Getting children to drink enough water: What works for you?
I almost didn't post this because I felt badly asking for parenting advice twice in one day (Your comments were so helpful on my other post; I don't want you all to get tired of me asking for advice!). However, I didn't want to miss Shannon's What Works For You? theme today and I really need some sage advice and ideas on this topic, so here goes:
How do you get your children to drink enough water? And how much water is a 3-year-old supposed to drink anyway?
Help! (And yes, I'm sure this question screams "newbie mom" and I give all you older moms full permission to get a chuckle at my stressing over this.)
How do you get your children to drink enough water? And how much water is a 3-year-old supposed to drink anyway?
Help! (And yes, I'm sure this question screams "newbie mom" and I give all you older moms full permission to get a chuckle at my stressing over this.)
posted by Crystal Paine at 9:44 PM
42 Comments:
We do not give our kids much juice or pop. In fact those are rare in our house. So water is about their only choice. I think that helps a lot in getting them to drink water. I also leave their cups out on the counter or table all day. They each have their own color of cup. That way it is always there for them to have when they want it. I have never really tracked the amount though. But they seem to drink a lot. I am sure other older moms might have better advice.
Well, I'm not a mom yet, but from my experience as an older sister and now as a nurse I would say that if a 3 year old is going to the bathroom every 2-4 hours during the day they are probably getting enough fluids. That is a more reliable indicator than the actual amount of fluids they are drinking, because our bodily need for fluids can vary drastically due to temperature, salt intake, and other factors. Also, it's good that you asked specifically about water, because children do need to get most of their fluid from plain water because drinking juice, milk, or sugary drinks constantly is bad for their teeth.
I'm not sure what amount is recommended, but the rule at our house is for every glass of juice, kool-aid, or any sugary drink(plain milk is exempt, but not if it has added chocolate or strawberry flavoring) they must drink a equal glass of water. I've never had a problem with them taking water, I started giving it to them when they were all babies.(oldest are 11 and 8, baby 14 months). My youngest loves to drink ice cold water, even with it 25 degrees out. She doesn't like it in her sippy, it has to be from a regular cup(someone holds it for her). I drink alot of water in the course of a day, so that prob has a lot to do with young ones picking up the habit. With your daughter being 3, make it a special "tea time" and use special cups for the occasion, then as she gets older, increase her intake.
My three year old drinks alot of water, all of mine have especially when they quit nursing suddenly they need a drink all the time as they are used to having so much fluid and now not getting it.
Anyhow, remember that half of their body weight is a good amount of water. They do not need the same amount of water you do.
I would have a bottle of water or sippy cup with water in it.
We do not drink juice usually except for something special and milk is usually on cereal or something, so drinks are always water. We do not drink soda either except for something extremally rare.
If they are not thirsty enough, then look for other reasons!!! Make sure she is using the bathroom enough etc.
My 3 year old only drinks milk and water. (Juice when he is sick only.)
(I'm cheap, juice is expensive and has almost no nutritional benefit compared to actualyl eating the fruit.)
He would be a milk-o-holic if I let him so he has one glass of milk at each meal and then if he needs more to drink he can have water. Water is offered at snack time and after any really physical activity and whenever he asks for a drink it is given to him.
My pediatrician told me that as long as their "output" is fairly pale in colour, they are getting enough.
If she doesn't really like it, we found that making it extra cold helped, or putting ice in their sippy cup. Both of my boys think that ice in a sippy is a HUGE treat and will ask for it as a reward for a good behaviour. (I think it's a little weird myself, but they LOVE it.)
We have a water dispenser on our fridge. I taught my son how to use it and I leave a cup out for him all day. He just helps himself. I also keep filled sippy cups with water upstairs for him and carry a stainless steel water bottle for him when we're out of the house. He seems to drink enough on his own. Kids know when they are thirsty.
I sometimes wish my kids had this problem as they are drink-aholics. One time my son sat there and drank 4 full sippy cups in a row without stopping! When he drinks like this, of course no diaper is leak-proof, whether cloth or disposable. They sometimes drink up to 6 large sippy cups a day, but I think it's more normal for kids to drink about 3. Because my kids drink so much it results in lots of bowel movements each day, which is no fun with diapers and wiping!
