Often parents focus more on feeding the child healthy food. On the contrary, many people forget the need to check the amount of water that the child is drinking. Similar to adults, children also need an adequate amount of water to stay hydrated. So, it is the parent’s responsibility to motivate the kids to drink a good amount of water every day.
How Much Water Should Your Child Drink Daily?
The daily water consumption of a child will depend upon several factors like sex, age, and weight. Apart from these physical factors, factors such as humidity and regular activities also matter. When you ask for the amount of water, it is not just the glasses of water that the kid is drinking. The water content of fruits or other food also adds up to this.
Here is a list that states approximately the amount of water that kids need to drink at different ages.
1 Cup = appx. 250 ml.
What are the Signs of Dehydration in Children?
If the requirement mentioned above is not maintained, signs of dehydration can soon be noticed in the children.
Mild Signs of Dehydration in Children
Severe Signs of Dehydration in Children
What are the Best Ways to Keep Your Child Hydrated?
It is quite difficult, of course, to check whether your child is hydrated enough or not. But here are some amazing ways to keep your child hydrated.
This is the most common method. You need to keep an eye on the number of water cups the kid is drinking.
It may happen that by the time the child has got thirsty, dehydration has already started. Hence, it is important to remind the child to drink water every 2 hours to keep them hydrated.
Avoid offering sodas and other caffeinated drinks to the child. This may quench the thirst but will not hydrate the child.
It is not just water that can keep your kid hydrated. You should also include a good amount of juicy fruits such as watermelon and oranges or leafy vegetables such as spinach with high water content.
Keep an eye on the symptoms such as lesser frequency of urination or dark yellow pee and others that can be the first signs leading to dehydration. Immediately make the child drink water in different ways.
How can you Encourage your Child to Drink More Water?
It can get really difficult to make your kid drink water regularly. Here are some of the ways that you can use to encourage your child to drink more water.
Some children drink more water when it is made available. So, you can fill bottles and keep them available in front of the kid. If you have a water purifier or a water cooler, keep the tap at a height that the kid can reach up to.
Offer them some funny straws or cups of their choice to make them drink more water.
If the child does not drink plain water, you can add flavors to the water. By flavors, it does not mean the packaged ones. You can add natural fruity flavors such as lemon, peach, and others in this case.
Children copy their elders. Hence, you should set an example of drinking water regularly in front of them. This will encourage them to drink water at regular intervals,without much hassle.
Children are fragile, and their health concerns can get too serious if you ignore them. One of the major problems can be dehydration. Hence, motivating them to drink water daily is very important. Being a parent, it is your responsibility to try different ways to make them drink water or other water content food items to stay hydrated and healthy.
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