As we know, water is one of the most needed components of our body. Every cell in the body depends on the water content in order to function at its best.
If the water intake is not appropriate or lacking, then the system in our body automatically cannot do its job properly in maintaining the stability of the body’s system, boosting immunity, and other important things.
This situation is not merely affecting adults, but even more so for the little ones who need appropriate nutrients and minerals to grow up healthily. Children need adequate water intake to maintain a healthy body. Therefore, a good understanding and approach are needed so that children want to drink water according to their needs every day.
What happens if children get dehydrated?
Research says that children who even lose one percent of their body fluids will experience an increase in body temperature and excessive thirst.
If they experience a greater lack of fluids than that, your child will experience dry mouth, tingling, and numbness in the limbs. If the dehydration rises again and reaches up to 10%, the children will experience a decrease in consciousness and risk losing their life.
Thus why parents need to really understand the dangers of children not having sufficient water intake. It is very important for parents to motivate and give subtle advice to overcome children’s difficulty drinking water.
Since when do children need water?
For the smooth process of children’s growth and development, experts say that since the baby is 6 months old, it will start to need water. This is because, during this age, babies have entered the stage where they do not solely depend on breast milk or formula milk alone.
How to overcome the difficulty of children drinking water?
You have to take extra steps to overcome this dangerous problem. For children, drinking plain water may not be as easy. Thus why sometimes they are being difficult and don’t want to drink it. Worry not, because here we have curated the best ways that can help to encourage your little one to drink more water!
Set a healthy example
You must of course remember that any method will not work if you as a parent do not set an example that pushes children to drink more water. Thus, how to deal with children having difficulty drinking water starts with the example given by the parents. Most children like to imitate the behavior of the adults around them. If you want your child to drink more water, you must first provide this example. Therefore, let’s build a habit of drinking water for your little one by showing a real life example.
Drink little by little
Building habits at an early age definitely requires a gradual process. Because your child is in the process of growth and development, thus getting your child to want to drink water regularly is important.
But keep in mind that we have to provide water in an appropriate amount. Not too small, but not too excessive also. Consuming too many amounts of plain water can actually cause water intoxication in young children. At least give 5 glasses of water every day for children, where you can give it little by little, instead of 5 glasses all at once.
Use attractive bottle water
You can purchase personalized bottles of water for your children to help them feel excited upon using it. Buy a special bottle of water that has their favorite colors, or pictures that represent cartoons that they like, you can also choose bottles with unique shapes! This method is guaranteed to motivate your little one even more to want to drink water every day.
Always explain the reasons why water is important
There’s nothing wrong with giving enlightenment to your little one regarding the good intentions of drinking water regularly. With simple language and logical explanation, your little one can slowly understand you. If we continue to give these explanations, eventually they will understand and be convinced that drinking water is indeed important for their body.
Create infused water
One of the reasons that strongly makes your little one don’t like to drink water is mostly because it tastes bland. This is of course very different from other drinks that at least have a taste, including milk. For this reason, as an initial step that can encourage your little one to drink water, you can put small pieces of their favorite fruit inside the water. This will entice your little one to want to drink better. They will also enjoy a little taste of the nutritious healthy fruit!
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
