Miriel Team · drinks, water, cow's milk, added sugar
Drinks for Kids, Age by Age
Water and milk are the everyday drinks. What goes in the cup from 6 months to 5 years, and what to skip.
For young children, the everyday drinks are water and milk: breast milk or formula for babies, plain milk after the first birthday. Almost everything else in the drinks aisle is something to skip or keep rare.
What goes in the cup changes as your child grows. Here is how it usually looks at each stage.
6–12 months
- Breast milk or formula is still the main drink.
- Offer a few sips of water in an open cup or a free-flow cup with meals. This is mostly about learning to sip.
- No juice yet, and no cow’s milk as a drink. Cow’s milk can go into cooking, and yogurt and cheese are common foods at this age.
12 months to 2 years
- Plain whole cow’s milk can become the main milk, served in a cup with meals and snacks.
- Water between meals and whenever your child is thirsty.
- Juice isn’t needed. If you offer it, keep it to a small splash of 100% juice with a meal.
- Milk works best as part of meals, not sipped all day. A toddler who fills up on milk often has less room for food.
2 to 5 years
- Water is the main drink through the day.
- Plain milk with meals. Around age 2, ask your pediatrician whether to stay with whole milk or move to a lower-fat milk.
- Juice stays optional: at most a small glass of 100% juice with a meal, and whole fruit most of the time.
Drinks to skip
- Soda, sweet tea, lemonade and juice drinks. They are mostly sugar.
- Sports drinks. They are made for long, hard exercise. Children running around the park need water.
- Energy drinks, coffee and other caffeinated drinks. These are adult drinks only.
- Flavored milk. Serve plain milk cold, or blend it with fruit at home.
- Toddler milks and growing-up milks. Most toddlers do fine with plain milk and family food, and many of these have added sugar.
- Diet drinks and drinks with sweeteners. Plain water is the habit to build.
Dairy-free family? From 12 months, unsweetened soy milk with added calcium is the plant milk closest to cow’s milk. Other plant drinks vary a lot, so check with your pediatrician before making one the main milk.
Making water the easy choice
- Keep a small cup of water where your child can see it.
- Offer water at every meal and snack, and more often on hot days and after active play.
- If plain water is a hard sell, add a slice of cucumber, a few berries or a squeeze of orange.
- Let your child pour from a small jug. Spills are part of learning.
- Skip juice as a reward. If you serve it, keep it just another drink with a meal.