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Drinks look like the simplest part of feeding a baby, and they produce more confident bad advice than almost anything else. Three lines cover the first year, and each has a specific reason behind it.
Key figures
- 12 months Earliest age for juice, per AAP
- four ounces Daily juice limit, ages one to three
Juice: not before one
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that babies younger than 12 months should not be given juice. After that, if you offer it, the guidance is 100 percent fruit juice only and no more than four ounces a day up to age three.
The reasoning is that juice provides sugar and calories without the fibre of whole fruit, displaces milk or formula that a baby needs, and bathes emerging teeth in sugar, especially when it is given in a bottle or sipped throughout the day.
Fruit, offered as fruit, does the job better.
Cow’s milk: not as a main drink before one
Whole cow’s milk becomes an option once your child is 12 months old, plain and pasteurised, without added sugars.
Before that, it does not have the right nutrient profile for an infant, and it can contribute to iron problems.
Small amounts of dairy in food, such as yoghurt or cheese once solids are established, are a different question from cow’s milk as a drink. If you are unsure, ask your pediatrician.
Water: small amounts, once solids start
In the first six months, breast milk or formula supplies the fluid a baby needs, and extra water is unnecessary and can be harmful in quantity for a young infant. Once solids begin around six months, small amounts of water with meals are fine and help with the transition to a cup.
Large volumes of water are never appropriate for an infant. If you are worried about hydration in hot weather or during illness, that is a call to your pediatrician rather than a change you make yourself.
A bottle of anything other than water at bedtime pools sugar around the teeth overnight. This is the single most preventable cause of early childhood tooth decay, and it applies to milk and formula as much as to juice.
The rest of the drinks aisle
- Toddler milks and growing-up formulas. Not required, and generally more sugary and more expensive than what they replace.
- Plant-based drinks. Not equivalent to cow’s milk nutritionally for a toddler, unless a specific product is recommended for a specific reason by a clinician.
- Flavoured milk, soda and sweetened drinks. No role in the first years.
- Herbal teas and home remedies. Ask your pediatrician first; some are not safe for infants.
The infant formula differences guide covers formula categories within the baby’s feeding plan. As foods are introduced, the solids and allergens guide addresses that separate stage.
Questions people ask
Can a baby have water?
Not needed in the first six months, when breast milk or formula supplies the fluid a baby needs. Small amounts with meals are fine once solids start.
When can a baby have juice?
The AAP says no juice before 12 months. After that, 100 percent fruit juice only, and no more than four ounces a day up to age three.
When can a baby switch to cow's milk?
At 12 months, plain pasteurised whole milk without added sugars, as a drink. Before that it is not an appropriate main drink for an infant.
Is a sippy cup better than a bottle?
An open or straw cup is generally preferred to a spouted sippy cup, and the important part is that drinks stay at mealtimes rather than being carried around all day.
Where these figures come from
- Recommended Drinks for Children Age 5 and Younger American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org · healthychildren.org
- Foods and Drinks to Encourage Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · cdc.gov
Figures last checked September 2026.
