cereal straws, as a last ditch effort, but that might encourage him/her to drink through the straw and the milk might taste like the straw and then they can eat the straw afterwards. Just a few ideas, hope it helps! Do try the juice though, we love it!!!

i give my toddler and kids Minute maid light orange juice with vitamin D

Hi C., not sure this will help alot, and you've already said that you saturate your juice with water. Not alot of options here, really, because obviously you don't want to give artificially sweetened drinks, but... I have three girls 7/6/2 and every one of them has always and still drinks my 'flavored water'. They call it juice. It's about 80/20. Just enough to not taste like water, but they'd have to have 10 glasses to really get a full glass of concentrated juice. I have always done this, I guess that's why my 7 and 6 year old still drink it like it's normal (like anything else, it's what they're introduced to and get used to). I would not try chocolate or flavored milk, you risk her never drinking the good plain white version again. I would not give choices. Give her exactly what you want her to drink and she will drink it, I promise! I had the same problem with my two year old. She would not drink milk out of a sippy, but she will now. And they all drink tons of the 'juice' which makes me feel good, because I know they're getting lots of filtered, healthy water. Just be persistent and don't try different things to encourage. She'll get there.

HTH, S.

Water - preferably filtered without any flouride. Maybe add a little bit of lemon if you want.

In the book the Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine you can find a recipe for sparkling water. You make your own blueberry, Strawberry, or Cherry juice and add it to sparkling water but I think you could add it to regular water too. You get real fruit with minimal sugar I think about a Tablespoon in the whole juice recipe. Sparkling water will not work well in a sippy cup because they will overflow. The bubbles force it out I think.

C. - we give my son a cup of regular juice each day, watered down 1/2 and 1/2. Other than that, he gets milk and the store brand of Crystal Light. He likes the sugar free apple juice. My son is 16 months, and I started giving it to him because he likes to have something to drink most of the day - he'll wander around with the cup all day long if I let him. My husband is diabetic, so we have a lot of sugar free stuff in the house, and my little guy loves it - never notices a difference.

My son wouldn't drink milk either, so we started mixing 2% milk with Danimals yogurt drink. Now he gulps it down.

My son wouldn't drink milk either-no chocolate, no strawberry-at all. I started pouring a Danimals yogurt smoothie into his sippy cup and adding about the same amount of whole milk-shake it up. He loves it! It's the only way I can get him to drink milk. Hope this helps.

Hi C.,
I come from the opposite spectrum, as both my girls love milk. They drink what we drink....non-fat/skim. So, don't know if my suggestions would help. You may already do them. But, here they are:

1. Cereal and milk?
2. Gool ole plain water (milk alternative).
Thanks,
L. F.-Murfreeboro, TN

Motts apple juice, no sugar. Ocean Spray no sugar added, cranberry juice, a variety of flavors, make sure it does not read "cocktail" that means sugar. Welch’s white grape, no sugar. Juicy Juice has no sugar in any of their juices. Water is always great. My son will not take juice at all, he grimaces at the taste and when I replace it with water he acts like it is the deliverance from a 40-night drought.

Watch out for artificial sweeteners, they are very harmful to a young person's system, including your system. You can research this online. Just Google the particular sweetener, i.e. saccharine, aspartame. These are usually found in diet drinks, such as diet coke, crystal light, and other diet products that may read sugar free. Please be careful. Plain sugar is better, but always in moderation.

Good luck and God bless,

Hi C.,

My 2 year old wouldn't drink milk at first...have you tried spiking it with Pediasure (vanilla)? Just a little Pediasure (1/3 of the small bottle) in the bottom of the cup and fill the rest up with milk. Also, you may want to try switching to 1 or 2% instead of whole milk.

I don't like giving my daughter juice, either, so oftentimes when she asks for juice, I'll give her really diluted emergen-c. It's kind of like low-sugar gatorade because it has salts in it, and a lot of athletes use it as an alternative to sugary re-hydration. It tastes like orange or tangerine, is still slightly sweet, has a touch of effervescence and it's what I drink instead of juice.

Also - I know how hard it is with a two year old, but try limiting her juice to one glass a day, the rest of the time offer water (or the emergen-c water). She will DEFINITELY protest at first (she's two, after all) but she'll get over it - and might drink some water, which is so good for her!

