My child drinks soda

**toneitup08** · 09-03-2008 08:48 AM

All my son wants to do is drink soda. I let him have little to none but I'd really like to encourage him more to want to drink water. I know to kids it seems boring and tasteless but there's got to be a way to make it more appealing to them. Any advise would be appreciated muchly =)

**MissGoddess** · 09-03-2008 11:37 AM

Have you tried the flavored water? For example Dasani with lemon, strawberry, raspberry, or grape flavors. There are many other brands and flavors as well, but it all leads to the same thing. Or you could try other things such as Gatorade, juices, and other non-carbonated drinks. They're not as good as water alone, but they're definitely way better than soda. You as a parent can also help by not buying as much soda and buying non-carbonated drinks instead. That way when your son gets thirsty, he'll head to the fridge and when he doesnt see any sodas, whatever drink he finds will have to do. I hope this helps..

**sourpuss** · 09-03-2008 06:39 PM

Try putting lemon in it. I don't know how old your kid is but maybe fun ice cubes or something.

If there's no soda in the house and only water, he won't have an alternative.

**anonymouswhitefemale** · 09-05-2008 06:52 AM

Your spoiling him.

You'd be suprised what childern will drink when they're thirsty - water, battery acid etc.

**maz33** · 09-05-2008 07:11 AM

Depending on how old your son is maybe you could get him a fancy water bottle to go on his bike for example or give him orange juice or squash diluted as much as possible.

My son only drinks soda at the occasional grown up celebration, he knows that's a little party treat so that's fine but at home he only wants to drink orange squash so I just dilute as I said above.

I'm really pleased that his school has a 'rule' that the children bring a filled water bottle into class every day which can be refilled as necessary all day, I'm hoping this will encourage a liking for water!

Also, you could ask the dentist to speak to him about the danger of soda rotting his teeth etc.

**Little** · 09-05-2008 08:40 AM

All my niece and nephew wanted to do was drink Koolaid, sweet tea, and Capri Sun ... just as bad as soda, really.
All I had to do was to be firm with them (two 4-year-olds, but when you're not mommy or daddy for some reason they listen better) and they drank the water. Even though when my sister came home, they called me mean ... the next day they drank their water without complaint.
They also take naps, clean up their rooms, and sit still for me without me having to raise my voice at them. Raising eyebrows works wonders when they know you're serious about time-out and don't care if they scream.

**sourpuss** · 09-05-2008 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by anonymouswhitefemale

Your spoiling him.

You'd be suprised what childern will drink when they're thirsty - water, battery acid etc.

Agreed. What happened to parents just telling kids to do something and they did it without throwing a fit?

**rcoreyus** · 09-09-2008 10:38 PM

If you don't like him drinking soda because it has too much sugar, be sure to check other drinks as well. Some "healthy-looking" drinks like Sobes have as much sugar as sodas.

I agree with a previous poster that lemon is a good flavoring.

Also, depending on his age, maybe play on the soda = kid's drink, unsweetened = adult drink.

**toneitup08** · 09-24-2008 01:39 PM

Those are all great ideas thanks... hes kinda snapped out of it now.. I give him wataah and its his favorite he never refuses anymore.. but sometimes I do have to squeeze a lemon in it when he gets picky