I always give them a sippy cup of water at nap time and bedtime for them to drink at leisure as we live in a very dry area. They drink watered down juice about once a day, and then milk for lunch and dinner. They often want drinks of water throughout the day too. I wouldn't worry too much if she is going potty a few times a day and seems satisfied. I myself am not a drinker and forget to drink until I'm nearly dying of thirst. It's hard for me to drink the recommended amounts of water.
I think in most cases, kids will drink what they need. Just be sure she always has the option of water on hand (sippys of water she can carry around the house during playtime or the ability to go into the bathroom and get a drink,etc. )
I've seen mothers have a pitcher for each child (in fridge if they want it cold). Fill the pitcher each morning and they have a goal of finishing it each day. Make it a fun challenge. I also totally agree with eliminating other drinks, which you might already do. If she's hooked on juice start by adding water to the juice (half).
I've got no children yet but quite a long experience in babysitting. Children need to drink water, no sugary drinks, milk or juice. Living in Italy I'm amazed at the fact that in the US is customary for kids to drink milk at each meal! The children here usually drink milk only at breakfast or as a snack in the middle of the afternoon (1 cup only in each occasion). I would offer your children only water, maybe with a tiny lemon/lime wedge to make it "more interesting".
Antonella
Milan, Italy
PS I would also consider alternative "milks" for your children to try at breakfast, like soy, rice or almond. Too much animal protein/fats I think is not necessary and possibly harmful
We rarely have juice, and certainly no soda pop, so it's water and milk. The children have milk in the mornings and evenings, but for the rest of the day, we all drink water. I drink almost exclusively water, and I think the children seeing that is key! The children also have their own cups and a step stool so that they can get their own water when desired.
We have always given the children diluted juice (1/3 juice to 2/3 water, usually only Apple or White Grape). We also try to stick to only have juice 2x a day. Milk with breakfast and then a juice drink during snack and lunch and then milk with dinner. All other drinks during the day are water.
I agree with a previous poster that you need to introduce them to water early. I start giving them water when they are eating mostly table foods and nursing is decreasing. I also just give a training cup with a bit of water in it when introducing finger foods (Cheerios).
We also have a water dispenser in our frig and ds (4.5) gets his own drinks sometimes. I keep kid cups/plates/bowls down in an accessible drawer so that they can help with meals and putting away dishes.
I also tend to let children under 4 carry around a sippy cup all day. But they can't get a refill until they bring me their cup!
I think too it is important to be a good model for your kids. I drink 4-6 lg. mugs of water a day.
Water is, in general, the only choice available in our house besides milk and OJ which is usually available for breakfast. I've found that limited choices are the best way to ensure that we drink enough water. My youngest is 19 months, so she does drink her fair share of milk, but the bigger kids drink water throughout the day. The one exception is sweet tea with Sunday dinner because after all, I'm a southern girl and we MUST have some sweet iced tea sometimes!:-)
Mix fruit juice with water rather than giving it to them neat. It makes the fruit juice last longer and also means that they are getting more water to drink.
I hope this doesn't sound totally wierd - but I've been worrying about this too, and this is what I do: I check T (who is three)'s pee. He's being potty trained at the moment so I see it anyway, LOL. It's the same way I make sure I drink enough when I'm too busy to count glasses on a chart.
Hoping nobody thinks I'm completely wierd,
Love, Claire
I know the general rule of thumb is 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of weight. So, a 30 pound child would need about 15 ounces of water.
I've never worried much. Along with healthy diet, lots of fruits and veggies, there is plenty of natural water worked in to the food we eat. I have heard that baby food (which I am pretty sure both your children are out of at the moment) has enough liquid that babies don't really need any additional liquid.
Our kids do take sippy cups of water to bed with them (we don't have bed wetting issues so I have never had to worry about that end of things). Some night I refill their cups once or even twice before they go to sleep. It seems to be the time of day their body catches up if need be.