Don't worry too much about the milk thing - just find some dairy product she likes - yogurt, cheese to make sure she's getting the right amount (check with your pediatrician). You can even get some plain yogurt and use it in the Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese instead of milk - it makes the mac and cheese creamy and tangy - and you can get a serving of high quality dairy in there (1/2 c. yogurt instead of 2-4 tablespoons of milk).

If you're looking for ways to disguise nutrition, try the cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious. It requires some preparation - but if you have the time to make the frozen purees it calls for, it can be a great way to slip all kinds of nutritious things into your 2 year old's diet. Even into DESSERT!

Good luck!
T.

My youngest daughter who is now 6 1/2 was the same way. She never took milk other then brest milk. I was on the third year of nursing in a row because she and my second daughter were only 15 months apart. Milk in anything is very attactive to me by this time. But she would have nothing to do with it. I did the watered down juice thing about twice a day. I took control and 80% of what she drank was simply just water in a cup. The other t5hing that we drank alot of is herbal tea. The berry kinds, organic, was a great subfro juice. Best of luck.

C.,

I know how you feel on your child not drinking milk. I have a diabetic son and I buy the great value sugar free kool aid mixes at wal-mart. I also serve this sugar free drinks to my one year old daughter. These come in a round container by the regular kool aid and there is 6 containers inside for around $1.86 each. They also have the on the go sugar free tubes you can buy if you are out and about, that you can add to water (the kids think they have juice but actually have a sugar free drink). They have a variety of flavors for you to choose from and NO SUGAR. They have an orange flavor that tastes like Tang, starwberry, cherry, grape, apple, etc. But the best thing of all No Sugar and its easy to make all you have to do is open one of the tubes and add water and you are done. The easier the better for us as moms. I hope this helps. S.

My kids love water. Water, water and more water. If she doesn't like water, you could try the flavored waters which I think, are lower in sugar or made with Splenda...

Steph

Hi C.,
My son is the same way- he hates milk (as do I!). We use carnation instant breakfast packets in his milk to trick him into thinking it isn't milk. We call it "ice cream".. lol The vanilla flavor does taste like melted ice cream and that seems to go over better with him. If we say "milk" the game is over...
About a half a packet will do for a good-sized sippy cup. I don't have a packet right in front of me now to know the sugar content, but you can probably look it up on their website. I do know they do make a no sugar added version of the original instant breakfast. I have had trouble finding this as easily in supermarkets around where I live, although I am sure you can find them somewhere. A bonus with the instant breakfast because they are full of vitamins and nutrients for kids (and their parents, too). Because of this, we forego giving him any vitamin supplements. At any rate, it could be worth a shot.

This may not help, but...my grandson LOVES lemons, and always asks me to make "lemonade". I mix lemon juice, water, and about a TEASPOON of sugar (or honey) in a half gallon pitcher, and he loves it! He will drink it all day. Voila, no sugar rush! If you girls do not like the sour taste of course that won't help, but it seems like most kids love lemons, for some reason. It's worth a try!

I have a 3year old who also stopped drinking milk at age 2.I give her watered down juice during the day usually low sugar apple juice but by the time it comes to evening its mostly water in the sippy cup.I had to give my little girl yogurt to replace the calcium she wasn't getting from not drinking milk.She'd eat yogurt all day plus drink those yogurt drinks too.

I had a similar problem with my daughter. She only drank water from her cup. But I watered down the milk and slowly started adding more milk every couple of days. Now she'll drink milk straight, although not a lot. I only offered her the watered down milk with each meal. I didn't give her the water until she at least had a few sips. Give it a try...good luck.

Don't mean to insult, but have you tried straight water? My daughter isn't terribly fond of it, so her "juice" is 1/4 prune juice, 1/4 apple juice, and 1/2 water. That way, it at least keeps her bowels moving, and not so much of the sugar. Make sure your little girl gets calcium in other forms (yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese).

Hope that helps!
D.

Try buying juices with no sugar or sugar subsitutes and add honey for a sweetner. Or maybe you can invest in a juicer and make it yourself. Try to get calcuim in her as much as you can. So that she can have strong bones, pretty skin, health teeth. Cheeses, yogurt, there are various veges with lots of calcuim in them.

my husband and i use crystal light or you can use the sugar free kind at the store that is usually cheaper than the crystal light. they make many different flavors. safe for carpet as that was our concern also. lemonade,tea,grape,orange are good flavors.

My 2yr old wouldn't drink milk either but only juice. So we started adding half oj and half milk to his first sippy cup of the morning. its like a smoothie. We are still working on cutting back the juice with water too.

