Want your kids to choose fruit juice or water over soda? The best way to make it happen may be to model that behavior. Researchers have found that the more soda parents drink, the more their kids reach for the sugary drinks, too! While soda isn’t completely responsible for the skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity, it does play a role.

Help your kids kick the pop habit by not keeping soda in the house. Instead, keep healthy thirst-quenching alternatives such as cold water, cool herbal tea, and 100 percent fruit juice on hand.

Keep a few slices of citrus fruit, cucumber, or berries ready to drop in a glass of water or tea.

Talk with your children about why soda is bad for their health and their teeth, and get involved to make sure school vending machines offer your kids healthy options.

Diet sodas are not the answer – while they lack the sugar and calories, they are filled with chemicals that neither you nor your kids need. Choose water, herbal tea, or 100 percent fruit juice. The whole family will be healthier!

Photo by Martin Walls

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 am and is filed under Articles - Ten Steps and THM Basics, Caffeine and Nicotine, Chemicals, Additives & Preservatives, Family friendly activities, food, tips, Sugar and Sweeteners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.