I never could get my baby/toddler/pre-schooler to drink juice. He didn’t like pop either, though I did not offer that very often. He liked water best, milk second. I have known kids who craved the sugary drinks. I can’t be smug because I never faced the challenge. When you have a screaming kid you sometimes offer something like that just to have some quiet. It is easy to point fingers. Yes you must deal with the challenge. But then again when a parent is very busy and all they need is a little more sleep, I can sympathize.
I suppose a parent could never ever offer sweet stuff and how would the kid know to crave it. The reality is that parents have fun introducing their child to new tastes. Plus the kid tends to get whatever the rest of the family gets. There are worse things.
My DIL only gave my grandson chocolate milk the first years of his life. My son snuck in some ovaltine when he could. Poor kid was so constipated all the time. He is five now, and his diet consists of chips, candy and chocolate milk. It makes me sick.