Hey- I had the same problem with my little boy. He loved milk from a bottle, but when I switched to a sippy cup, he would not drink it. This went on for some time and finally, I stopped offering him milk for about 2 weeks. I gave him plenty of yogurt and cheese & I gave him crystal light in a sippy cup. I then offered him milk occasionally and if he refused, I just said, Ok - you can have something else. I tried all kinds of milk and finally one day he drank vanilla soy milk. Now he drinks vanilla soy at every meal. He really likes it!

I see you've already gotten a lot of great responses and maybe they have worked for you. I just wanted to say that I have been reading about cow's milk and the thing is our kid's don't have to have it. It is a great source for calcium, fat and vitamins but if your daughter eats plenty of cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. (also avocados, nut butters and other balanced foods), then she will be fine without milk. Just keep trying and maybe she will start to like it! Hope something works for you!!

Don't know if this will help, but I just went through this with my 13mo boy. I had to get him weaned and he would not take a sippy cup at all so I just started offering it to him all day with Juice water, then I started something many thought was a little gross, but it worked. I would mix a little milk with the juice and then as the next day would put a little more milk and so on until I got to all milk. One other thing I had to do was change sippy cups, now he drinks milk like a champ. It only took about two weeks to really get him going. The main thing is consistancy and like one other person said not to give him an option. At certain times of day...breakfast only offer milk and maybe not offer anything else until lunch. Sometimes they just have to get thirsty!!! :) Hope this might help.

are you giving her 100% juice or a juice drink? also, what is wrong with plain water? my son can not have juice because it gives him blisters on his bottom when he pees, so he drinks milk and plain water. also would your daughter drink formula? they make formula for older kids. i know it costs more than plain milk but walmarts parents choice one is only 12 dollars a can, so cheaper than soy milk or lataid. this would give all of the calcium and vitamins from milk.

i have a 4 year old son who was the same way. after i broke him from the bottle he would not touch milk. i talked to his doctor about the problem and his doctor suggested i give him gatorade. my son loves it and the doctor said it is fine for him to drink. i buy the big 1 gallon jugs and they only contain 14g of sugar

try mixing water with the sugar free kool-aid packs.

Try propel water. It's sweet but has less sugar than most.

try flavored water my son loves it.it is clear or colored and it taste like juice but as we all know water is great for them

My 18yodd is lactose intolerant and drinks Lactaid milk. She liked it far better than soy. If she's allergic to regular milk, it may just make her feel icky & therefore she avoids it. The soy milk may not taste good to her. If you've not tried it I would recommend it...they also have Organic Lactaid which she said was very good too. If she had a bottle would she drink it out of there?

Have you tried Pediasure? She might like those. I would start only giving her water during the day, juice in the am and maybe once in the afternoon. Too much juice is not good for her.

Good Luck C..

At such a young age, I recommend water. Give her milk on her cereal, yougurt, and cheeses to get the proper amounts of calcium.

How about plain water? My kids like yogurt smoothies, too.

Have you tried Goats milk, Carnation canned milk, Pet canned milk, dried milk, rice milk? Rice milk is easy to make..Boil rice with too much water..keep the watery part. It's that easy! Also, you could try making pop ciciles out of the milk. Cocolate or strawberry, soy/regular would work nicely. JUST DON'T LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!! HA! I used to take can soup and make a BIG SHOW about OPENING the can... all the while,on the stove,I had a big pot of home made soup. Then I would lay the can in plain sight, on top of the garbage or left it on the counter until After they had eaten!!! You've got to be tricky, staying one step ahead of them. They only know what they are taught on T.V. and we both know these items are NOT always GOOD FOR THEM!!!!! Remember her stomach is filled with a lot of acid first thing in the morning; so NO sodas!!! Also, Try just plain water instead of juice especially first thing in the morning....at home, and the trip to town take a jar of ice water...then if you allow her a soda/juice WATER IT DOWN!!! These are empty calories and pumping her up on sugar!!!!! Get her Off the sugar as much as possible!!! Honey, good choices in eating as a child gives your child a head start as a healthy; not over weight adult!!! That is up to you..Don't buy/feed her junk!!!!Also remember candy and snack cakes are measured into ADULT PORTIONS NOT A CHILDS PORTION!!! So cut that snack in half or fourths...Most snack cakes come in a set of two..cut it in half give her part and you eat the other.
I've had the opposite problem, mine only wanted milk;No JUICE OF ANY KIND!!! So I gave her juice watered down at lunch time & afternoons. Especially after/during meals and after she had been playing a LONG TIME and she was thirsty!!!!
As far as a low sugar drink...Jello water. I know it sounds strange,but it does work. Boil water and dilute the jello in a pitcher, then fill with water. Don't make it too weak, they will catch on!!! HA! It is similar to kool-aid. I used this everytime my children began running a temp or just weren't feeling well. You can change the taste easily and if you have only a little juice( not enough to make it through the day)you can mix it in with the jello-water and make it go twice as far. Give it a cool name and the kids will love it!
Just Keep trying, Don't give up!!!! Mom/GrandMa LB

