How to get your kids to drink more water in 6 easy ways.

If your kid is fussy when it comes to their H2O intake, these tricks will help.

Have you found that when you use words like ‘healthy’ or ‘good for you’ when talking to your kids, suddenly it becomes a huge deterrent for what you ACTUALLY want them to do? So when you try to encourage your child to drink more water, usually they’ll do the opposite.

If they’re also particularly fussy (umm, which child isn’t?) encouraging them to stay hydrated can very quickly lead to a tantrum. Nobody wants that.

We all know the benefits of drinking water. It’s important to stay hydrated to improve your mental alertness, stay vitalised and maintain your overall health and wellbeing. As a parent, when you’re dealing with growing bodies it can be even more vital.

In the Mamamia Sydney office, we’re lucky enough to have a Zip HydroTap, with instant chilled and boiling water.

The company believes in “the Zip effect” – that is, that staying hydrated is the key to better overall health and well being.

So if you’re worried your kids aren’t getting enough water, worry no more. We have six tips for how you can get your child to up their water intake. The best part is, they won’t even realise it’s good for them.

1. Let them drink out of a fancy bottle.

Sometimes a fun and funky bottle can be enough incentive for your kids to drink more water. Take them to your local supermarket and let them choose their favourite bottle off the shelf. There are lots of options, whether they’re into pirates, princesses, rainbows or fairies.

2. Add chopped fruit to their drink bottle.

Adding some sliced fruit into their bottle can making drinking water an exciting experience, plus fruit tastes great. You can mix up what you include depending on what is seasonal or ask your kids to pick their favourite fruits to throw in. Using a cookie cutter to shape them into cutouts can also add to the fun. Plus they’re getting some extra vitamins into their diet as well. Bonus.

"Adding some sliced fruit into their bottle can making drinking water an exciting experience, plus fruit tastes great."

3. Let them drink out of a silly straw.

Silly straws are a fantastic way to get kids to drink water. I know this idea personally worked a treat on me as a kid. Straws minimise the chance of spills and can help kids to get water into their system faster than drinking out of a cup. So when drinking through a straw, they’re likely to drink more as well, which can never be a bad thing.

4. Add a low sugar cordial or a few tablespoons of juice.

If your kids complain that water tastes ‘boring’ this can add a bit of a buzz to their cup. Add a low sugar cordial to mix it up. They’ll love the change in colour and added taste. If you’re not a fan or cordial, a few tablespoons of their favourite juice will do the trick too. They’ll get the same taste without having the added sugar of a regular fruit juice.

"If your kids complain that water tastes ‘boring’ this can add a bit of a buzz to their cup. Add a low sugar cordial to mix it up."

5. Use fun-shaped ice cubes.

By just adding that clink to the cup, your kids will be begging for a refill. Whether they leave the cubes in their cup or fish them out and suck on them, it’s more water going into their bodies. You can use regular ice cubes or find fun shaped trays that will only add to the thrill of guzzling some water.

6. Make homemade icy poles.

This idea is probably the most brilliant of them all, because what kid doesn’t love an icy pole? You can buy a tray from your local supermarket (they’re usually designed to make four poles). Chop up some pieces of fresh fruit and put them into the moulds. Then simply pour water over the top and pop them in the freezer.

You can keep them as an afternoon snack, an after dinner treat or as a refreshment after the park on the weekend. Easy.

How do you get your kids to drink water?

Click through the gallery to see how you can make your kids eat healthier too.

1. Fruit kebabs with cheeseAlternate cubes of cheese and your child's favourite fruits. Fresh fruit is always a nutritious, fibre rich snack food. There is concern that 2-3 serves of fruit are too much for young children however the issue is only when kids are consuming 2-3 pieces of fruit + juice + dried fruit as the more processed the fruit, the higher the sugar content.

Lighter fruits include berries and melon or team fruit kebabs with fruit and vegetables (e.g. capsicum, carrots) which most kids need more of. Also serving veges kebabs with hommus or fruit with a mix of veges and cheese or fruit with Greek yoghurt helps to give nutrient rich protein with the snack.

2. FrittataFrittatas are a great way to increase vegetable consumption. Use low fat bacon to make it healthier and olive oil instead of butter. You may also consider doubling up on egg whites and removing some of the egg yolks, although egg yolks are very nutritious. The best option is to add milk and cheese to the eggs to offer calcium and load in as many veges as you can!

3. Muesli barsMaking muesli bars at home removes preservatives and allows you to control the amount of bad fats and sugar included in the recipe. Also available in nut-free recipes for allergy kids.

Any wholegrain is a great choice but just watch the dried fruit which concentrates the sugar.

4. MuffinsUse pureed fruit instead of sugar when making muffins at home and try and olive or sunflower oil instead of butter. Always use mini muffin sizes for primary school aged kids and 1-2 is a serve with a glass of milk.

5. Toasted sandwichesAn oldie but a goodie. Fill toasted sandwiches with ham, cheese, tomato, baked beans but choose wholemeal or multigrain bread and skip the butter. Wraps are also a lighter choice and younger children can have 1/2 a sandwich with avocado, 100% nut spread, cheese or tuna as a filling snack choice.

6. PopcornOne of the best investments you'll ever make is to buy a popcorn maker. Healthy popcorn works all the time, or pop it yourself in a pot using a small amount of olive oil. This is a great snack and very popular. Making popcorn at home means you can control the oil and the salt. Skip the butter and any sweet toppings.

7. Flat bread chips and salsaA delicious snack is toasted flat bread segments with salsa or hommus. Use wrap bread such as wholemeal pita wraps or Mountain Bread. Just cut into segments and bake in the oven until crispy. Using wrap bread is a much lighter choice than corn chips. You can by jars of salsa or make your own. Stick to skinny versions of guacamole and hommus or better still, try making them at home yourself.

Want more? Try these:

Water: Why We Need It.

Hot and whiny kids? 11 seriously cool water games they’ll love.

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6 easy ways to get your kids to drink more water.