[tanamom of 2]

Is Kool-Aid a good convenient, cheap drink for parents to serve their kids or is is diabetes waiting to happen in a drink? Is it any worse then a lot of other drinks out there?

[clouise]

It's sugar water...nothing more, nothing less. I think it's good for a treat, but bad if you think it's as good as water, milk, or real juice.

I grew up drinking it and never had a cavity or a weight problem. Moderation, right?

[MindyRambo]

Yeah, and it depends how you make it for too... Some people put like 2 cups of sugar... I like to put 1/2 cup, it takes best to me that way and most refreshing.

[LifeToTheMax]

Just like anything else, it's not really "bad" or "good" but how you use it. Is it delicious and a fun treat now and then? Sure! Should your kids drink it all day everyday? No.

[Repti.Mom]

Even regular juice isn't really good for you. Of course some people would argue that we shouldn't drink milk either.

[Banned-purlyrocker]

Well, it's flavored sugar water. So no, it's not good for you. But really, neither is chocolate cake. In moderation and as an occassional treat I think it's fine. As a replacement for water, milk, or other healthier opitions, not so much.

[Tammyjh]

My favorite is when people talk about how you shouldn't eat cake or cookies for breakfast but think a muffin or donuts are perfectly fine.

Kool aid is not healthy but its no biggie in moderation.

[Banned-purlyrocker]

^^I worked in an office that did doughnuts every friday, then people complained that it was making them fat and was bad for them (not eating them hadn't occured to them), so they started bringing up muffins instead. When I pointed out they were just as unhealthy, I was told I was wrong, because they were muffins and muffins were healthy. One girl even said "They sell them at Starbucks! So they're healthy!", I'm not sure how that works exactly. A lot of stuff at Starbucks in unhealthy.

I really missed the donughts. They were super good.

[HappyHippy]

No it's not good for you, as a treat, sure, but not daily.

[plan4fate]

Nope, not good. Sugar water with chemical dyes... yum!

I love kool aid, sadly the dyes really get to Reme (dyes in anything do) so there's only one flavor he can even have and he doesn't like it.

Now if I could only get him to drink water......

[GSLynn]

Um yeah. Just like everything else that didn't kill us in previous generations growing up. In fact, it's so bad, we should ban all treats! We'll just all get fat, get diabetes, and clog our arteries...lol

OR we could admit that we see more of these things now, not because of kool-aid use, or even eating treats, but because people gorge, are not exercising as much, are at sit-down jobs, and that things are much different than they used to be. People don't walk to the park, even if it's 5 seconds down the street. They drive. People don't shovel snow. They use Ice Melt. People don't go outside as much. They watch TV. And the list goes on to what has changed....

Originally Posted by purlyrocker

^^I worked in an office that did doughnuts every friday, then people complained that it was making them fat and was bad for them (not eating them hadn't occured to them), so they started bringing up muffins instead. When I pointed out they were just as unhealthy, I was told I was wrong, because they were muffins and muffins were healthy. One girl even said "They sell them at Starbucks! So they're healthy!", I'm not sure how that works exactly. A lot of stuff at Starbucks in unhealthy.

I really missed the donughts. They were super good.

I go to Starbucks BECAUSE it's not healthy! hehe.

[tiredmom]

Originally Posted by clouise

It's sugar water...nothing more, nothing less. I think it's good for a treat, but bad if you think it's as good as water, milk, or real juice.

I grew up drinking it and never had a cavity or a weight problem. Moderation, right?

Don't forget the artificial colors and preservatives.

[Rinchan]

No it's not healthy. Neither is soda, cookies, cakes, and pretty much every other snack. But having it as a treat every once and a while won't kill you. My brothers and I used to make it super strong. It tasted awesome. I was never obese and was always one of the thinner kids in my class. (Though most likely having a fast metabolism that seems to run in my family.)

[HappyHippy]

Originally Posted by plan4fate

Nope, not good. Sugar water with chemical dyes... yum!

I love kool aid, sadly the dyes really get to Reme (dyes in anything do) so there's only one flavor he can even have and he doesn't like it.

Now if I could only get him to drink water......

Have you tried lemon water or an infusion? For my lemon water I'll cut 1 or 2 lemons into slices and then put them in a pitcher of water and let sit over night. It's more lemony than just putting it in your water and drinking it within the next 30 minutes. There are a ton of healthy infusions on Pinterest. Using herbs and other fruits.

[K.A.T]

No way is that stuff healthy, but it's all about moderation, just like everything else. Unless you get some that MIL, that stuff can kill you on the spot she puts so much sugar in it. I won't allow any of my kids to drink her batches of that stuff.

[fluffycheeks]

The whole "it's not healthy, but it's not UNhealthy either!" is total bs. A lot of people won't give their kids soda, but have no qualms about giving their kids koolaid, sunny d, Tampico, etc. That stuff is at least as bad for them as soda because in addition to having pretty much the same sugar content, it has enough artificial dyes in it to semi permanently dye hair!

I love jenn's suggestion of infusions. We do that too and my kids love it. Their favorite is mint "lemonade" which is lemon (or lime) slices and a few mint leaves soaked for a couple of hours. It's delish and so much healthier than any sugary drink

[AMDG]

My kids have never had it - I just have never seen a point in buying it. It is like any other unhealthy eating habit - if my kids are never introduced to it they don't know to ask for it or miss it.

[Tammyjh]

Originally Posted by HappyHippy

Have you tried lemon water or an infusion? For my lemon water I'll cut 1 or 2 lemons into slices and then put them in a pitcher of water and let sit over night. It's more lemony than just putting it in your water and drinking it within the next 30 minutes. There are a ton of healthy infusions on Pinterest. Using herbs and other fruits.

MMMmmmm yummy.

This needs to given in moderation as well though because even though there's no sugar, the citric acid in lemon, lime, and OJ is really hard on teeth. As bad or worse than some sodas.

[ctanis]

Not good for you what so ever. All these foods and drinks with dyes in them is no good.

[Banned-magicalthinking]

Well it makes an ok tempoarary hair dye, but it can be kind of sticky if it gets wet. I keep all the kool-aid for myself at my house!

I do remember years ago reading some teen magazine where a girl wrote it to say she didn't like drinking regular water so she drank kool-aid all the time, and was wondering if that was good enough. The response? If she was a humming bird it was fine. Otherwise, no, she needed regular water too.

I like a little vodlka in my kool-aid. When I was a bartender one of my tending buddies came up with a kool-aid drink, you take one of those kids with the sugar already added, and instead of water, add vodlka. I tried it once. I don't recommened it. In less you want to be hospitlized for alcohol posining, in which case go for it!