Getting Kids to Drink Water

Sometimes it seems like your child will do anything they can to avoid drinking water. They would rather drink nothing than the nasty water. This is not uncommon among kids, and it can be frustrating sometimes, especially when they have not had anything to drink for quite some time. Teaching kids to drink water is important to help them stay hydrated, and to help avoid other high calorie alternatives.

Juice is one of kids’ favorite drinks. It’s really not too surprising if you stop to think about it - juice is filled with sugar. Some juices are quite unhealthy actually - you’ve got to really keep an eye on the juice that you’re buying as some of them have as much sugar as soda does. Just because there are some vitamins in there doesn’t mean that you should be giving them to your child all the time.

Besides juice, soda is also a big player in drinks that your child really wants over water. Similar to juice, soda is really sweet, and it simply is easier to drink. Would you rather have something sweet or plain to drink? I think it’s pretty obvious that you’d rather have a drink that is sweet over plain water. Diet soda should always be chosen over regular soda because you cut out all of the sugar, but ideally you cut down on the soda even further.

So what’s the real trick to getting your child to actually drink water? Well, you simply have to make the change. Don’t buy juice. Don’t buy soda. Keep only the drinks you want your child to drink in your house. If you have juice in the fridge, you’re going to struggle to get your child to drink water. If they don’t have any other choice, then you’re going to have to remove those choices.

Once your child starts drinking water, you can start to buy some of the other drinks again. If you want to reward your child, then you should make it a reward and buy it on special occasions. Your child will start to associate these drinks with rewards rather than an everyday drink. Even if you do have it in your home, then you should limit it to once per day - no more than one cup of juice per day.

In order to slowly phase out juice and soda (and any other drinks you’d like to remove), you can use water flavors in order to make water have a flavor. This can help your child get used to the fact that their drink comes out of the faucet, but still tastes good. Water flavors come in all sorts of varieties, so simply find a no calorie sweetener that your kids like, and use that. Over time, you can slowly move away from it.

Help your child to understand why you want them to drink water as well. It’s the easiest way to hydrate yourself, and it’s not filled with unhelpful chemicals or other sugars. Your body needs water to live, it doesn’t need all of the extra junk that may come in soda or other drinks. Water is something that can be found all over the world, and it will always quench your thirst. Teach kids about the importance of water as well.

Teaching kids to drink water can take a bit of work, but over the long run it is definitely worth it.