Doctor’s are now saying that giving kids juice is not good for them, even if it is 100% juice, and not that concentrated or powdered “Juice” that we all called Cool-Aid when we were growing up.

Here is what I find troubling, and as a parent, I see this often. I take my kid to soccer practice so he can get some good exercise and learn the value of team sports. He’s having great fun on the field with his friends, playing the type of soccer that 4-year olds play which is basically kicking the ball and falling on the ground to make each other laugh.

While I’m watching my son do his best Charlie Brown on a soccer ball, while listening to other parents on the sidelines talk about this new juice recommendation by doctors. One of the mothers’ proclaimed how since that report, they have been trying to limit their son’s juice intake. Then I watched in near horror as her son ran off the field, run up to her, and asked for some candy. She stuck her hand in her pocket, pulled out a piece of candy and the kid jammed it in his mouth as he ran back on the field.

WTF?

This is what bothers me about some parents, and to some extent, dieters. They seize upon a single piece of information and carry it out in absence of well-rounded logic. Doctor’s say to limit the amount of juice you give your kids to 4 ounces a day, yet the same parents who seize on that do not notice how many hours of TV (or Playstation 2) their kids watch as a substitute for quality time.

In my department, there are 14 women and 2 guys. The women complain to no end about their weight and discuss as length about how eating this particular food or not eating another specific type of food will “shed pounds.” Then I watched in amusement when one of our clients sent a treat basket over the holidays and these “dieters” attacked it like a pack of ravenous raptors. And the diet conversation continued as they jammed Double-Stuff Oreo’s in their pie-holes.

My kids will still get 100% juice, and it will be more than 4 ounces, even if the doctor’s say to be careful. But guess what? I play with my kids outside. They don’t eat candy or drink soda.

This does make me wonder. How many parents will limit juice, yet let soda consumption go unfettered?