We stick mainly to water. They are allowed one half glass of juice daily, but most of my kids don't even drink that. They may also have a glass of milk in the morning, but water after that. I've never tracked it, but water is readily available and everything coming out the other end is consistently normal. :-)
I started by watering down juice, a ton! I made the mistake when my oldest was a baby, giving her juice once a day. I should not have done that and just given her water. Now we have a fridge water dispenser that all the kids help themselves to, but before that I would fill 3 cups for each kid and leave them in the fridge. 1 water, 1 milk, 1 way watered down juice.
I think the proper amount is 1 ounce per pound. (sparke people I think is where I read that.)
Well, Blogger ate my first comment!
To quickly recap, I was worrying about this a month of too ago myself. My DH looked up how much he needed to be drinking, but I can't recall the figure or where we found the info. It involved so many ounces per pound of body weight, I think.
Since DS was close to weaning (and he's weaned totally now), I was concerned about his liquid intake. He only drinks water. I sometimes offer a little milk at breakfast, but he's usually not interested. I offer him water in a glass (a real glass) at mealtimes. The rest of the time I have a water bottle with him. We have a small one shaped like a juice box that has a straw inside so no dramatic backward tipping of the head is required. This way he can drink when he's thirsty (we encourage self regulation as much as possible), but I can also remind him to "take a sip" now and then too. He has one that we generally keep upstairs as well, for naps and bedtime and so we don't have to drag one all over the house. It helps me because we don't have to stop what we're doing for water breaks, and I actually do the same thing myself! I have a water bottle in the fridge all the time, and I also keep one on my nightstand.
This wouldn't work for you if you prefer your kids not use water bottles or sippy cups or if you don't like the idea of potential water drips on clothes, floors, and furniture.
Oh, one more thing I did when I was really tracking how much he was drinking was to fill a water bottle or pitcher with a measured amount (his ideal intake for the day) and keep it in the fridge. Then I would refill his bottle throughout the day. At day's end, I had a pretty good idea how much he'd had. Eventually, having the bottle around and drinking periodically became second nature and I stopped doing it. I refill from the tap now unless he asks for cold water. Then I share mine. :-)
I hope this gives you some ideas. There's always something new to ponder, isn't there? :-)
I have a VERY hard time getting my 2 year old to drink water, but that's not a huge surprise as I have a hard time drinking water myself. Two things that have helped: We have a water dispenser in the refrigerator door, and he likes to get it himself. When he does, he is more apt to drink it happily. Hand in hand with this, he is more likely to drink it out of a "big boy" (non-sippy) cup, but he is also more apt to spill it. I try to carry my big cup with a lid & straw from the hospital while I do chores during the day. He loves to drink out of this, so if it has water in it, that helps him drink more. Most of the time though, I will fill our cups 3/4 of the way or more with water and add a couple ounces of juice or lemonade to flavor it. We both drink this readily. I think we're all getting a bit more than the recommended 4 ounces of juice a day though, so I look forward to checking back and seeing what other ideas people suggest.
Kids know when they are thirsty and will drink when they are. For mine I give them a choice of plain water (filtered of course!) or filtered water with a squeeze of lemon or lime in it (which is what they generally choose) Just a squeeze give them some flavor to it and they are more likely ot actually drink instead of asking for milk or juice.
We have milk with dinner and on cereal, otherwise it is water. But my youngest still has a sippy cup and wants milk in it all the time, I let her have it at all meal times, but not to walk around with.
Having straws and ice defintely makes water more attractive and their water drinking increased a lot when we got a water dispenser on the fridge door. Also adding an orange slice rather than something sour like a lime or lemon wedge helps make it nice too!
We have to be conscious of this here, too. :) I know for adults the 'rule of thumb' is to have 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day. I'm assuming this would be the same for a child, but I'm not sure. But, what I found has worked the best with our boys is to make it fun. I noticed the cool cup w/straw you have for her -- that's great! Kids love fun and excitement, so keep it creative. Fun straws, cups, etc. Keep it in the fridge and let her re-fill it, etc. Could get a 'pitcher' re-fill thingy (I can't think of what it's called! lol) that has a spout. You can buy them at Wal-Mart, I know, and then she would think it's cool to go to the fridge and 'pour' her own drink. You could give her stickers for drinking so much water, etc. I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you feel she needs more, then be creative and think of how you could motivate her creatively.....stickers, minature m&ms, cool cups & straws (Cheap ones, though!), etc.
