Getting a young child to stay hydrated can be a bit like pulling teeth – I know, I’ve been there, I am there. It’s a struggle.
Children aged one to three years old should be drinking about 1 litre of fluid a day, according to NHS guidance. That’s about four cups of water a day.
School-age children who are between four and eight years old should be getting 1.2 litres (five cups), while kids over nine should be aiming for 1.5 litres (six or seven cups).
And if it’s hot, they’re doing lots of running around or they are overweight, they will need even more, according to the charity Bladder & Bowel UK.
If, like me, you suspect your child isn’t drinking enough, don’t panic just yet.
Dr Deborah Lee, from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, told HuffPost UK: “Most of the time a child will be drinking plenty. Milk contains water, as does food, and they are probably drinking more than you realise.
“However, it’s advisable to be aware of their fluid intake and encourage them to get into good habits and drink plenty of water from a young age.”
This is important as babies and toddlers don’t have a “strong thirst reflex”, said the doctor. So by the time they feel thirsty, they’re probably already dehydrated.
The best tactic is to get them to sip little and often throughout the day (more on how to achieve that mammoth task in a moment!).
What happens if kids don’t drink enough
Look, they’ll probably be OK if they don’t meet their fluid needs here and there.
But regularly not drinking enough could result in constipation, bladder problems including urinary tract infections, day and night time wetting, as well as headaches. So it’s worth keeping an eye on things.
Your child should be drinking mainly water, according to NHS advice, which adds that fizzy drinks, as well as those that contain caffeine, E numbers, colourants or red berries “are known to irritate the bladder and are best avoided”.
Milk is also a good option for hydration – children under five generally shouldn’t be having skimmed milk, though.
How to get kids to drink more water
There are a few tactics you can try. Dr Lee recommends offering young children a drink of water first thing on waking, after a nappy change or toilet break, at mealtimes, when they wake up from a nap and before going to bed.
“Somehow, you need to make drinking water fun and attractive,” she said.
“Give a child their own water bottle. Let them decorate it with stickers. Perhaps mark out how much they should drink on the bottle in stages. Make this a game, so that when they’ve reached the marker, they get a reward.
“This could be a sticker, or a trip to the park, or let them choose a special film before bedtime – it doesn’t have to be sweets or chocolate.”
The US government recommends using bendy, silly, or coloured straws to make drinking more interesting, or letting your child choose their favourite cups or water bottles to make it fun.
Another top tip is to have a station where they can get a drink of water when they’re thirsty. Keep a nonbreakable water jug on a low stool or a chair where they can reach it.
If you often lose track of which cup of water your child is on, Dr Lee advised measuring out a litre of water and keeping it in a separate container in the fridge, and then pouring out their water from that throughout the day.
Adding fruit slices or mint leaves to the water to change the taste and make it look a bit more enticing might also help.
As does setting a good example. “You need to have your own water bottle too and to drink regularly from your bottle to set an example. Children love to copy adults,” said Dr Lee.
“We play ’cheers’ with our baby/toddler grandchildren. They learnt from an early age to swoop their beaker up in the air and have a drink when we did!”
Foods with a high water content like melon, strawberries, cucumber and tomato are also great to up fluid intake.
“Keep water on hand and easily available around the house. Keep a bottle in the lounge, the kitchen and the bedroom so it’s easy to have a quick sip,” added the doctor.
“Take the water bottles out whenever you go out and offer them sips regularly. Little sips frequently are all that’s needed.”
Bladder & Bowel UK advises encouraging your child to drink only slightly more than they currently are, and then gradually increasing the amount you expect them to have until they are having about 1.5 litres per day.
And what about babies?
You might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned young babies in all of this.
It’s important to note they shouldn’t be having water to drink – unless your GP has advised otherwise (and in which case, it should be cooled boiled water).
When babies are 0-6 months old, they should be solely consuming formula or breast milk. This is because their kidneys aren’t mature enough to correctly filter water, which leaves them susceptible to water intoxication.
“It can cause all sorts of havoc from brain swelling, seizures and even death,” NHS surgeon Dr Karan Rajan previously said in a video on the subject.
Once they’re six months old and weaning, they can start to have sips of water with meals. And that’s when the fun of getting them to drink enough begins.