Family Forum / Parenting / Mothers / October 2005

you could offer her foods with higher water content.. You could also offer
juices, crystal light.. things with flavor..  I can go days without drinking
anything really and then one day I will spend all day just drinking water
like I had not been offered it for a month ;)

Tori

I would keep up the casual offering and try to add flavored water.
Either by specifically buying flavored water, or adding lemon slices
or making sugar-free drink like kool-aid.
E drinks *a lot* of milk and very little water.  I don't mind the milk
drinking since it's whole milk and she needs the calories.

Nan

DS was equally unlikely to drink water for a long time. Then I hit on using
emptied out sports drink bottles, keeping a number of them in the fridge for
quick use.  I don't know what it was/is, but the ability to snag one out of
the fridge and drink it like a bottle became a major treat. Maybe that might
work for K?

-Aula

Yikes...we all drink a *lot* of water - that's practically the only thing we
drink (DH has to have his iced tea though).  At work I have a Brita filter
pitcher in the fridge and can finish it in 8 hours LOL. The kids even take a
glass to bed with them.

The kids seem to like it better when it's either ice cold or has ice in it.
Like other ppl have said the little individual bottles are more fun and
attractive. We have a well, so the water comes out of the tap cold and
pretty good-tasting, but if you have city water it might be cloudy or have
an off-taste, so bottled water might make her drink more.

I also think it's a habit we've gotten into - we're rather obsessed with
water and tend to take it wherever we go. I've always thought that anything
with caffeine dehydrates you more, juice and sodas are too sugary, and milk
is a food, not a beverage, so I urged the water.

Does K ever get really sweaty and tired from over-exertion? Do you serve
water with meals? Is her urine very concentrated - yellow and
strong-smelling? If not, she's probably OK.

Good luck!

She is getting some liquid in food, but extra hydration is a good thing.

I would try various fruit juices (real, not the 5% fruit stuff)
to find one she loves.

Sometimes offering drink in a fun cup or glass (with a built-in straw,
perhaps) or a plain glass with a soda straw can make drinking more
attractive.  Ice cubes with a grape or mint leaf frozen inside can
make the drink more attractive.  A slice of lemon or lime in a glass of
water tastes good and looks pretty.

gloria p

I would leave it alone.  Really I don't drink much in a day and remember my
mother going a bit nutty because I didn't drink much  (except in the hot
summers and then I'd really go for water).

I'm gonna take a leap and if she doens't have any medical reason for giving
her more than she wants don't worry about it!

Anni

<snip>
"kiticat"

Urrgh. DD drinks about half a litre of liquids on a good day. DS drinks
about a litre and a half of liquids on a bad day. Just check that there are
no symptoms of anything wrong. I also only drink about a litre a day when
I'm not trying to get more water into me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ it will pass,
lol, just realised, silly mood rising
Marc