Dr Tanya - Our Resident Pediatrician

My husband and I generally agree on everything about our two-year old but lately we're at odds over what she drinks. I've always given her milk at meals and water the rest of the day but my husband seems to want desperately to give her other things to drink. She was totally satisfied with milk and water until he started giving her juices and now decaf tea. I try to stop it when I can because I LIKE the fact that she never asked for any of the sweet drinks, she just asked for water. However I don't have any scientific reason to be against tea. Like coffee, it just seems like an adult drink to me. Am I nuts? Is there no harm in it?

Do you have some good reasons as to why she should not have tea (I think I won the juice discussion when I pointed out the sugar content in juice).

By the way, now my lovely little one gets snarky when I limit her to water. She has started to cry for juice, etc. – exactly what I didn't want to happen! However, eventually she gives in and drinks the water.

Thirst wins out--for now. Can you convince me to chill and live with the tea? Or is my hubby doing something wrong?

Thanks for the help! - Jean

Hi Jean,

I completely agree with your desire to stick with only water and milk. Your two-year old does not need juice or tea.  Juice is just extra sugar with very little, if any, nutritional value.  I consider juice a dessert, as it has just as many calories. Like birthday cake, it is fine in small amounts. I'm not aware of any research that shows that decaf tea is harmful; in some cultures it is an important part of every day customs.  As you have found, though, your daughter is now more interested in drinking flavored beverages. Once you introduce sweet-tasting items, it's challenging, although not impossible, to go back to just water and milk.  Since decaf tea seems important to your husband, I would recommend that you agree on a set amount that she is allowed to have (usually no more than four to six ounces a day).

However, be consistent on the time of day or occasion that she gets this treat -- or you may be in for some tantrums as she demands the tea over her milk or water.

In general, I recommend that parents get their infant used to drinking water when they first introduce solid food. How many adults do you know don’t like plain water?  It’s often because they didn’t get used to the taste when they were young. Even watered-down juice or other flavored beverages get a child in the habit of wanting sweet-tasting beverages.  So stick with water and milk.  Starting early will develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.

The only time I do recommend juice is if a baby or toddler is constipated. Small amounts of prune, apple or pear juice may help with this problem.

Good luck!