These important tips are for every healthy child not just children who are overweight. Start today.
1. Encourage water as 1st choice.
2. Make water appealing.
- Get a drink bottle that appeals to your child so that they feel okay about taking it in their bag.
- Buy water instead of soft drink from the drinks’ fridge when out.
- Look for water flavoured with lime or lemon extracts but no hidden added sugars.
3. Try fizzy water for a change – plain soda water and unflavoured mineral water are good choices as well.
4. Do not keep other soft drinks and cordial in the house.
5. Limit fruit juice – if you plan to have juice at home then it must be hand-squeezed (no electricity involved!) by either you or your child if old enough.
If your juicing method allows it, add back the fruit pulp into the juice.
6. Limit free access to milk drinks.
7. Avoid sports drinks.
8. Teach and remind everyone who looks after your child about how and why to be smart with drinks.
It is not a matter of anyone ‘missing out’ or ‘needing’ juice, soft drinks and cordial everyday. No one really needs these drinks everyday.
Water is the best everyday choice for everyone, young and old.
Did you realize that the jumbo carton of soft drink at the movies holds close to 1.25 L of soft drink? That's an entire family size bottle in a single serve!
That is seriously too much for any body, especially a growing child's body, so don’t let your guard down at the cinema or footy. Stay on message and be consistent. Stick with water or other low joule, low cal or zero drinks.