09.08.2022

How to teach a child to drink water: useful tips. What to do if a child does not drink water? Recommendations from doctors and advice from parents How to teach your child to drink more water

Physiologists have proven in their studies that human body 70-90% consists of water, and its lack is fraught with dehydration, which leads not only to diseases, but also to malfunctions of organs.

Thanks to open access to information, every year more and more people become aware of the need to maintain water balance. But it’s one thing when an adult consciously sets this goal. But how to teach a child to drink water in the right amount? After all, to achieve the desired effect, you will have to monitor the process daily for at least a month.

What is water balance and why maintain it?

The water balance of the human body is the ratio of the amount of fluid that the body received with the amount that it removed. All processes occurring in the body are somehow connected with water. A person cannot even breathe without water, because it is water that dissolves oxygen and carbon dioxide, which allows the lungs to function normally.

Forms of water imbalance

At the moment, there are several forms of water imbalance: dehydration and swelling. Each should be considered in more detail.

Dehydration

Symptoms of dehydration are:

  • increased body temperature;
  • low blood pressure;
  • increase in frequency heart rate;
  • weight loss;
  • constant desire to drink water;
  • feeling of nausea and others.

The causes of dehydration include the lack of the required amount of water and an increased amount of salts. Dehydration is possible in case of heat stroke, burns, vomiting, loose stools, and so on.

Swelling

Violation of water balance in the form of swelling manifests itself through the following symptoms:

  • swelling of the arms and legs first;
  • gagging;
  • the appearance of seizures;
  • bad feeling;
  • fainting and other symptoms.

Swelling occurs when the body does not function well. For example, in the case of diseases associated with the cardiovascular system, kidneys, and liver. Some people, striving for a healthy lifestyle, completely exclude salt from their diet. Such diets can also lead to water imbalance and swelling. In addition, swelling may indicate late toxicosis, preeclampsia in a pregnant woman.

Restoring water balance

To restore water balance in case of dehydration, doctors recommend, in addition to water, drinking certain medications that help restore fluid levels. Electrolytes also cope with this task; they can be purchased at any pharmacy. But if your child becomes dehydrated, you should definitely seek help. professional help to the doctor. The doctor will help neutralize the symptoms in record time and prescribe exactly the medications that are suitable for the baby. Of course, it is better to prevent both dehydration and swelling. And to do this, you should teach your child to drink water as if it were the most delicious drink in the world, and help him maintain a drinking regime.

Unfortunately, many children, accustomed to drinking tea, carbonated drinks, and juices, do not like to drink water. So how can you teach your child to drink water? To answer this question, you first need to determine the required amount of daily water dose, according to doctors.

Volume amount of water per day

The daily amount of water is calculated according to age and weight:

  1. From the moment of birth to six months, a child, if he is breastfed, receives everything he needs, including water, from his mother’s milk. So, as a rule, there is no need to take additional water. But if for some reason the child is bottle-fed, then the pediatrician discusses with the mother the amount of water necessary for the baby (15-20 ml of water 3-4 times a day).
  2. From 6 months to 7 years, doctors recommend giving children water based on the child's weight. The required amount is calculated as follows: per 1 kg of child’s weight, 50 ml of water.
  3. Children over 7 years of age already need to drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day, depending on the physical activity of the fidget and the time of year.

How to teach a child to drink water correctly? The most important point is that water should be drunk on an empty stomach. More specifically, at least 20 minutes before meals and 40-60 minutes after meals (during this time the stomach will have time to digest the food and empty, sending food to the intestines). It is better not to consume food and water at the same time; water will dilute the gastric juice, and this will lead to indigestion.

You should definitely drink water before meals, because it will be needed to digest food. And if there is not enough water, then the body will have to get the required amount in the intestines, which is not beneficial.

How to teach a child to drink water if he doesn’t want to? First, maintain discipline and set an example. As they say, it takes 21 days to form a habit. Make a rough schedule and drink water together. You can add an element of the game by inviting the child to drink water at speed, see who is faster, and reward the winner. You can use tubes or other elements that diversify the process.

How to teach an infant to drink water? After all, babies are accustomed to milk, and the taste of water may be unpleasant to them at first; children may spit out the water and refuse to drink it. Experienced parents advise feeding your child with a teaspoon, doing it often and not despairing. Over time, the baby will stop resisting the process. You need to force your baby to drink water only if he sweats, is capricious, has dry lips, is sick or the weather is very hot, and also if the child pees up to 4-5 times a day, and the process is painful due to that the concentration of acid in the urine is higher, and the color of the urine itself is pronounced. In all other cases, if the baby does not want to drink, this means that he has enough water in his body. You can offer water, but don't force him to drink it.