Hope that helps! You're a great mom!
Debi :)
The easiest way to make sure that your children drink enough water is to strictly limit any other beverages. If we don't have fresh fruit available for breakfast, then the children have a single small glass of juice. The rest of the day, it's usually water all the way. Most of their dairy is cheese or yogurt, but sometimes there's a single glass of milk during the day too. Pop, kool-aid, etc are non-existent in our household.
Same thing for grown-ups. If it's the norm that you drink water, then they'll drink water. And my children enjoy it.
I haven't read all the comments because there are a ton, but I can tell you all the people I know who are very holistic and natural say half your body weight in ounces, so that means if your dd weighs 32 pounds then she would need to drink atleast 16 ounces of water. Doesn't sound like much. I know. I know my dc drink lots more than this, but they don't drink juice or milk either, but on a rare occasion.
My kids love water, and that is all they normally drink. We have a water dispenser that is cool on one side, cold on the other. They love it! Another thing we did: I bought water bottles at the store for when I go exercise at the gym. The kids were fascinated by them! I bought the smaller size bottles and they love drinking out of them. I just wash them and refill them.
As previous commenters have said, pee should be very pale/clear. Normal activity people should consume 1/2 oz for every pound of weight, highly active it should be 2/3 oz per pound.
My kids don't drink soda at all. They drink milk 2-3 times a day (more for my 22 month old) and juice is limited to when we go out or on special occasions. Most of the time we drink water or Crystal Light which is mostly water anyway. Crystal Light is so sweet to us that we water it down even more. I completely agree with Vanessa who posted above!
The Healthy Lemonade recipe is hands-down the best way I have to get my children to drink water. This is even better than plain water because the lemon juice helps a person's pH level to be healthier, and it naturally cleans the kidneys, liver, etc. The recipe for it is here:
http://supermomshealthandwellness.com/blog/food/supermoms-healthy-lemonade/
This recipe also helps us save money because we drink it instead of juice a lot of the time.
It was actually pretty easy for us...we only have milk, herbal tea and water except for special occasions. Juice (or smoothies) and milk are for breakfast and sometimes milk with dinner...water for the rest of the day. We keep a Brita pitcher in the fridge so we always have nice cold water. Fun cups help. When my son was in sippy cup stage...they always had water in them except with meals.
I don't have kids, but just from how my own mother used to do it, our choices generally were milk or water, though milk was basically only given at breakfast. We had a milk cow when I was a kid, so that helped lower cost of having to buy milk.
Mom seldom had juice and very rarely soda in the house, so if you were thirsty, water was pretty much your only option. We drank it at almost every meal.
I think that helped ensure we were getting enough.
Your 3 year old is so cooperative! Mine is a little tornado!
I asked my doctor about this last month at my daughters 18 month check up. She will not drink plain water (unless it's from my cup) we've always given her 1/4 juice to 2/4 water. The doctor said that was good, and not to worry.
As far as how much water to drink, I have no clue, so I'll let other's answer that one!
I dilute down apple juice quite a bit. We have milk only at breakfast an occasionally orange juice as a treat. I'm not a big fan of cow's milk.
Kids are so great in that they usually drink and eat just as much as their body needs! I don't monitor their water intake (unless they are ill). We have a drink station on our counter. Each morning I fill up sippy cups with water (or occasionally juice or something else) and leave them on the counter for the girls. They are not aloud to roam around the house with their drinks, so they go to the station to get their drink, then they put it back for later. That cup is theirs for the day, and I just rinse out and refill as needed. This way I am not constantly being begged for a drink from my kids. It's already done!
Our family rule is water between meals. We have milk most meals, with occasional pop or juice. I've found that if I'm consistent with only allowing water between meals, I see them helping themselves to water all throughout the day. Don't make too big a deal out of it, and it just becomes a natural habit.
