OK, i'm in a ranting mood, so this is going to be short and sweet.

I'm in Kroger the other day, getting Sofia a juice box because for the first half of our 45-minute drive home, she's been screaming, "JUICE! JUICE!" While in line, another Kroger cashier, who was chatting with my cashier when I walked up to pay, mentioned how her 3-year-old son (or grandson...I don't remember) is good about always asking for juice or milk.

"Never soda," she proudly said. "Always juice or milk."

"Wait," I said. "You mean soda is an option?"

"Yeah, we ask him if he wants milk, juice or soda and he always insists on milk or juice. Never soda. He's good like that."

I nearly lost it. My mind raced.

You would offer SODA to a 3-YEAR-OLD?

Understand, this is coming on the heels of the Garrison family easter egg hunt, where hundreds of kids were grabbing for gummy, sugary eggs. And also just the other day, a little girl standing in line behind Sofia and I at Goodwill gave her a lollipop out of her bulging bag of discount candy.

As soon as we got in the car I promptly tugged the lollipop out of Sofia's hand (just like the candy eggs she "found," that later magically "disappeared."). And yes, she cried and I felt a little bad. But not too much.

You see, here's the lesson: STOP GIVING CANDY TO BABIES

Seriously. We have far too many kids diagnosed with ADD and hyperactivity, and you're thinking it's OK to feed them artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors?

And yes, I realize the juice I bought Sofia is full of sugar, too. But you know what? I'd rather give my child sugar that naturally grew in an apple that something refined from corn, so heavily processed the industry won't even reveal how you extract sugar from the vegetable.

So, I'm ranting and pleading for you to read labels, do just a little bit of homework when it comes to feeding your children and please, seriously, stop giving 3-year-olds soda.