We both shudder now to think of it. Sugar is not just found in sweets or junk cereal. It's in almost everything. When you look at labels, you find sugar, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, sorbitol, or corn syrup on almost every label. The more simple meals from whole foods, the less the sugar.
Fruit juices contain much simple sugar without much fiber.
Many people think of juices as health foods. This simply isn't true. In small quantities they are fine, but they are mainly a way to get many of the calories and some of the nutrients from a substance, without getting as full and without getting the needed fiber. And children who drink more than 12 ounces of fruit juice per day are shorter and fatter than those who don't. Fruits contain lots of sugar, but it's in a form that's intended for the body to use.