Dear C. M. Wow, you really have quite a problem on your hands, don't you? I feel for you. I am a 56 year old nurse, and my kids are all grown up, but I have a few ideas, which you may or may not have already tried. First of all, when you use juice, give them the juices that are 100% juice with nothing added, and I am sure you are already doing that. Now, about the milk thing. We definitely need to get some milk down these babies for the calcium, not to mention all the other nutrients that it contains, A,D,all the B vitamins, not to mention the minerals. So let's see. Have you considered going to health stores to inquire if they have products that have the nutritional value of milk, but has a good flavor? Have you tried (I bet you have) Silk Soy VANILLA flavor? I know it is costly but it does have a great flavor. Have you tried "Half and Half." Most children love it. It is also expensive, but they may like it. Light Cream is another thing you may try, because it has a really creamy taste and many children love it. Have you tried Pediasure or Boost? They are loaded with vitamins and minerals and would present a good substitute for milk, however, they are pricey. Now here is a suggestion that many people rarely think of, but it is a rich source of nutrients that has raised many a baby and that is goat milk. You can buy it in your regular supermarket, located by the evaporated milk and is expensive at $2 a can, but you will want to dilute it 50/50 unless, you taste it and it tastes too weak, them make it stronger. It really isn't bad at all. If they don't like it, slip a little ovaltine in it. C., I sure hope I have helped you in some way. Don't just take my advice because I am a nurse, hon, I am just a regular person just like you are. I just love helping people.
Just know that I will be praying for you and for your two little ones everyday. Write back if they give you my E-mail address, OK. I would love to hear how the problem is solved.
Oh, and buy the way, as long as the sugar intake is from 100% juice, I wouldn't worry about it in the least, that is good for them. But I do agree entirely with you, THEY DO NEED THEIR
MILK. Thanks for listening to me. My Prayers are with you everyday that you will resolve this. Adra from Cleveland, TN

WATER! Teach them to drink water and they will be healthy for the rest of their lives. My kids usually get nothing but water or milk. Or herb tea- my daughter is fond of chamomile and peppermint- but I have to watch them with the sweeteners. Chamomile is naurally sweet (the Spanish name for chamomile is mansanilla, like little apples) and it's a calming herb, nice for bedtime!! For treats we'll buy rice milk and make orchata (add a little cinnamon and vanilla) or have kefir or juice. But for everyday it's water. It's so much healthier, and it's cheap, available almost everywhere you go, it doesn't stain, etc. ;o)

Also commercial juice is all pasteurized so all the good enzymes that would make the sugar worth it are gone. The vitamins are damaged, often ascorbic acid is added to enhance the vitamin C content and keeping qualities, but it's not as absorbable as the forms of C in fresh fruit and fruit juice. My kids turn into hyperactive fiends when they have store-bought juice all day- your experience is totally normal!!

When it gets really hot and humid in the summer I make a punch out of Red Zinger tea (Piggly Wiggly carries, it Schnucks might, Kroger no longer does, Wild Oats didn't, not sure if they do now that it is whole foods.)and concentrated apple juice (organic is better.) 1 can of juice and 6-8 tea bags makes 1 gallon. You can boil around a quart of water, pour over the tea bags in a glass jar, let it steep till it's warm, strain out the tea bags and then combine with the apple juice and enough water to make a gallon, or my husband puts cold water, tea bags and juice in all at once and lets it steep overnight in the fridge, stirs it up in the morning and
lets the bags sit in the bottom through the life of the pitcher. If we have extended play-time outside I might add a tiny pinch of baking soda or sea salt to it and stir it up well, to add back in some electrolytes. The hibiscus flowers turn the punch red like kool-aid, but it doesn't stain (well I don't know about whites, we never wear white- but not normal clothes,) and it's just sweet enough that visitors like to drink it too, even if they are used to other things at home. I also sometimes like a homemade sports drink- grape juice plus water and a pinch of baking soda or salt. Also in the hot months we make lemonade with stevia (available at Kroger's in the organic food section) and fresh lemons. But I am strict on how much they can have of these things - I can't afford enough juice for 5 kids to drink very much- and that's ok, cause I know water is so much better for them. :o)

HTH!!

