Is mountain dew ok for children under the age of 5?

Question

My sister's son is addicted to it. I swear he its the mountian dew that makes him so hyper and uncontrollable. I refuse to go any where them or watch him. I tryed telling my sister its the md thats makeing him this way and she said she had him tested and he has adhd, and Did I mention he is only 3. Whats your thoughts so I can prove her wrong.

Answer 1

Soda is bad at any age, but it's especially harmful for children. Lifelong eating habits are cemented during the first 5 years of life, which is why it's so important that young children eat a healthy diet. Also, at a time when children are developing so rapidly (physically, emotionally, and intellectually), it is especially healthy that they have healthy food as fuel.
So by giving her son soda at age 3, she is pretty much ensuring that he will be addicted to it for life. Kids who eat junk food are more likely to be not only fat, but to have learning difficulties when they're older.
Personally, if you want my opinion, I'm appalled that she would give something that is nothing but garbage to her son. He needs to be drinking water, milk, and some 100% (no sugar added) fruit juice - nothing else. My son is also 3, and he's not allowed to drink soda. On occasion, he's allowed to have all - natural seltzer (which is just carbonated water - no sugar or anything fake) with a little fruit juice mixed into it. And he loves it! I usually don't recommend telling other people how to raise their kids, but in this case, she's really harming her son's health. I would bring it up to her. Search Google for problems associated with poor eating habits in young children (obesity, tooth decay, learning and behavior problems, poor eating habits for life) and the importance of teaching young children to eat healthy - trust me, you'll find more than enough information! Then, present her with the information (make sure her son isn't around - if there's anything a parent really hates, it's being criticized in FRONT of their children) and tell her you're very concerned. Good luck!

Answer 2

No child should be drinking soda. I didn't get to drink soda until I was about 8 or nine, and that was only on occasion. And now, I hardly ever have it, and even if I do, I usually can't even finish one by myself because it's too sickeningly sweet.

Yes, I have no doubt that it's the sugar and caffeine that's done it to that child. She obviously didn't tell the doctor that tested him that he drinks that crap. You need to shove it in her face that that stuff is pure sugar and caffeine, then ask her to explain to you what caffeine and sugar do to the body, then ask if she really thinks that she should be letting her toddler drink that crap. (This isn't even mentioning the side note that she's just asking for her child to become obese or have juvenile diabetes from all that sugar she's letting him pour into himself).

Make a bet with her. Make a bet that if she doesn't give him Mountain Dew or any other soda for ONE month, that he'll calm down. Make the terms be that if you win, she'll stop giving him that sh*t, but if you lose, you'll agree to watch him for a night. He'll probably have horrible headaches for the first week (I have no doubt that he's addicted to caffeine, and caffeine withdrawls hurt your head), but after that, he'll calm down.

Answer 3

The sugar, acid and caffeine are a potent combination. Your sister is a whack job and there's nothing you can do about that. And not every doctor that declares a child to be ADHD is qualified to make that diagnosis, especially if he hasn't bothered to tell Mom to get her bundle of joy the hell off the juice!!

Junior will grow up OK in spite of the harsh chemicals Mom has got him addicted to, with the doctor's compliance. He may not have any teeth or friends, though.

Meanwhile, I don't blame you for not wanting to be around this juiced fireball. Are you sure you and his mother grew up in the same house?

Answer 4

Moutain Dew is loaded with caffeine and isn't good for any children, much less a 3 year old with ADHD. If the sugar weren't bad enough, the caffeine surely puts him over the edge. If he's already been tested, she should ask her doctor about Mountain Dew, if she doesn't believe you. I won't even drink that stuff because it would make me jumpy too,

Answer 5

You should never give a kid under five pop or caffeinated drinks!!! Mountain Dew is worse than coffee for caffeine and worse than most pop for sugar.

Also, you cannot get a positive test for ADHD before the age of five and not a reliable one until about seven. Your sister is doing damage to her kid. Real damage! In all sorts of ways.

Answer 6

Tell her to cut that crap out. She is going to giver her child major problems later on in life.
ADHD is very very rarely diagnosed before the age of 7 and usually diagnosed around the age of 10.
Her child is addicted to a substance. And caffeine is ridiculous for a 5 year old to have in small amounts, let alone giant amounts.
Tell her to immediately stop giving her son this or she will have to spend all her time and money re-teaching everything the child's teacher was unable to teach him during the day because of his incredibly short attention span.
Or she can ignore this and allow him to be classified as ADHD because she is too lazy to be a good mom who says no to her son when it's in his best interest.
Also, this poor kid is going to have ADHD appear after his name in every single grade that he goes into. I believe that the teachers actually lower their expectations of these students and allow for misbehavior (to a point) because of the condition. This will only cause a viscous circle that the boy will never recover from.

Answer 7

Children run off of sugar and caffine. Mt Dew has alot of both. MY suggestion is this: if your child wants a soda put lots of ice in the glass to water it down. Caffine is not good for children to begin with, so I dont let my daughter have more than 1 soda a day. The rest of the time she drinks water with crystal lite packets in it, juice or milk. Alot of sugary stuff is bad for their teeth anyway. That is why alot of kids have cavities. Up to you mom, but I know you will make the best decision.

Answer 8

Sugar and caffine to the maxxxxxx. No its not good for a child, let alone an adult. Last time I went to the dentist, they had a chart that said something to the effect of how many TBSP of sugar are in one soda. Mountain Dew was one of the highest, something like 30 TBSP.

Answer 9

Mountain Dew is jammed packed with caffeine and sugar -- an athlete power drink ? At any rate, I wouldn't recommend it for adults, let alone children. Bad for teeth as well as hyperactivity.

Answer 10

Your sister is a moron for giving her 3 year old kid a whole bunch of soda pop - even if he didn't have ADHD.

If he's been tested and diagnosed with ADHD, they probably told her to get him off refined sugars...which is usually the first thing they do.

I know someone else who does this to her ADHD kid - it's just cruel. She 'doesn't want him to be sad that he can't have candy', so she gives it to him every day. Just dumb.