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When my four kids were younger, keeping them hydrated was very demanding. Thankfully, their preferred beverage has always been water, milk being their second choice, followed closely by juice. I never allowed them to drink pop while they were young, so they never desired it.
When they were thirsty, they asked for water. But being interrupted to fetch them a cup of water every time they were thirsty got tiresome. Either I’d have to stop what I was doing to retrieve them a glass of water, or I’d let them jump up on the counter to do it themselves. Neither option really appealed to me. Plus, we went through lots of cups daily.
Several years ago I figured out if they all had their own water bottles stashed in the door shelf of the refrigerator, it would save me the time and effort getting my little ones their water all day long. Now when they’re thirsty, they just reach in the refrigerator and grab their water bottle.
Having water bottles handy also saves on buying water on the go. Whenever we leave the house, I tell my children to grab their water bottles and a snack and we’re good to go. Keeping my children hydrated is not a problem any more. But making sure their water bottles are filled is another story.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests an active 90 pound child should drink 5 ounces of water every 20 minutes. Here are some tips to help them drink more water throughout the day.
1.
Limit juice and milk to meal and snack times. Older children don’t need to guzzle milk all day long. If you limit their intake, not only will this help them drink more water each day, but their meal times will greatly improve if they’re not drinking their calories.
2.
Limit pop to special occasions. I'm sure most moms and experts will agree that there's no nutritional value in soda pop. So why hand your child a sugary, caffeinated drink when they're thirsty? Save it for special occasions, or as a special reward, but don't make it their normal beverage, no matter how much the whine!
3.
Figure out how they like their water. Cold? Room temperature? My oldest son is 14 and keeps an empty water bottle in the refrigerator. He doesn’t like his water chilled, but he's old enough to fill it on his own. If your child doesn’t like cold or chilled water, pull his water bottle out of the refrigerator after breakfast and it will be ready for him when he’s thirsty.
4.
Freeze water bottles when you’re on the go. This works best with the store bought kind. If you freeze even a small amount of the water in bottles, then fill them up before you leave for the day, the water will stay colder longer.
For more information on topics discussed in this article and the importance of drinking water visit these sites:
Risks of drinking too much milk
Is freezing water bottles safe?
Kids and Caffeine: How dangerous is it?
Why cut back on soda pop?
Comments
I totally agree. My girls have always been water drinkers, in fact, when we eat out, our whole family always orders water with lemon. My girls actually never got into the habit of drinking milk, which is, I believe part of the reason they have not developed allergies. We all try to drink 8 glasses a day, and really haven't missed the pop or milk at all.
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