Getting Your Kids to Drink More Water Daily: 5 Simple Ways You Need to Know
Are you worried that your kid no longer wants to drink water, and instead loves to drink sweetened juices and sodas? If the answer is yes, then you are not alone. Lots of moms have become concerned about this worrying trend. Even with this trend, it is possible that you can get your kid to drink more water each day with five simple tricks.
But let’s get it clear first: what could be making your kids dislike drinking enough water? Well, with their peers drinking sodas and sweetened drinks, your kids are pressured to try these sweetened beverages.
The behavior of kids with drinking water is a reflection of the general population. For instance, an average of 40% of adults does not drink the recommended water amount every day, while an estimated 25% of all children spend a whole day without drinking any water at some time.
What’s surprising is that kids have some reasons as to why they do not like drinking water.
Common complaints that kids give for not drinking water
- Water lacks a delicious taste
- Water lacks a pretty appeal
- Water cannot be fun
- Water cannot quench thirst
- Water lacks vitamins
So, how can you, as a parent or guardian, encourage your kids to drink more water each day? The following are the practical and straightforward tricks that can get your kid to drink more water every day.
- Minimize Kid’s Choices
Firstly, you need to minimize your kids’ choices if they are to love to drink water finally.
Let’s reflect a little bit. How much of the sweetened drinks and junk food do you keep in your fridge? If your kids are to grow up knowing the value of water in their bodies, you need to emphasize this from an early age.
It is with good cause that the American Pediatrics Academy does not recommend juice for kids. Fruit juice has little, if any, significant nutritional value for children.
Make your kid understand that while food carries the necessary nutrients, water is essential in making our bodies function efficiently. Some parents have asked me for the trick they can use to encourage their kids to drink more water at the expense of sweetened drink. My response is always simple and the same. Do away with the junk and retain water.
Personally, I do not keep sodas in my fridge, and I only buy a few when I host adult parties (I prefer to brew iced tea). My kid has never complained about this. If your kid must drink sweetened drinks, they should only drink a small amount, and during special treats just. If they have been used to lots of juice, you may consider making their fluid more dilute each day before cutting out the juice completely.
After you have minimized their choices, you can then move to the second step.
- Enhance the Taste of Your Kid’s Water
Your kids now have water as their last resort in the house. You can easily change their perception of water by giving it a delicious flavor they will want to drink it all the time!
The water in your residential area could be tasting ‘funny.’ It is difficult for a kid to drink water that has a somewhat horrible taste. You can improve the flavor of the water so that your kid can enjoy drinking it. How? An inexpensive water filter could be all you need.
A portable water filtration bottle that your kid can carry anywhere, anytime will be not only a fun way of drinking water but also an easy way of enhancing water taste.
Another unbeatable option is getting your kid a fruit infuser water bottle. With this bottle, you can get to ask your kid their favorite flavors and alternate them each day to improve the taste of their eater. My bet is the water will feel like a perfect spa to them. A great flavor to start with is either lemon, orange, or berries. Most kids are in love with these flavors, and your kid could be starting drinking enough water each day. My kid loves her water when fresh mint leaves are added to it. You can find one of the best fruit infuser water bottles on the market in this article.
- Make the Process Fun and Exciting
After making sure that there are no sodas in the house, and the water is filtered and has a delicious flavor, embark on making the process of drinking water fun and exciting.
Here, think of the following; how often do you encourage your little one to play with water balloons? Well, kids love playing with water balloons. Your kid, along with their friends, will find it fun playing with these balloons. The trick here is to let the kids fill the balloons with clean drinking water under your guidance so that they can drink it as they play. However, be keen to avoid sodas and colored fruit punches. And there is a good reason for it.
As indicated by research, too much of sugary drinks could increase the risk for obesity and heart disease for your child.
Thus, apart from their taste, sodas and colored drinks are far from fun as they are associated with a host of diseases.
You may also get your kid a special cup. A special cup comes in the kid’s favorite color and straw. Let your kid choose their character or color and straws. This way, they learn to own the cups and perceive drinking water as fun. You can then help them fill these special cups to drink water when they are at home or after school.
At this point, your kid is already in love with water, all you need is to sustain this new bond. How?
- Make Your Kids the Boss
Yes! Kid’s love to be the boss. Haven’t you realized that kids love independence? Well, not entirely, but they do love to be the boss in something that concerns them. Then why not allow your kid to get their drinking water by themselves? Do this by ensuring that the fridge or dispenser is within easy reach. Let it be your kid’s responsibility to get the drinking jugs and their special cup at the table ahead of meals.
If your kid is too young, then get them their favorite fruit infuser water bottle at the table. This way, you will realize that your kid not only enjoys getting the water ready for drinking but also drinks it with relish. See to it that the kid is helped to fill their bottle and add their chopped herbs and fruits for a better taste.
After the above steps, what remains is you become a role model as detailed below.
- Lead by Example
There is nothing as complicated as telling your kid that juice and soda are bad while they see you gulp it down. Your kid will love to copy your water drinking behavior. So, how often do your kids see you enjoy a refreshing glass of water when you get thirsty? Do you even drink some water during mealtimes?
While the kid might not understand this, you should know that drinking enough water enhances normal cognitive and physical function maintenance and the reasonable body temperature regulation.
Therefore, ensure that before you encourage your kids to drink enough water, relish your two liters of water daily in their presence, and they will just copy this behavior for a healthy lifestyle.
In conclusion, getting your young ones to drink more water each day is a matter of enhancing the availability and appeal of water. Ensure that your kids have access to fresh and clean water at all times. Add fruit and herb, buy them a fruit infused water, or a nice special drinking cup, and you will get surprised at how much water your kid will drink daily.
Author: Amelia Johnson is a writer/editor with an endless passion for bringing a lot of useful and trustworthy information to the community. She founded stayhealthyways.com, a blog dedicated to sharing quality articles related to health, nutrition, fitness, and beauty. As a typical introvert, Amelia is a perfectionist in work. At times of leisure, she reads, listens to music, chats with some close friends and walks with her pet. Facebook Twitter Google
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