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.
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.
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.
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.
Any wholegrain is a great choice but just watch the dried fruit which concentrates the sugar.
Want more? Try these:
Hot and whiny kids? 11 seriously cool water games they’ll love.