PS
Sorry this is so long. I was just looking at some of the other responses. Look up your artificial sweeteners and read about them, before you decide what you want to use. These are what kool-aid or crystal light are sweetened with. Aspartame is a neurotoxin. The tests that were used to approve it as safe, used placebos which contained MSG, another neurotoxin!! Google is helpful, you don't have to buy a book. I don't like sugars, but artificial sweeteners can be dangerous. I'd rather let my kids get a Sprite (full of corn syrup + carbonation) or Sweet tea (sugar + caffeine) when we're eating out than something diet with artificial sweeteners. Aspartame is banned in Japan, they use stevia instead. Unfortunately you can't get prepared foods with stevia here. Splenda is aggravating to the intestines, can cause gas, bloating, cramping. Saccharin causes cancer.

Hello,
Have you given your daughter plain water in her sippy cup? My grandson will drink nothing else from his sippy, and never has! Water is the most healthy drink she could have. Will she drink milk from anything? Perhaps she doesn't like it or it bothers her stomach. You may need to try soy.

Also, will she drink from a regular small plastic cup? Some children just don't like a sippy cup. I have a friend whose son went from breast to cup at 8 months- never touched a rubber nipple. He just wouldn't have it. He went straight to a 'big boy cup.'

Perhaps your little daughter is just a neat-nick and would be happiest to sit at the table for a drink and not carry a drink around. What a blessing that would be for your family!!!

Hope you find your solution.

Blessings,
Suzanne

Try brewing some herbal tea and chilling it.

they do make sugar free juices... a little more pricey...but.... and maybe crystal light or something like that ...that is sugar free.... hope those ideas help... V.:)

Have you tried the Capri Sun Roarin' Waters? they are water with some flavoring and come in the style package as the regular ones. the other thing i use are the kool-aid jammers that are only 10 calories. low in sugar compared to the others. have you tried skim milk? maybe it's the thickness she doesn't like. good luck!

I would just keep trying the milk... my son is dairy and soy allergic and initially wouldn't take his rice milk from the sippy. He had been exclusively breast fed and had never used a bottle before. What we did was offer the rice milk in a sippy (but only at the table) several times a day. The only thing he was allowed to have away from the table was water. When given only those two options for about a week he eventually relented and drank the milk. You'll have a few ugly mealtimes on your hand but if you remind yourself before its not so hard to handle. I would highly recommend the only at the table thing - Learned this from my older sister with 3 kids. It helps them from drinking all those calories (milk, juice, or otherwise)absent-mindedly (think how we eat from a bag of chips while watching a tv show. Also, when it is time to transition to a grown up cup you won't have to fight about where they drink (keeping the spills down)along with the fight of giving up the sippy.

WATER!!!! I know that gets boring. Kool-Aid Jammers 10 has very little sugar. Also, I buy a drink mix at Wal-Mart (their brand) that is sugar free and taste great. My kids love it. Look for it around the Kool-aid mixes.

Have you tried crystal light? Walmart has a there version and its sugar free. My picky 6 yr old loves them as well as my 2 yr old. They have a variety of flavors and may just be what your looking for.

WATER!!! Milk is highly overrated as a "necessity" for children, really. As long as you feed them a balanced diet of nutritious food, they will get the nutrients they need from their food. (Give them plenty of time outside in the sunshine to get fulfill their needs for Vitamin D. Good exercise and helps them sleep better, too.)

Neither of my children -- 23 months and almost 4 -- have ever had milk from a sippy cup! When they quit breastfeeding, they started drinking primarily water. (They get milk with their breakfast cereal and in soups and stuff, but not just straight milk.) I started out mixing it with an ounce or two of apple juice, then after a few weeks of that, went to just straight water. And that's pretty much all they drink, other than juice once a week or so as a special treat. (I still dilute the 23-months-old's juice with water.)

C., one thing that I have found easy for my 2yr. old god-daughter to drink is welch juice or the wal-mart apple juice because it has no sugar. she can't even tell the different even my teens drink it. try to fix her alittle milkshake with real fruit in it . let her help that is how my god-daughter likes her milk sometime.