How Early Is Too Early to Juice Up Your Kids?

What's up now? What do you have to be careful of with the kiddies? There's an updated message from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Being a parent is exhausting. I'm not one, but all the messages and warnings that come across my desk about what to do and not to do with your children is a red flag to exactly how very hard the job of parenting is. I salute you!

So, with that in mind, I have something to share. Pediatricians say parents need to keep fruit juice away from children younger than one year. And even put the breaks on consumption for older kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says in their newest, just published guidelines, that older children should drink fruit juice in very limited amounts and that all kids should eat more fresh fruit instead. The guidelines go beyond earlier advice from the group that parents should not give fruit juice to infants younger than six months.The Academy says the new advice is based on evidence that links drinking fruit juice to tooth decay and too much or too little weight gain for young children.

The guidelines as published in the journal Pediatrics, includes this updated policy statement as of May 22, from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Here's their recommendations:

• No juice before age 1
• For toddlers ages 1-3, up to half a cup per day (4 oz)
• For children ages 4-6, up to three-quarters cup per day (6 oz)
• For children and teens ages 7-18, up to 1 cup per day (8 oz)
• Do not put juice in a sippy cup or bottle that the child carries around
• Offer your child whole fruit, which has both the vitamins and fiber that children need.

I know all of my friends always cut juice with water when giving it to the little ones, but this seems a lot more limiting then even that.