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My kids get an Izzy (a 10-oz can of juice-sweetened soda) as a treat about once a month or so, and a "Zevia" soda (no sugar or calories of any kind) a couple more times a month.

One kid gets a (small) chocolate milk a 1-3 times a week. That's probably the most sugar either gets (outside of birthday parties and sugar-based holidays); the other will drink water even when she has the option of free soda.

Funny thing is that we don't restrict sugar. There's a container of candy in the cupboard that they can eat when they want (they typically ask first, but we rarely say no), but it frequently goes weeks without being touched. Sometimes they'll have a square of chocolate or two, but it's not a regular thing.

It turns out that if you "allow" kids to do most anything they want, but give them the tools to think clearly about what is healthy and why, they are perfectly capable of making good choices. I think it's the very restrictions that parents place on kids that makes them crave the same things those parents restrict.

> Why do people think that it's OK to allow kids to drink soda? In fact, why do people think that drinking soda is something that anyone must do? > I used to drink soda. Gave it up many years ago. Have not missed it.

Why do people feel the need to hold a personal choice as something everyone else must do?

Please, next tell me how you don't have a TV.

Because moderate social pressure can be a good way to change habits? If you regularly see people drinking soda on a daily basis and hear nothing against it, it's a lot easier to fall into the habit. If you hear about people who stopped drinking soda and don't miss it, it might inspire you to do the same.

I'm not saying that no one should ever drink soda; just that more moderation should be encouraged, people should start treating it as a choice that you should make as a responsible adult and use in moderation, like caffeine or alcohol, rather than a default that everyone does starting as a kid and continues doing whenever they feel like.

Most people seem to either not realize it's bad for you, or not care because they are so used to it.

I significantly cut back on soda last year, and haven't had any at all for months. I drink mainly water. I don't miss soda; doesn't even sound appealing any more.

Well, caffeine is addictive, and many sodas have caffeine in them, so it is not a 'used to it' thing, it's very physical[0]. When you order that diet coke with lunch everyday, you develop a habit that is very hard to break for a lot of folk. Also, enjoying a Dr. Pepper is not terrible, you just have to know you are drinking a lot of sugars.

As an aside, the sugar profile of most sodas is made to mimic that of honey closely. So much so, that 'stretching' honey is a cause for concern in apiarist communities as it is quite easy to do so [1].

[0]http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-withdrawal-symptoms...

[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23575142

Keeping children off of sugar is rather challenging. We had our young kids on a nearly zero sugar diet for a couple years, but they had really strong behavioral reactions to even small amounts of sugar (e.g., three starbursts) given to them by friends or adults. We have slightly increased their sugar consumption (e.g., maple syrup on pancakes) and they don't have the same reaction to small amounts of sugar. Not our favorite trade-off though.

You know, there's no (non-psychological) link between sugar and hyperactivity- it's basically the same as giving kids fizzy applejuice, saying it's beer and watching them get "drunk". They act hyperactive because they expect that sugar will make them hyper; thus they do.

> I drink beer (which has most of its sugar fermented out; still has some calories, but not nearly so sweet).

Beer is better, but it's still got a surprising amount of sugar, depending on the brew. A can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar [1]. A Sierra Nevada Bigfoot has 30.3 [2]. Of course, that's the worst offender. Popular "craft" or "imports" seem to be around 10-15 (Anchor Steam is 14.2, Beck's is 9, Guiness is 14, Killian's is 14.8, etc.).

American light beers are around 3-5, which is much better than a can of Coke.

If you're switching from soda to anything but "light" beers, you're cutting some carbs, but not by about 1/2 or 2/3.

[1]: https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/soda/carbo... [2]: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Calories-Popular-Beers-15046...

> A Sierra Nevada Bigfoot has 30.3 [2].

That number is the total carbs, not sugar specifically. Most beers have relatively low sugar content; your link actually claims 0g of sugar for the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. Calories in beer come partly from alcohol and partly from complex carbs (hence "liquid bread"). That doesn't make them healthy, but 30g of complex carbs is a lot less bad for you than 30g of simple sugars.

