Packaged, flavoured or fizzy drinks available in the market can be harmful for kids. Read on to learn about the top 10 worst drinks for kids.Most of the kids enjoy sipping on fizzy drinks while they are gorging on a burger, or enjoy other drinks like chocolate
milk, lattes, etc. When you fail in making your kids eat fruits, you often offer them packaged fruit juices, which they happily drink. But the question is are these safe? To know better, have a look at the list of 10 worst drinks for kids.
1. Fizzy Drinks
Let us start with one of the addictive drinks for the kids – fizzy beverages including soft drinks and all types of sodas. They are loaded with sugar and the main cause behind all the visits to the dentist. Drinking too much fizzy drinks can cause diabetes, obesity, and other health problems in kids.
2. Bottled Fruit Juices
Fruits are very good for kids, but bottled fruit drinks are certainly not. They rarely contain any nutrients of the original fruits. They are just non-carbonated sodas sweetened with a lot of sugar, thus bad for your kid’s health. Serve your kids a plate of fresh
fruits instead.
3. Energy Drinks
Are your kids feeling too tired? You want to keep them energetic by offering energy drinks? Do not do that, because energy drinks contain dangerous amount of caffeine and sometimes another stimulant called ephedrine, which causes serious disturbing sleeping patterns in kids.
4. Artificially Coloured Drinks
Say no to artificially coloured drinks even if they look tempting to your kids. There are studies that have proven the link between food dyes and hyperactive behaviour. Also, these dyes are highly processed and of “zero” nutritional value, so keep your kids away from them.
5. Coffee
Caffeine has a serious effect on kids, causing stomach upset, difficulty in sleeping, increased heart rate, difficulty in concentration, etc. Coffee is known to contain a lot of
caffeine, so offering your child a hot cup of coffee or a glass of cold coffee is not a very good idea.
6. Sport Drinks
If your kids love sports, you really do not need to boost them with glasses of sport drinks – you should just help them feel energetic from their normal
diet. These sport drinks are full of sugar and can cause serious weight issues and other health problems in your kids.
7. Sweetened Tea
Tea is known to provide antioxidants, but when you add milk and also sweeten it with too much of sugar; it increases the glucose levels, which can be harmful for your kids.
8. Packaged Smoothies
Packaged smoothies may seem to be a better option than regular fruit juices and
milkshakes, but beware, as they can be dangerous for your kid’s stomach. They are not healthy and contain a lot of sodium. Packaged smoothies can also lead to weight gain as most of the packaged smoothies contain peanut butter, sweetened syrups, chocolate, and ice cream. Therefore, homemade smoothies which do not contain any harmful preservatives are a better option.
9. Flavoured Water
This is the new thing in the market, loved by kids. They are known to contain vitamins, but sadly, researches show that nutrients like vitamin B or C present in flavoured water pass out through the urine, which is of no use. It also contains artificial sweeteners that can be bad for your kids.
10. Alcohol
This is the worst of all. Alcohol affects memory and learning abilities in kids. The developing bodies of kids try to metabolize the alcohol and calories simultaneously, causing a huge weight gain. Due to its serious harmful effects, it is banned for kids.
As now you know these drinks are unsafe for kids, it is better that you also develop a habit of drinking only healthy drinks. As kids learn easily from what they see than what you advise them, you should also opt for healthier choices so that they also do the same.
How to ensure that kids have adequate amount of water? Which drinks are harmful for the health of kids? Which types of drinks should included in the diet of kids? Discuss here.