Budget drinks for kids...

[feedindy]

My girls drink mostly water and milk. I quit buying juice several years ago. I do buy Roarin' Waters Capri Suns for packed lunches though. I figure flavored water is a step up from juice, and they don't seem to notice the difference between Capri Sun water and regular Capri Suns.

 

[kmk160]

Our ds, 3, has one juice box in the morning (a small one at that!) and then water for the rest of the day. Will ask for milk occasionally.
IF he eats his whole dinner, I'll let him have a tiny bit of tea or diluted gatorade.
For us, thats more of an incentive to get our picky eater to eat

 

[bigbabyblues]

Water and milk for our kids, DS gets juice with his snack at school. Kool-aid sometimes at home too.

 

[Pooki]

Do the lite/light products contain artificial sweetners?

I'm sure they do, but not sure what kind. They taste sweet, but are sugar-free. Will have to check it out when I get home.

 

[jessica52877]

Milk or water here. In the past month I have let DS have one glass (about 7 oz of OJ if he wants). Sure adds to the grocery bill though!

I keep bottles of water in the fridge to grab. Not bottled water though, I just refill old bottles that seem to have come from somewhere or another. To me kids will grab what is easiest and juice boxes make it so so easy!

I did buy a box of capri sun the beginning of last summer, they are still in the fridge outside, have drank maybe 4 of them. I thought they would be good for the neighborhood kids on a hot day, but really no one asks for drinks. Of course it is too easy to just go home and get one themselves.

 

[MommaPooh]

My kids do not get any sugar or caloric drinks at all - no milk, kool-aid, fruit juices, sports drinks etc.... They drink Crystal Light type drinks (sugar free, calorie free mixes), diet soda, unsweet tea or water.

 

[Tinkerbell2002]

My kids do not get any sugar or caloric drinks at all - no milk, kool-aid, fruit juices, sports drinks etc.... They drink Crystal Light type drinks (sugar free, calorie free mixes), diet soda, unsweet tea or water.

Why no milk? Just curious because my ds hates milk and his pediatrician wants him to drink it but I can't get him to.

 

[linda0706]

For my DD6 it's milk, water, and sometimes juice. She wants white milk too, no choclate. Okey dokey, no problemo!

Don't EVEN try to get the child to drink a soda..she'll tell you that she DOES NOT LIKE carbonated drinks. Yea for her, hope it lasts. (Her dad & I drink sodas all the time. )

 

[Plantlady]

Water, milk or apple juice.

We get OJ, when I remember to buy it. One jug per week, when it's gone, you must wait until the following Monday for more.

No juice boxes. We buy a jug of apple juice at aldi for 99 cents, again, once a week.

I have reusable drinks holders in the boys' lunch boxes, I usually just send them with water though. (in the drink containers). Juice boxes were too expensive.

 

[meandtheguys2]

My kids do not get any sugar or caloric drinks at all - no milk, kool-aid, fruit juices, sports drinks etc.... They drink Crystal Light type drinks (sugar free, calorie free mixes), diet soda, unsweet tea or water.

Does it concern you to be giving them so many chemical sweeteners?

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Water

OJ (small juice glass) with breakfast. Calcium-fortified always because dd12 is lactose-intolerant and I'm starting to think dh is too. The other two kids drink milk at dinner. DsAlmost14 will often have a glass of milk after school with whatever he finds for a snack.

We drink a lot of tea, decaf and herbal for the kids, hot in the winter and iced in the summer, unsweetened.

We only buy soda or lemonade for parties or other special days.

 

[PaulaSue]

I don't buy juice boxes, too expensive. I make my own for school lunches or traveling. I buy 100% apple on sale for $1 each (64 oz, I think) and pack with ice cubes in, they help water it down little and keep cold til lunch.

I only give the girls juice once a day but on rare occasions. Usually it is milk or water. Soda only on special occasions like a b-day party.

 

[TnTWalter]

thirsty, they switch to water...they love water.

I keep plastic cups by the fridge so they can fill it up at the water filter in the fridge.

Trish

 

[KirstenB]

Fruit juice (in big bottle) or milk. Our 8 yr old is slightly underweight, does swim team, and has never met a fruit or veg she likes. I buy V8 Splash, which isn't cheap, but at least she gets some nutritional value from it. Our 18 mth old just drinks milk, again she's a little underweight, so I don't offer water to either dd as a first choice.

 

[sconnell]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but for mixing drinks from powder or concentrate, the pitchers with the built-in stirrers are great! Pampered Chef has one. I'm sure other companies make them, too. When the drink starts to settle a little, just stir!
Here's Pampered Chef's:
http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=12031&categoryCode=ET

 

[dismom301930]

My DDs drink OJ (with calcium), AJ (with calcium, watered down by half), chocolate skim milk, or water. Once in a while I'll buy Motts 100% fruit punch (called something like "Healthy Kids") when it is on sale. I think I'll try tea after reading some of these responses.

I don't buy juice boxes except for playgroup days when we'll have a lot of kids (fewer spills for me to clean up!). My girls don't like soda (at least not yet!) probably because they never had it when they were little.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

We keep jugs of apple and/or orange juice in the fridge, occasionally other flavors as well, but they must be 100% juice. No capri sun, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial sweeteners for the girls. I do use artificial sweeteners because I'm diabetic, but I won't let the girls have them except for a taste of my stuff every now and then. I buy juice boxes for travelling and when it's our turn for snacks on sports teams.

My girls usually drink milk with meals, juice once a day, and water the rest of the time. I keep plastic cups in a low drawer and they can get their own with the ice/water in the door of the fridge.

DH loves kool-aid and gatorade in the summertime, and my youngest likes them also. They are empty calories, so I do limit them for DD.

 

[HelenePA]

Milk is the HUGE drink for my kids at my house and its NO budget drink. We go thru at least 5 gallons a week.. Guess its better than soda right?? but still OUCH on the budget!!!!!!!!!

 

[ilovediznee]

I want to stop buying juice boxes and would love to buy just a big jug of juice and then in containers in the refrigerator. My daughter is almost 7 so a sippy cup is too "little" for her. So what do you put it in?

Thanks

 

[Bird-Mom]

My girls drink water only (ok, the younger one gets breastmilk too). If we got out to eat, my older dd will sometimes choose chocolate milk, but the younger one will only drink water. We don't have juice or soda in the house, and we only use milk for cooking. My dh will sometimes have a soda at work, but that is rare. I love iced tea, which I make myself from herbal tea bags, but my dds aren't interested in that.

Have you tried cutting the juice with water? That might save some money.