Juice Boxes

I don't buy them, unless they are getting a kids meal.

We don't bother with juice boxes... or any juice for that matter. If he does get any juice, it's our usual juice watered down for him to the point it just flavors the water. We have a juicer on the way, so we may all be drinking more juice soon. I like the idea of knowing exactly what goes into my juices.

I rarely buy them anymore.  Every once in a blue moon.  She usually drinks water or milk when she's at home.

It's not that I don't want her to have juice, but the fact that she'll go to the fridge and get 5 or 6 of them a day.  She'll either drink half of it, leave it somewhere and go get more..  or she'll just drink them all up really fast and demand that I buy more.  So I stopped buying them.

Mine is 1 month short of 3 and drinks 100% juice (not diluted), koolaid, decaf soda, decaf tea, soy milk, water. 

He favorite drinks and most prevalent in a day is soy milk and water. (He's on soy due to issues with other milks). 

Soda/tea is special occassion drink. Koolaid and juices are offered when he requests them, which is generally once or twice a day. 

Juice is not diluted because he struggles with bowel issues (constipation), thus when juice is not diluted he tends to be less constipated and a happier child. 

***PLEASE don't bash me, I get compared to most I'm the "bad mom" for giving my son what I do, but it works for him and us.***

 my son only has them when he packs his lunch for school. his favorites are the capri suns roaring waters.

Typically at a friend's B-day party, but it still makes me cringe. I hate store bought juice but thankfully, she attends maybe a few b-day parties a year, so I suck it up and deal with it. I just make sure she drinks plenty of water before and after and brushes her teeth really well.

There is a huge difference in eating an apple vs drinking store bought juice, including 100% juice. While the difference of sugar content may only be 6-7 grams, that isn't the only thing to think about. It's what juice does to your body.

ETA:

What's missing in fruit juice.

Whole fruit provides you with a whole lot more nutrition that fruit juice. Focusing upon two components of fruit - the skin and the pulp - will help to clarify why there is such a difference between the two.

The benefits of fruit skins

The edible skins of many of the World's Healthiest Fruits - including apples, apricots, blueberries, figs, grapes, pears, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, and strawberries - are all sites of important biological activity in the life of the fruit. The skin is one of the places where the fruit interacts with sunlight, and forms a variety of colored pigments that absorb different wavelengths of light. These pigments, including carotenoids and flavonoids, are well researched as nutrients that protect our health and nourishment. The skins of whole fruits like grapes have actually been studied for their ability to help lower risk of cancer and help provide protection from ultraviolet light.

Unfortunately, when fruits are juiced, we don't always get to enjoy the fruit's skin. That is because many juicing processes remove the skin, and do not allow for its full benefits to get into the juice.

The benefits of the fruit pulp

In addition to the skin, which is an important source of fiber in most fruits, the pulpy part of the fruit is also a source of fiber (and other nutrients). Orange juice makes a good example of the health difference when you focus on the issue of its pulp. The white pulpy part of the orange is the primary source of its flavonoids. The juicy orange-colored sections of the orange contain most of its vitamin C. In the body, flavonoids and vitamin C often work together, and support health through their interaction. When the pulpy white part of the orange is removed in the processing of orange juice, the flavonoids in the orange are lost in the process. This loss of flavonoids is one of the many reasons for eating the orange in its whole food form (even if you only end up eating a little bit of the white pulpy part). Although many commercial products will say "pulp added" on their labels, the "pulp added" many not even be the original pulp found in the whole fruit, and it is highly unlikely to be added back in the amount removed.

Juicing reduces the fiber content

How much fiber is lost in the conversion from whole fruit to fruit juice? Let's use apples and apple juice as an example.

A cup of apple juice that you can see straight through (pulp removed) contains no measurable amount of fiber. To create this 8-ounce glass of juice, approximately 3-4 apples are needed (depending, of course, on the size and density of the apples). Each of these 3-4 apples contains about 3.75 grams of dietary fiber, for a total of about 12-15 grams of dietary fiber. Virtually all of these 12-15 grams are lost in the production of clear apple juice! These 12-15 grams of lost fiber, if added back into the juice, would fully double our average daily fiber intake!

Is fruit juice unhealthy?

The answer to this question depends on how it's consumed, and what foods it replaces. Fruit juice that has been robbed of its fiber and broad range of nutrients is basically just a concentrated source of sugar that lacks the supportive nutrients to help it digest and metabolize. Fruit juice elevates blood sugar more quickly than whole fruit, and the level of sugar that can be obtained from fruit juice is higher than the level found in whole fruit. For example, 120 calories' worth of whole apples contains about 24 grams of sugar, while 120 calories' worth of apple juice contains about 30 grams.

Quoting nodramamama311:

We do a lot of juice boxes, but whether it's bottled or boxes I always buy 100% juice. It's funny to me when people say that juice has too much sugar, do you know how much sugar is in fruit? Or even LOTS of things we feed our kids. If juice is 100% then it's got just as much sugar as an apple. About 23 grams of sugar in a large apple and about 26 grams in an 8 oz serving of 100% apple juice. So if people are so worried about sugar then I guess real fruit is out too?

I don't get juice boxes. My older girl has only had one or two in her life. I get V8 Fusion juice and water that down.

No juice or juice boxes. She has had maybe one or two ever and that was special occasion

I get fruitables juice boxes. For bottled juice I get v8 fusion, simply apple, and simply orange. I always intend for the juice boxes to be for out but we end up drinking them at home, too.

I let DD have juice a couple times a day. She always gets juice with breakfast because she needs miralax mixed in. Usually milk or juice with lunch and milk or water with dinner. If she asks for juice or a juice box during the day I generally let her. It helps with her digestive issues. I've found when she has juice a couple times a day she does better even than when she just has water. (and we always have fruits and veggies every day, that doesn't change)

So we have to do it backwards from the norm. Sometimes she asks for milk and I have to say "no, you've had too much. But you can have juice."