Ah, sorry, reading fail on my part. I've been trying to watch my carb/sugar intake recently so I pay attention to those numbers, but I've yet to figure out which matters more for my own body chemistry.

Why do people think that it's OK to allow kids to drink coffee? In fact, why do people think that drinking coffee is something that anyone must do?

I used to drink coffee. Gave it up many years ago. Have not missed it. Have much less of a caffeine addiction now; don't drink caffeinated drinks very often, and when I do, a very small portion is plenty. I think giving up coffee helped with that.

If I want a sweetened beverage, I drink soda, sugarless or with sugar but no caffeine.

Etc.

I appreciate what you're pointing out how, but it doesn't strictly work since sugar arguably has a far larger affect on overall health and metabolism than caffeine. At least in the context of this story.

Sure, but the GP is arguing against soda, when there's a perfectly good alternative: sugarless soda. He doesn't provide any argument as to why one should cut soda completely, he just says "sugar is bad, therefore you need to cut soda".

I don't even think he's saying that, actually, he seems to be saying "I don't drink soda so neither should you".

What I'm saying is that culturally, we need to shift away from thinking that sweets are something that should be consumed on a daily basis. Based on my personal experience, avoiding having sweet drinks on a daily basis can help you lose your sweet tooth; and thus be less compelled to consume more of other sweet things.

Having cut out soda, I find I have a lower tolerance for sweet food in general. I'm less likely to order sweet and sour chicken, or foods that are glazed, or things with barbecue sauce, or honey-mustard dressings or dips. I have desserts less often, and when I do, split them more ways.

As others have pointed out in this thread, most people have a sense that feeding caffeine or alcohol to kids is a bad idea; and even as adults, that they are things that should be consumed in moderation. They don't have coffee available in the school cafeteria. However, most people have no such sense about sugar, giving kids juice boxes, chocolate milks, and putting soda machines in schools for them to buy whenever they have a little extra allowance left over.

While sugar-free soda is probably an improvement over soda with sugar in it, it still leaves you with that sweet tooth, and you're more likely to subconsciously keep consuming sugars in other forms.

I learned this from my doctor (who is a diabetic specialist), some years ago we were talking about how to form good habits for kids and my wife and I were avoiding caffeine beverages for the kids, but letting them have apple juice etc. His opinion based on the evidence is that he would much rather have our kids drink caffeine every day but stay away from the sugar. His specific point was that people on the internet point to unknown risks with aspartame or caffeine, but ignore the mountain of known risks associated with sugar.

It was an eye opening discussion to say the least.

> Why do people think that it's OK to allow kids to drink coffee?

Actually, most people I know don't consider coffee to be an acceptable drink to give to kids; but they don't think twice of serving them soda with the same amount of caffeine, or just lots of sugary drinks like non-caffeinated sodas, sweetened juices, "low fat chocolate milk" (as if the fat, rather than the sugar, is the problem there), etc.

> In fact, why do people think that drinking coffee is something that anyone must do?

Caffeine (and the various forms it's consumed in, like coffee or tea) has both health benefits and health risks. As far as I can tell, based on all of the data I have seen, sugary drinks are much, much worse for you.

>Why do people think that it's OK to allow kids to drink soda?

Because it is "okay". Why do people think it's okay to tell others what is okay?

>It seems to me that so many people have this idea that sugary drinks

What idea is that? Some people just like the taste of Mountain Dew. You, or your choice of coffee and beer, isn't superior.

> Because it is "okay". Why do people think it's okay to tell others what is okay?

Culturally, we consider coffee and alcohol to be things that should generally only be consumed by adults, and in moderation. Alcohol we have serious laws about; coffee not as much, but I know very few parents who would feed their children coffee on a regular basis.

However, we have no such cultural taboo about sugary drinks, despite the increasing amount of research showing that they are actually much more problematic when consumed regularly than caffeine or alcohol consumed in moderation.

this video turned me off from drinking regular coke and switched to coke zero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZp29Qeu8_U