[steven]

I agree with most of what that article says. What I got from it is that most kids don't need this stuff because they are sitting around all day and they already get plenty of salty high calorie food. I also doubt that a 3 year old is doing enough strenuous activity to warrant drinking a ton of this stuff- however, like MMM said, moderation is key. If it's a hot & humid summer day, I'm sure the kid will appreciate it.

However, for kids who play a lot of sports and are outside in the sun for a long time during the day (like kids in Japan during sports day when it is extremely hot and humid), not drinking sports drinks is dangerous. Just drinking water doesn't it, even for people who are well fed. If you've ever seen a kid collapse in the heat, you know what I mean. Busting your chin open in the dirt (or asphault) is painful, embarassing, and permanent. With that said a sports drink is a great idea. Given the other options, it's also something portable and easy. You could eat a bowl of ramen or eat a bag of potato chips, I suppose... but I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice doing something like that before doing sports. Calorie wise it seems like a better idea than soda! it could be a way to ween your kid off of too much soda I guess.

It makes me wonder what people used to do though... back in the "olden" days, you know? Were people just passing out left and right or did they have an alternative to gatorade/pocari back then?