We all know that soda is bad for you. We hear it all the time. It rots your teeth, it leads to obesity and a host of other problems. Yet, soda still sells at a record keeping pace. It is so easy to understand how bad for you it is, but staying away from it is another problem entirely. My husband and I decided that we would keep soda out of our home and away from our kids. Soda really has no benefit to us or our children. We have decided we won’t allow them to drink it until them until they are older. These are the 5 reasons why you shouldn’t allow your kids to drink soda.
1. Soda is horrible for their dental health and your wallet
I have had far more cavities than I would like to admit during my lifetime. I am positive most of those cavities are due to soda and sugary foods. Soda is terrible for your teeth and it sticks to them like crazy.
I have a 9 year old student who drinks 20 oz sodas all the time. He told me he has 5 cavities. That is insane. If that is not a warning to get your kids off soda, I don’t know what is. I would prefer my kids never have to suffer through having a filling if possible.
If you have limited dental insurance or no dental insurance, dental work can really add up and put a dent in your wallet. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather go on a family vacation than pay for dental work.
2. Soda Helps Lead to Childhood Obesity
Did you know most people’s caloric requirement is around 1500-2000 calories a day? If you drink one 20 oz bottle of soda you have used up about 1/10th of your caloric requirements on soda. Is that really worth it? Soda also helps raise the rate of obesity in children. I don’t know any parent who wants that for their child.
3. Soda is Addictive and Soda is Bad for You
Soda is highly addictive because of the amount of sugar it has in it. I hear people say all the time that they crave a soda or candy. Why? This is because they are completely addicted to the sugar in those foods. Studies have shown that the sugar in these items is just as addictive as some drugs. Read this article and you be the judge. Either way, soda is not good for your children’s health and they are far too young to be addicted to it.
4. The Caffeine in Soda Disrupts Their Sleep
I eliminated soda from my diet as I work on healthy habits. I am a former soda junkie, but I am determined that my kids will not be. I had a cola the other day, and that night I had a horrible time falling asleep. It was awful and I couldn’t figure out why I was so wide awake. Then it hit me, it had to be the soda and the caffeine in it. The majority of the time that I had avoided soda and I was regularly working out I found it easy to fall asleep. That night I drank the soda I had a terrible time falling asleep. I don’t want my kids to have trouble falling asleep because of the sugar and caffeine in soda.
5. Do You Want Your Child to Drink A Liquid That Can Clean Car Batteries?
Have you heard that sodas can clean calcium off faucets and toilets, rust off metal and acid off car batteries? If not, check out this video. You would think soda’s cleaning abilities would be a deterrent to keep us all from drinking soda, but it’s not. If you really think about it though, if soda can clean away those types of buildup, what does it do to our bodies? What will it do to our children’s bodies? I’m just not willing to take the risk with them.
I know there are many parents that believe letting kids have soda is not that harmful to them. I disagree. I think the longer we keep soda from our kids, the better chance they will have of avoiding it altogether. There are plenty of great alternatives they can consume instead that are better for their teeth, health, and sleep.
Raising kids is so difficult. We all want to do right by them. Need a little help managing it all? Check out these posts.
What to Drink Instead
Water (flavor it with mint, orange slices, berries, lemon or cucumber)
Juice
Sparkling Water with a Splash of 100 percent fruit juice
The 3 Step Strategy That Will Teach Your Kids to Pick Up Their Toys
Thanks for the useful information. This was very informative, especially this part “Soda is horrible for their dental health”. Keep sharing your post.
Soda has always been one major factor for tooth decay, its hard to keep children away from these things but we do have to take necessary measures to prevent our kids. Keep up the good work!
Agreed. I know the problems it has caused with my teeth.
That’s an eye-opener! Thank you for sharing this post. My teenage son’s dentist at Molar Bear Pediatric Dentistry, Houston, TX told me to get him off sodas and trust me, that has been really really tough – to get children off of the soda addiction.
Soda is tough to quit! Especially as a teenager. Look for alternatives. Give it time and best of luck!
Wow! That’s some vital info. I loved the way you talked about the car batteries thing – that’s bang on. My kid’s dentist Dr. J in Royal Palm Beach, FL always ends the treatment with a warning – “Do NOT drink sodas”.
I wish more dentists would talk about this instead of just saying make sure they brush and floss well!
The last point was just too good, definitely going to share it with my friends , we all know what soda to our teeth, but still we don’t care about that. Highly appreciate your article, keep posting 🙂
Laticia Gibson recently posted…How Much Pain Will I Have After a Root Canal and When Should I Seek Help? – Root canal dentist
Thanks for the note. I’m glad you found it helpful.