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Are your kids drinking enough water? Is it really that big of a deal if they're not? The answers may surprise.
[For the sake of this post, when I use the word child, I am referring to children as young as 2 and as old as 19.]
We all know that our bodies require a lot of water, and living without it for even just a few days can be life threatening. But the implications of even mild dehydration cannot only be serious, but it can often go unrecognized. Here are a few examples…
Does your child seem more tired than other children his/her age?
Is your child finding it more difficult of concentrate on school work?
Does your child complain about headaches or muscle weakness?
Each of the above problems can be associated with your child not drinking enough water. Your child could also suffer with an impairment of their cognitive and mental abilities as well, simply because they have become mildly dehydrated. It's a much bigger deal than parents realize.
From Health Day -- U.S. Kids Drink Too Little Water
According to the study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, only 15 to 60 percent of boys and 10 to 54 percent of girls, depending on age, drink the minimum amount of water recommended by the U.S. Institute of Medicine.
My personal experience with my own children has been that when they complain of a headache, it’s often due to not having consumed enough water. I always have them drink a glass of water and wait about 30 minutes before giving them any medication (now as teens, they just do this on their own), and at least 50% of the time their headache is relieved without the need of medication. Kids just get busy doing other stuff and they don’t even realize that it’s been 'X' amount of hours since they actually had something to drink.
The biggest problem our kids have when it comes to staying hydrated is the inability to recognizing that not all beverages are created equal. The best example of this is soda, especially when the soda also contains caffeine. This is also why it’s best to dilute your child’s juice (at least 50/50 if not more), otherwise your child needs to consume an awful lot of sugar before becoming adequately hydrated.
The study also revealed that the children who drank more plain water were also consuming fewer high-calorie foods as well, and in my book that's a huge plus.
One of the best things we can do for our children is to help them develop a love for water, and the only way that is really possible is for them to see their parents having a love for water. If this sounds like an impossible task, start off slow. Start by diluting juices, and work your way up to making fruit infused water, and then hopefully a glass of ice water will begin to feel appealing. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it is possible.
Here are some ideas for fruit infused water, basically you just add any fruit you love in any combination to a pitcher (or glass) of water.
- Slices of lemon, limes, and oranges (alone or together).
- Blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and sliced strawberries (alone or together).
- Slices of apples, pears, and lemon.
- Mint (alone or with other fruits).
- Any type of melon (make into balls or slices).
- In place of ice-cubes, try using frozen fruit.
My favorite is watermelon. I just put a cube of watermelon in a tall glass of ice water, and in less than an hour the water has taken on the flavor of the watermelon. It’s delicious.
In a related (but frustrating) hydration issue:
Another thing that could be affecting your child's hydration, is a much more rigid bathroom policy in schools since we were growing up. Sounds crazy, but it's true.
You would think if your child has to use the bathroom during school they