Kitten
I'm not sure I have anything original to say, but I'll add my two cents anyway! Like most of the other commenters, we only allow milk and water (and occasionally OJ at breakfast, but that's almost a treat!). Our almost-three-year-old gets milk at meals. We don't really limit how much milk he can drink at a meal unless we are noticing that he's not eating his food because of all the milk he's drinking. During the rest of the day, he has a sippy cup of water available to him at all times that he can drink from whenever he wants. I don't monitor it. I think he knows to drink when he's thirsty. If he's sick or for some other reason I need to really hydrate him, then I will give him very diluted juice.
I'm not an expert that's for sure but from the beginning we did not give our daughter juice and when we started it's only on Sundays (big family dinner) and her's is diluted. She knows about juice now but still prefers water and asks for it.
My extended family is quite amazed at how much she loves water but it was either that or formula (adopted) so it was all she knew. No pop ever. We don't drink it either. She also loves carrot juice which amazes some people.
We carry water everywhere and we also drink a lot of it ourselves. She also always saw a lot of bottled water around so it's just what she knows. I'm guessing that she will drink what you drink so if you drink a good amount of water she will follow suit (I think).
Like other mother's have said anything between meals is water. Milk and diluted juice at meals.
Let her see you enjoying your water.
I let them have access to their water bottles all day - and they only have milk when sitting at the table for meals. Occasionally we have juice or cordial. When my first was a toddler she always wanted 'juice' and would not drink any water or milk. We tricked her by saying "This is rain juice" or "This is cow juice." We learned from the experience with No.1 and now only allow water between meals - with occasional exceptions of course for special days.
We usually drink one cup of milk at breakfast, water at lunch and snacks. And then for supper, we either do diluted juice, or tea. But once they have had one cup (we use small tupperware cups that we fill about two thirds so they are only getting about 4 oz of fluid, and that is diluted with water) then they cannot have refills of the sweet thing - only water.
We only offer water (and milk at breakfast and dinner) to our children, and when it's their only option, they'll take it! On very special occasions they are allowed to have lemonade or something like that, but almost never. I had started giving my first and second children juice before I realized how much sugar I was giving them. Breaking them of it was hard, but my third has only been offered juice on those special occasions, and she doesn't like it! My fourth is still mainly breastfeeding, but she really likes water too. All of my children have learned to like water and actually prefer it over milk. I'm really glad, but I wish I was the same way! I have to really work to make myself drink water instead of juice...or even better, chocolate milk!!
I started when my daughter was a year old showing her how good and fun water was. I would get excited when I drank water and would get her enthusiastic about drinking water lol.
She is now 4 years old and drinks several bottles of water a day and thinks its a treat! She loves it and I don't even have to worry about her getting it because she loves it so much.
I did not give her juice until she was 3 years old and then she really doesn't care for it much at all.
She does love milk and gets about 1-2 cups a day of that along with her water.
To sum it up: Make it fun and make water look interesting and be enthusiastic about it. It might sound corny but it works.
Good luck! ;)
I never give my kids juice. When they're about 6 months old, I give them a sippy cup to start learning to use and it's always water. They can carry water all over the house or in the car, but milk stays in the kitchen. Plus, we set the example by drinking a lot of water ourselves. I'm usually embarassed when guests come because I have milk, water, hot tea, and sometimes lemonade I can offer. Juice has little nutritional value anyway- better to give them the whole fruit for the fiber which will fill them up.
You may be interested to know that the conventional wisdom that most of us believe to be true--that we need 8 glasses of water per day whether we are thirsty or not--is a lie. All of us get thirsty when we need water, and any beverage, even coffee, will hydrate us just as well as water (unless it's a salty beverage--seawater won't work). I don't know where the "drink eight glasses a day" came from, nor "drink even if you're not thirsty" but it's a source of a lot of needless anxiety, and it is not backed up by any science. She will drink when she's thirsty. Don't worry about it.
Don't have time today to read all the other comments so maybe this a repeat....
I ALWAYS dilute the children's juice with water. About half and half - they have never known any different so they don't mind at all. To them it tastes normal! ;)
That is one way to get more in them -plus the added benefit is less juice to buy and less sugar in them.
Also, I have found as my children get older that they love having their own water bottle. They refill it all day as they are schooling or playing and that helps them get more too.
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