Fifth Grade
Worksheets
What's a Preschooler to Drink?
Drink options have come a long way. Just take a walk down a supermarket aisle and see for yourself. There are juice boxes, ten percent juice bottles, one hundred percent juice bottles, low-fat milk, whole milk, water, flavored water, and soda. Having choices can be good, but what is a good choice for a preschooler?
The two best beverages for ALL children are milk and water. A good choice for a preschooler is 2% or whole cow's milk. For ages one to three years old, 500 mg of calcium a day is recommended. For ages four to eight years old, that amount increases to 800 mg of calcium a day. This calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth. Milk and other dairy products are obviously indispensable to receiving the right amount of calcium. The amount of calcium a child consumes while growing plays a huge role in bone mass in one's adult life. Therefore, preschoolers should be drinking two cups of milk, or consuming an equal amount of calcium in other dairy products or calcium-rich foods, each and every day.
What about soda as an option for a preschooler? Soda should not be given to a preschooler at all. There is no nutritional value in soda. It has loads of sugar in it. If a preschooler is allowed to drink soda, there won't be a lot of room for milk, which is needed. Most sodas also have caffeine, which can cause nervousness, headaches, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and upset stomachs. Unfortunately, it is estimated that one in eight preschool children do have some soda each day. Keep in mind that if a preschooler drinks one glass of soda that has 110 calories, that's about 1/10 of the calories a child that age needs all day. Drinking soda has been connected to weight gain in the teenage years.
