My son had a doctor appointment this morning & I asked the doctor about juice for him. He's going to be 7mo. old in a week & I've been giving him Gerber juice since he turned 6mo. old. I started out mixing 3oz. of water w/ 1oz. of juice then startedmixing 2oz. of water & 2oz. of juice because I thought the 3 to 1 ratio wasn't "yummy" enough for him. lol So I asked his pediatrician if 2oz of water & 2oz of juice was fine or if I should go back to 3oz & 1oz. He told me that juice isn't good for him because of all the added sugar & that if I give him juice now he won't drink water later in life because it lacks flavor. He said that since he's so young now & doesn't know the difference that when he's thirsty just give him strictly water, no juice. He said that he can have up to 8oz of water a day but he shouldn't have any juice. Well, my dear, sweet Mother-in-law , says that my son NEEDS juice & I should continue the juice. So I'm looking for some advice from some mommies that do give their children juice & some that don't. What is your input on all this?

I have no idea, but did you suggest that your MIL take it up with the doc? That would be an interesting battle to watch.  

They don't need juice but I'll be giving my daughter juice.

i would listen to the doctor. He didnt get his degree by being stupid.

He doesn't need juice. But giving him juice once in awhile will not hurt him. I give my son some juice once every couple days.

my son drinks strictly water, NO juice and he is 12 months old. There is no nutritional value from fruit juice that they can't get from eating a piece of fruit. Plus all the sugar in fruit juice, no thank you!

my son loves his water and eventually he will get juice, but not anytime soon. The first few years are so important and the proper nutrition is important. Not that juice will kill him or anything, I just don't want him to go straight for the juice or the soda when he's older. Hopefully he'll still prefer the water in the future.

I have to agree with your doctor... and here's why:
I did the same thing you're doing with my first son (who is now 4), and he still will not drink plain water. At all. It can be 95 degrees here, and he might just wet his lips a little with some water, but he won't just drink a glass of water. I hate it. I still give him diluted juice... about 50/50, that way I'm cutting back on the sugar, and sneaking some water in there as well.

With my other son, who is 6.5 months, I only give him water. Breastmilk, baby food, and water. Hopefully he'll bea better water drinker than his big bro.

I allowed my other kids to drink juice. Diluted of course and they still drink water fine. Granted they prefer juice but it is not a big issue if they were thirsty enough they would drink it.

my dr said juice was fine, but only 4 oz a day and dilute 2oz water to 2 oz juice.

Our pedi said juice can lead to childhood obesity, thats all Ive heard about it...But, ALOT of mothers give it to their babies. I plan going the water route. But well just have to see how that works out.

Ya,my mum told me Hazel needed juice too lol I bought some,tried it and she doesnt like it.

As for water,oh god your doctor will tell you it is fine but then a person from online will tell you no,dont give them water its bad for them.

Some ppl dont agree...
But i think i have gave my son juice about 3 times..
It has tons of sugar in it. And my son gets enought fruits to do with out.
He drinks milk and water...some time i add something sweet to his water but hardly ever.
He is 16 months...
I know tons of ppl who give their babies juice bf 6 months and seems they did ok.

I heard that from my dentist too. She was adamant that I not give my baby juice because she said that many of her young patients would have less problems if their parents did not give them juice. Plus, she reasons that it is always good to train our kids prefer water over juice anyway. My kid does not have dental insurance, so I'm going to take her advice and hold out on the juice for now.

Quoting EastonsMom:“ my son drinks strictly water, NO juice and he is 12 months old. There is no nutritional value from fruit ... [snip!] ... don't want him to go straight for the juice or the soda when he's older. Hopefully he'll still prefer the water in the future.”

When did you start water...I plan on giving it to my baby. But I have a book that says start 4oz of water at 6 months. Then my pedi says not to start water until 9 or 10 months.

I will not be introducing juice until at least after a year, maybe 2. That's the way my mom did it and till this day all 3 of us kids guzzle down water, and prefer it over soda, juice, etc.