If patience and discipline do not help, then when asked how to teach a child to drink water, Komarovsky advises trying to use a syringe or bottle. At the same time, you should choose water for babies not boiled from the tap, but well-filtered, melted water or special water for children.

When asked how to teach a child to drink water from a bottle, if the baby categorically refuses, try making the drinking holes a little wider. After all, the problem may lie in the fact that perhaps it is simply difficult for the child to suck out liquid from a hard and uncomfortable nipple.

And a few more tips on how to teach your child to drink water from a bottle:

  1. Choose a softer pacifier.
  2. Make sure there is no odor from the bottle and pacifier.
  3. The water temperature should be up to 37 degrees.
  4. At first, give the baby water from a bottle, simulating breastfeeding: put the baby in your arms and touch your chest to the cheek, but instead of the breast, give a bottle of water.

Tatyana Stanislavovna Kurtsaeva

Reading time: 3 minutes

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Article last updated: 08/18/2019

A baby born into a family brings joy and additional worries to young parents. Mom has a lot of questions at the initial stage. One of them is how to teach a child to drink water, at what age, and how much to give it.

Why is it important for your baby to drink?

Water, like a life-giving elixir, is necessary for adults and children. Fluid is excreted through sweat and urine, so its reserves must be constantly replenished. For a breastfed baby, drinking water is not important. After all, mother’s milk contains more than 80%. In this case, additional drinks should appear in the diet along with the introduction of complementary foods or at the request of the newborn. But artificial babies and children on a mixed diet need additional inclusion of water in their diet. The baby's digestive system is not ready for food that is too thick. Fluid deficiency causes constipation and disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.

Why do you need to give your baby enough to drink?

  1. Drinking the drink prevents the body from overheating and saves from dehydration.
  2. Maintaining water balance helps accelerate the baby's growth, normalizes the process of cell division, stimulates brain function, and improves attention.
  3. Water launches the functionality of metabolism and promotes the elimination of toxins.
  4. Liquid in the proper amount has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, eliminating problems with stool and digestion of food, especially solid food.
  5. The drink invigorates the child.

The opinion that ordinary drinking water provokes the development of dysbiosis is nothing more than a myth. Naturally, if we are not talking about “raw”, i.e. unboiled liquid.

When to give water to a baby

Babies born in the summer are allowed to be given water from birth. After all, it is not always possible to quench your thirst with breast milk alone. You need to look at the baby’s reaction and offer liquid in cases of restless behavior and turning away from the breast.

Pediatricians advise feeding infants:

  • in extreme heat to prevent dehydration and overheating;
  • with colic;
  • with frequent constipation, diarrhea or repeated vomiting;
  • with congenital jaundice.

In case of diseases accompanied high temperature bodies, pediatricians recommend putting the newborn to the breast more often. And don’t forget about supplementation.

If the baby does not want to drink, then teaching him to drink water should be postponed, and only occasionally offer it unobtrusively. Excessive persistence will lead to unwanted tantrums. And in the future, when trying to accustom a child to water, additional problems will appear.

How much fluid does your baby need?

Intake rates for infants depend on several factors - age, weight and nutrition. . Breastfed babies do not need supplemental feeding until 5-6 months. For bottle-fed babies, additional fluid is recommended in the amount of 20 ml 4-5 times a day between feedings.

From the moment complementary foods are introduced until the transition to a common diet, the required amount of water is calculated according to the following principle: 50 ml of liquid * child’s weight. For example, a one-year-old baby weighing 10 kg needs 500 ml of liquid per day. This value varies depending on the baby’s diet. If the bulk of the diet is still formula or breast milk, then 200-250 ml of additional drink is quite enough. With a complete transition to a full-fledged “adult” diet, it is not recommended to reduce the daily water intake.

At the age of 2–3 years, the amount of fluid required varies from 500 ml to 1.3 liters, from 3 to 7 – approximately 1.5 liters per day.

For children over 7 years old, the daily portion of water increases and is practically compared with the standards for an adult. The minimum volume of clean water drunk per day should not be lower than 1.5 liters. At the same time, the amount of fluid increases during periods of illness, high physical activity and hot weather.

How to teach a child to drink water: 7 basic rules

To prevent your baby from refusing to drink, you need to follow the advice of pediatricians. Then the problem of how to accustom a child to water will not arise.

  1. The temperature of the proposed liquid should be about 25 degrees.
  2. When breastfeeding, you should not give water from a bottle. There is a risk of breast refusal. The best option for babies is a sippy cup, a teaspoon or a syringe. For older children - a mug, a children's glass with a straw.
  3. Do not sweeten water with sugar or honey. A child will be more willing to drink a sweet liquid, but such a drink has a negative effect on children’s kidneys. You should also avoid juice, tea and other “flavored” drinks, even in diluted form. .
  4. You need to supplement between feedings, starting with small doses - 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
  5. It is recommended to teach children over one year old to drink regular water in a playful way. These could be games of “tea drinking”, where the child himself will give water to the toy guests.
  6. Water must always be available. Dishes with it need to be placed in the kitchen, in the children's room, so that the child can reach and drink on his own.
  7. A personal example will help in solving the problem. When the baby sees that mom and dad drink regular water, and not sweet lemonades or kvass, he will also have a desire to try it.

