Written by Editorial Team
Babies should be introduced to a variety of foods once they hit the six-month mark. But parents should be careful of what foods they can introduce to their young infants. While fruits and vegetables top the list of foods to be introduced, parents may wonder about what foods to avoid. Soft drinks are delicious, and tempting, and often are considered a source of hydration. So are soft drinks for babies safe?
Not all foods are safe for babies and soft drinks are among the beverages you should avoid for your baby. The reasons are many from sugar addiction to long-term heath issues. Here is everything you need to know about soft drinks for babies and how they impact your baby’s health.
In This Article
Soft drinks are water-based flavored sweetened drinks. They may or may not be carbonated and may contain natural or artificial sweeteners. Some of them may also contain preservatives and food colorings. Some types of soft drinks may contain fruit in them but soft drinks are mostly artificially favored.
Soft drinks are notorious for being unhealthy since they contain artificial sugar, flavoring agents, and preservatives. They do not contain any nutritive value and are often loaded with high levels of empty calories.
Common types of soft drinks (1) include
No, soft drinks are not safe for babies. The high calorie and sugar levels, high levels of preservatives, and zero nutrition levels make them unsafe for growing babies.
For the first six months of their lives, babies should completely depend on breast milk for nutrition. In the sixth month, babies can start having solids to meet their body’s growing needs. During this time, apart from breast milk and formula, babies can start drinking small amounts of boiled and cooled water (2).
Other than breastmilk, formula milk, and water, babies should not have any other liquids unless recommended by a doctor or a pediatrician. Fruit juices may be limited or avoided for babies until they are at least a year old and soft drinks should be completely avoided (2A).
A baby’s appetite can be quite small and the foods they consume should be nutrient-dense (3). Since soft drinks have zero nutritive value in most cases, drinking them will make your baby feel full without providing them any nutrition (4).
Soft drinks like fizzy drinks and fruit squashes can have negative effects on a baby’s health. Their sugary and acidic content is bound to put hurdles on the emerging teeth of an infant (5).
Babies can get addicted to sugary drinks quickly (6) which may put them at risk of developing cardiovascular problems, obesity (7), and diabetes in the long run. Babies consuming soft drinks may also experience health issues such as diarrhea due to the sugar overload and the unhealthy effects of soft drinks.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says a big no to soft drinks before a baby’s first birthday. Sugary drinks can lead to the following consequences in babies.
Apart from this, parents should mold their little ones into liking healthy and nutritious food. Once a baby starts taking steps into the path of artificially sweetened flavors, it’s difficult to keep them away from indulging in junk food and drinks.
Introducing soft drinks at a young age will spoil their taste preferences and they’ll keep on demanding sweetened drinks. Rather than ruining their taste preferences in their later years, it’s better to completely keep soda away from babies.
In your baby’s early formative years, their definition of drinks should be limited to water and breastmilk or formula. As they grow older, they won’t expect all drinking items to be bustling with flavors. Infants whose parents take precautions to control their junk food and junk drink intake grow up to eat sweets in a balanced amount. Finally, the sentence ‘water is what all of us drink’ is one of the finest messages for your baby’s future health.
[Read : Is Mineral Water Safe For Your Baby?]
Sugary drinks such as soft drinks can have a major impact on your baby’s health both during consumption and in the long run as well. Here are some reasons to limit or avoid soft drinks for babies.
Your average soft drink can may contain 7 to 10 teaspoons of sugar (8). There are no nutrients in the soft drink to slow down the absorption of this high sugar content.
Most soft drinks also contain High-Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS which is linked to hypertension (9). The high sugar content in soft drinks can lead to obesity, poor oral health, and diabetes in the long run.
Soft drinks contain caffeine in varying levels, while some may be caffeine-free, others may have enough caffeine to cause harm to a growing baby (10).
Regular intake of soft drinks is associated with poor nutrition absorption from food (11). In addition, babies have tiny stomachs and minimal appetite. Giving them soft drinks will keep them fuller for longer but with minimal to no nutrition.
The presence of sugar and sodium in soft drinks can accelerate calcium loss from the body (12). Babies need calcium for their proper growth and development and to maintain bone health. This calcium loss can lead to health issues and an increased risk of fractures.
Babies are at a stage where their taste buds are developing and maturing. Exposing them to too much sugar at this stage may cause them to develop an unhealthy liking to all things sugary which can hamper their health and well-being in the long run.
[Read : Can You Give Packaged Juices To Your Baby?]
Babies who are yet to reach the six-month milestone should, and only be given breastmilk and infant formula. These provide all the nourishment that your little one needs at this stage. As babies grow, you can plan to introduce other healthier drinks, but soft drinks should always remain at a distance from your munchkin.
You can let your baby have boiled and cooled water from an open cup or a sippy cup. This way your infant will learn to hold the cup and drink from it and stop drinking from a bottle. Breast milk, formula, and water are the only healthy drinks for your baby at this stage.
If your baby’s diet is well balanced with essential nutrients, then you can feed them pasteurized, unflavored, full-fat cow’s milk. Remember, babies under 2 years are not to be fed with reduced-fat milk. Your baby’s body is such a powerhouse of growth and development at this time that only full-fat milk can charge them up to fulfill their needs.
If your little one is eating fruits and vegetables, you don’t need to give them smoothies, fruit juices, or soft drinks. However, it’s understandable that you want to have your baby taste something fresh and delicious every once in a while. For such times, make sure you mix 10% fruit juice with 90% water.
Lastly, don’t feed your little one with juices marketed as 100% pure fruit juice. Most of them are not legit, therefore, it’s better to avoid them.
Here are some tips you can follow to ensure that your baby avoids soft drinks.
Soft drinks for babies are unsafe and must be avoided at all costs. Plain water, breast milk and formula are the best for your baby and enough to keep them hydrated. In situations where your baby is sick and dehydrated, you can give them ORS after consulting with your pediatrician.
Good food habits have their foundation at a very young age for babies. Teaching your baby to differentiate good foods from bad ones is an important aspect of raising them.
[Read : Feeding Cow’s Milk To Baby – Facts]
No, babies should not drink soft drinks. You should avoid giving soft drinks to your baby at all costs. Soft drinks may be high in sugars, empty calories, artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives all of which may harm your baby in different ways. Consumption of soft drinks can lead to poor nutrition absorption, stomach disturbances, and obesity.
Do not introduce soft drinks to your baby in their first year. They should only drink breast milk, formula, and boiled and cooled water during this period. You can introduce soft drink to your baby once they are two years old after getting a go-ahead from your pediatrician.
Avoid giving coke to your baby until they are at least two years old. Once your baby turns two, you may introduce coke in very small quantities after talking to your pediatrician. They should be given such drinks occasionally and not frequently or every day.
Soft drinks can be high in sugar and acid both of which can be detrimental to your baby’s health. The impact includes poor oral and digestive health. Giving soft drinks at this age may lead to sugar addiction which can cause health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in the long run.
Read Also: Giving Fruit Juices To Babies
References
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