Kool-Aid is NOT JUICE

People... it's simple. Kool-aid is NOT juice. Please stop calling it juice. This goes for the gallon jug of fruit punch that you buy at the grocery store. Today I overheard it, and it reminded me of someone I knew a few years ago. She would tell her kids to go grab the juice out of the fridge, or ask if they wanted juice, and she would be speaking of sugary fruit punch. If its a powder in an envelope, it is not a fruit. When you call them the same thing, you are telling your kids that they are they same thing. CUT IT OUT! If you are going to teach your children how to eat healthy, it starts with educating them about what they are eating. If you ordered a steak at a restaurant and they brought you a hamburger, you wouldn't be happy. If you wanted a new purse, so your husband bought you a drill, you'd be livid. So, when your child asks for juice, why would you give them flavored sugar in a cup?



Does my child get Kool-Aid? Yes. How often? Probably once every 2 months I will make a batch. It calls for a cup of sugar and I usually use 3/4 a cup or less and it tastes just fine. I'm not saying that kids can't have fruit punch or soda, but it shouldn't be a substitute for water, milk, and fruit juice. Yes, in that order. Children need to drink water. They need calcium from milk and they need fruit. Now, I am fully aware that it says right on the container that 8 ounces of apple juice counts as a serving of fruit, but seriously, so does an apple. It is always better to get the servings of fruit from whole fruits such as apples, grapes, bananas, and oranges. Teach your kids to drink water when they are thirsty. We have a water dispenser in the door of our fridge and we sit a cup on the counter for our daughter. She uses it to get a drink whenever she is thirsty. Milk is for meal times, and so is fruit juice.



So... go forth... and call it like it is. Teach your kids to drink water and teach your kids the difference between Kool-Aid and juice.