One good reason to avoid &quot;diet&quot; soda is they contain artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, which encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence - the opposite effect desired by the parent.<p>Source: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC2892765&#x2F;pdf&#x2F;yjbm_83_2_101.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC2892765&#x2F;pdf&#x2F;yjbm...</a>