Most of us will agree that plain water is the healthiest beverage choice. Unfortunately, it’s also kind of boring. Since giving your kids soda throughout the day is generally considered bad parenting, many moms turn to juice as an alternative.
But, some brands of apple juice actually have just as much sugar as a can of soda. Thus, a child drinking juice all day long ends up with a high risk of tooth decay and obesity from all of the extra calories he or she is consuming.
Watering down your child’s apple juice is a common solution, but getting the proportions right can be hard if you have a picky eater on your hands. My son drank watered down apple juice throughout the toddler years, but soon discovered that mom, dad, and grandma each used a different ratio of juice to water when preparing his sippy cups. So, of course he wanted to know why grandma’s apple juice always tasted more like “candy” than the juice at his house.
Mott’s for Tots apple juice makes the watered down juice concept easier to manage by premixing the juice with purified water. The result is juice with fewer calories and 40% less sugar than 100% apple juice.
This product was not available when my son was young, but Mott’s recently sent us a few juice boxes to sample. The juice was pleasant tasting, although anyone who has ever had 100% apple juice would notice that it had been watered down. Still, it’s a reasonable beverage choice for on-the-go families who want the taste of juice without all of the added sugar. It can be purchased in jugs or in juice boxes, depending upon your preferences.
Does your child drink Mott’s for Tots?
photo credit: Mott’s
