"Make a happy plate!" How many times have I said that to my kids? Hundreds? Thousands? You've probably been heard telling your children to "clean their plates" or to "eat all your vegetables." But how much do you worry about what they drink? If you're like me, not as much as you should.

Drinking milk was my big concern. Every morning they had a big glass of milk with breakfast, then another in the evening with dinner. My son would pick up his glass of milk and say, "So my bones don't break." I was so proud. My son was drinking his milk. But, I never gave a thought to the other drinks I poured him or my other kids during the day when they yelled, "Mom I'm thirsty!" for the hundredth time. I learned, however, that what my kids are drinking during the day is just as important as what they are eating.

Children should drink at least eight cups of liquids each day. Many children do not meet this requirement or are filling up on sweetened fruit juices or soda. The USDA's health and nutrition report titled "What We Eat In America" found that teen-agers drink three times the amount of carbonated sodas as they did 20 years ago. Teen-agers consume an average of 65 gallons of carbonated sodas every year. That's a lot of soda! The age group of six to eleven is drinking double the amount of soda than they used to, and sweetened fruit juice is the problem in children younger than six. This age group is drinking 300 percent more sugar-sweetened fruit juice than before. I didn't give it a thought when I poured them a glass of that red, blue or even green pre-sweetened drink mix. Hey, its got Vitamin C, and my kids love it. This one says it contains fruit juice, so it's good for them, right?

Not necessarily. When choosing a fruit juice for your child, make sure you read the label. Juices labeled as "ade," "fruit beverage," "fruit drink" or "cocktail" are not 100 percent fruit juice. Some contain as little as 5 percent real fruit juice. They may contain Vitamin C, but the rest is mainly sugar, which can lead to obesity and tooth decay. Juices containing 100 percent fruit juice also can be counted as a fruit exchange in their daily requirement of five servings of fruit per day. Read the labels!

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