Why do children sometimes not drink?

The reasons for refusal vary. The main one is the lack of parental example. If no adult in the house drinks water, but replaces it with soda, juice or tea, then you should not expect your child to happily empty a mug of unsweetened drink.

There is another common mistake that parents make. This is the lack of free access to drinking water. The kid wants to quench his thirst, but he doesn’t find a mug with a drink, and then gets distracted by the game and forgets about what he wanted to drink.

If the baby is offered only juices, compotes, and children's teas, then he will definitely refuse ordinary water. After all, it is colorless, tasteless and odorless.

Why children drink little water

Sometimes children do not drink the required amount of fluid per day. The human body is 80% water. Failure to maintain balance is fraught with many problems for a small organism. Parents who believe that water can be 100% replaced by sugary drinks are mistaken.

A decrease in water consumption causes improper drinking behavior. Strict adherence to the recommendations of specialists for at least a month will help to accustom your child to it. During this time, drinking will become a habit for the baby.

If the baby is already accustomed to juices, compotes and other sweet drinks, then the mother will need to dilute them with regular water, gradually increasing the amount. Retraining will take time, but it must be done. Sweet drinks only increase thirst and do nothing but harm.

During walks, the baby should only have access to clean water.

There are tricks that will help arouse your baby's interest in drinking.

  1. Invite your child to choose bottled baby water on his own.
  2. Buy a mug with your favorite fairy-tale character.
  3. Create a special ritual related to drinking.

Tasteless water contains no vitamins or calories. However, it is vital for babies. Forming healthy habits needs to be done from early childhood. Maintaining water balance will help the baby develop properly, not experience problems with the gastrointestinal tract, and avoid bowel dysfunction. Children need to be taught to drink water systematically, without much persistence. And do not forget - the personal example of parents will contribute to the development and rooting of the right habit.

Read further:

The health of the baby is one of the main concerns of mothers and fathers. Everyone knows that water has great importance for the formation of the child’s body and strengthening the immune system, and the habit of drinking water regularly and in sufficient quantities makes the child healthy and smart. That is why parents are concerned with questions: how much water is it advisable for children to drink per day, what is the best way to quench thirst, why is it so important to maintain a drinking regime, what to do if a child refuses to drink water?

Why does a child need to drink water?

Without exception, all processes in the human body take place with the participation of water. In the process of life, fluid leaves the body, and therefore its amount must be regularly replenished. Impaired water balance can lead to dehydration, which in turn can cause headache and rapid fatigue, increases the risk of allergic reactions and metabolic problems, provokes constipation and bad breath.

Need to know

The main signs of lack of water in a baby:

Increased thirst, frequent requests for water
- Lethargy, decreased activity
- Dry and pale skin
- Thick or absent saliva
- Dry mucous membranes (lips, mouth, tongue)
- Drooping fontanelle (in children under one year old)
- Hoarse voice, dry cough
- Lack of urination for more than 4-6 hours (the child, especially during the newborn period, urinates after every meal), and the urine has a dark color or a strong odor

How much water should a child drink

According to WHO recommendations, children under 6 months who are breastfed should not be given water. Mother's milk adapts perfectly to the baby's needs. But at the same time, it is important that the nursing mother consumes enough water herself and does not feel thirsty.

If the child is bottle-fed or mixed-fed, then water must be used to prepare formulas and additionally given between feedings from the first day of life. In order to maintain the proper level of moisture in the body, a baby up to one year old needs 50 ml of water for every kilogram of weight, but it is worth considering that the child receives approximately 75% of water from mother’s milk and formula. Therefore, the average daily water requirement for children of this age can be calculated as follows: from the fluid requirement (the child’s weight multiplied by 50 ml), the amount of water received with food should be subtracted (the volume of formula drunk multiplied by 0.75).

For example, a child weighs 10 kg and drinks 300 ml of formula per day:
10 kg X 50 ml = 500 ml
300 ml X 0.75 = 225 ml
500 ml - 225 ml = 275 ml
275 ml is the amount of water that a child should drink per day.

How much water should a child aged one year and older drink? Modern nutritionists believe that children from one to three years old need to drink 0.5-1.3 liters of water per day (approximately 50 ml for each kilogram of the child’s weight); from three to seven years - about 1.5-1.7 liters; over seven years old - on average 1.7-2 liters.

