No, babies should not have any coke or other sugary, caffeinated drinks; it's harmful due to sugar, caffeine, and acid, which can lead to tooth decay, fussy behavior, poor sleep, and displace essential nutrients from breastmilk or formula. For infants, breastmilk or formula is best, with water introduced after 6 months, while toddlers need water and milk, not soda.
Concerns include digestive upset and risk of dehydration in infants. Soda is not suitable for infants, especially those as young as 3 months. It contains sugar, caffeine, and additives that can upset a baby's delicate digestive system and may lead to dehydration.
0--2 years: Avoid soda entirely. Water and breast milk/formula are appropriate; small amounts of pasteurized milk after 12 months. 2--6 years: Strongly discourage soda. If offered very rarely (eg, one sip at a celebration), keep portions tiny and avoid caffeinated varieties. Prioritize water and milk.
Summary: Coca‐Cola is unsafe and unsuitable for infants; stick to breastmilk, formula, and age‐appropriate water, and seek medical advice if a baby consumes a significant amount or becomes symptomatic.
Do not give your baby fizzy drinks. They have a lot of sugar and acid, which are harmful to teeth. Fizzy drinks also fill up your baby's small tummy so they may not want to eat their meals.
Fizzy drinks are acidic and can damage tooth enamel so they should not be given to babies and young children. Diet or reduced-sugar drinks are not recommended for babies and young children. Even low-calorie drinks and no-added-sugar drinks can encourage children to develop a sweet tooth.
For toddlers and older children, water is the preferred drink, so encourage this regularly through the day. Fruit juice, cordial, soft drinks, and flavoured water are not needed. Unpasteurised milks, caffeinated drinks, tea, coffee and herbal drinks are all not recommended for children.
In a nutshell: Age 8 is when most people said they'd let their child have fizzy drinks (we polled 1,427 parents). Fizzy drinks have had some pretty bad press in the last few years - they've been blamed for everything from obesity to tooth decay.
Babies under 6 months of age should not drink water.
Drinking water can lead to diarrhea, malnutrition, or electrolyte imbalances in babies. Luckily, babies get all the liquid and hydration they need in breast milk or formula.
Most babies, especially when encouraged early on, will happily accept fresh, cold water. During meals, you can also use milk or fruit juice. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends only 4-6 ounces of 100% fruit juice a day. NEVER fill sippy cups with soda pop or other sugary drinks.
Products such as soda, coffee, energy drinks, and tea aren't regulated when it comes to how much caffeine they can contain when they're marketed toward children and teenagers. In general, the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages parents from giving their kids any caffeine at all.
There's no single "number one" unhealthiest soda, as different ones rank poorly for different reasons (sugar, acidity, dyes), but Mountain Dew, Fanta Grape, and orange sodas often top lists due to high sugar, potent citric acid for enamel erosion, and potentially carcinogenic artificial dyes (like Red 40), making them particularly damaging for teeth and overall health, notes this article from Eat This, Not That! and this article from Fowler Orthodontics. Dark sodas (like Coke/Pepsi) are also very unhealthy due to sugar, caffeine, and caramel coloring, while clear sodas (Sprite/7Up) are generally less harmful but still packed with sugar, says this article from MEL Magazine.
From ages 1-3, your toddler only really needs two things: Water & Milk. Water is a great go-to drink throughout the day (1-4 cups of water per day). Milk is great for mealtime. Starting at age 1, plain whole milk is recommended (2-3 cups of milk per day).
Some soda is fine, confirms Kecia Gaither, MD, MPH, ob-gyn and and the director of perinatal services/maternal fetal medicine at NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln in the Bronx. But many soft drinks are high in caffeine and sugar, so you'll want to cap your consumption.
The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine consumption for kids.
Not really, unless they're caffeinated. (Caffeine has been reported by some moms to cause irritability and colic symptoms in their breastfed babies.) Your afternoon soda shouldn't bother baby, but beware that fizzy drinks can make you feel bloated and full, keeping you from drinking enough fluids during the day.
Water intoxication symptoms may include: Nausea and vomiting. Bloated stomach. Headache.
If you do need to offer your baby extra water and your baby is younger than 6 months of age then it is important to sterilise it (boil the water first and let it cool down).
Key takeaways. Breast milk or formula is the main drink for babies until 12 months of age, with water being introduced from 6 months. Avoid juice, cow's milk, plant milks, smoothies, fizzy drinks, tea, and coffee in the first year.
Consuming too much added sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, can increase a child's risk for obesity, tooth decay and many other health-related problems. If kids drink these types of drinks a lot, especially soda and energy drinks, it can also impact bone health.
Information. Carbonated soft drinks or sodas are not perishable, and are safe past the date stamped on the container. Eventually flavor and carbonation will decrease. For best quality, consume unopened diet sodas within 3 months after the date expires; regular sodas within 9 months.
Babies shouldn't have:
sugary drinks, like soda, sweet tea, sports drinks, lemonade, and punch. drinks made with artificial sweeteners (often labeled “zero-calorie”) plain or flavored milk from cows, goats, or other animals. plain or flavored plant-based milks made from soy, almond, oat, rice, or coconut.
Avoid: Infants younger than 12 months should not drink juice, milk, flavored milks (e.g., chocolate, strawberry), “transition” or “weaning” formulas (sometimes called toddler milks, growing up milks, or follow up formulas), plant-based and non-dairy milks (e.g., almond, rice, oat), caffeinated beverages (e.g., soda, ...
Sodas are one of the worst drink choices for kids, unfortunately. They have zero nutritional value, they're often caffeinated, and they can contain upwards of 11 teaspoons of sugar in just 12 ounces! (The diet versions aren't good either, with their artificial sweeteners.)