In this case, we are talking specifically about clean water (tea, juice, compote are not taken into account). You can offer your child tap water, after filtering and boiling, as well as special industrially produced baby water.

Need to know

At least until the age of three, children should not be given sweet carbonated water, as well as kvass, store-bought juices “for adults,” medicinal and therapeutic-and-prophylactic water. Pediatricians do not recommend giving regular black or green tea to children under two years of age.

Doctor's advice

Drinking while eating is not recommended. This is due to the fact that water dilutes gastric juice and slows down the absorption of food. You need to drink 30 minutes before meals and an hour after. Between meals, it is quite possible to drink the daily amount of liquid. However, if you need to take a pill with a meal or you don’t want to eat dry, you can take a few sips of water.

Candidate of Medical Sciences, nutritionist, gastroenterologist Ksenia Selezneva

How to teach a child to drink water

Habits formed in childhood remain for life. That is why caring mothers and fathers try to make sure that their child drinks from a very early age. plain water in sufficient quantities and with pleasure. You can find a lot of useful tips on how to do this in parent forums:

  • Why doesn't the child drink water? Most likely because it is a tasteless and odorless liquid, it is quite difficult to get used to it at first. Babies should be introduced to water gradually, offering it in small portions several times during the day between feedings.
  • Some mothers, wanting to accustom their child to water, add a little sugar or fructose, a couple of drops of juice, baby tea, compote or other drink for a “hint of taste”, and after the child has “tasted” the liquid, they try to reduce the amount of additives to minimum.
  • If your child doesn't drink much liquid, you can experiment with dishes. Some of the kids drink exclusively from regular glass or from a spoon, someone likes sippy cup or sippy cup, some people like sports bottles with a retractable spout or a special valve.
  • Another mother’s trick: if the child doesn’t drink much, then you can seduce the baby (with shiny, bright, intricately curved, changing colors) or a mug with a beautiful design, for example, with the image of his favorite cartoon character.
  • Many parents have success by playing around with the need to drink water. For example, you can invite your child to arrange a meal for the dolls, where the main delicacy will be plain water. Let your baby set an example for the toys and take a few sips himself.
  • Life hack from experienced parents: keep a cup or bottle of water handy while playing or watching a cartoon! When the baby is passionate about something, it is much easier to give him something to drink.
  • Mothers have noticed that some children are more willing to drink warm water, others cold. Some kids have a tradition of drinking a little water in the morning, immediately after waking up, while others can happily take a sip from... the bathroom while bathing!
  • Parents are unanimous in the opinion that personal example is the most effective way to form healthy and useful habits. If mom or dad, older brother or sister constantly drinks water in front of the baby, then he will most likely reach for a cup, because children really like to imitate adults.
  • It is very important to make water accessible. Let the bottles be in the kitchen and in the children's room. The main thing is that the child can easily see and reach them, and then open and drink on his own.
  • An unusually shaped ice cube, a frozen berry or a piece of fruit in a glass of water will definitely interest children. Don't worry, this won't cause your baby to catch a cold. Many parents regard cold water as a hardening element.
  • Sometimes rituals help teach a child to drink water. For example, “drinking breaks” during walks, during which each family member, including the youngest, takes a couple of sips from his bottle.
  • If you can’t persuade your child to drink a lot of water, then maybe he will want to “eat” it? For example, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage, zucchini, celery, grapefruit, oranges, watermelon, green bell pepper contain about 90% life-giving moisture.
  • Almost all parents have had situations when there was a need to force a small child to drink water, to give the baby something to drink against his will, for example, when there were signs of dehydration. This can be done using a pipette or syringe without a needle. Place a pipette or syringe in the child's mouth behind the cheek, then carefully pour the water so that it gently flows down the throat, and the baby will reflexively swallow it without choking.

Doctor's advice

It is very important to teach a child to drink plain water from childhood. This is a very healthy habit for life. Water is one of the healthiest drinks. There are no calories in it, there is nothing unnecessary or harmful... And even though there are no vitamins in drinking water, it plays a vital role: it maintains fluid balance in the body.

Pediatric urologist-andrologist, professor, doctor of medical sciences Dmitry Tarusin

Need to know

It is especially important to maintain a drinking regime if the child is sick (fever, vomiting, diarrhea), during increased physical activity, as well as in hot weather or when the air in the room is dry.

Useful video:

Dr. Komarovsky tells how to protect a child from dehydration and how you can get your baby to drink water

All about water and the importance of maintaining a drinking regime in the “Live Healthy!” program.

Blogger and experienced mother Tamara Sazonova spoke about five effective ways to get a child to drink

useful links

Map of Russian water. The water map is compiled on the basis of water samples taken from various sources - water pipes, pumps, wells, springs, rivers, lakes and many other sources. These samples are analyzed in an accredited laboratory, and the resulting data is entered on the map.

Tatiana Petulko

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