Toddler Refusing Water

[nettlesoup]

I'm getting a bit worried about my 15 month old daughter. I can't get her to drink water at all! Over the past few months she's gone down from 5 bottles of formula to 2 a day, with a cow's milk in the middle. She's still taking the milk in a baby bottle. At first she did take water in her sippy cup, but more recently she just refuses. I've tried two different types of sippy cups, a normal cup and a bottle, but she just won't drink. And now she's showing signs of dehydration; less wet nappies and slightly smelly pee.

I don't want to give her anything sweet to try and tempt her, and I doubt it would make a difference as she won't take it in the first place. Is there anything I can do to get her to drink her water? I'm going to try cold herbal tea next, but to be honest I really don't think she'll even try it. Despite the refusing os water, she's prefectly healthy and has a good appetite. She eats most foods as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[PeachBaby]

DS also has been drinking less water recently even though the weather is getting hotter. He now seems to want my milk instead.

There was a recent thread on this:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1230126

I should try the suggestion that says for me to drink more water. DS would probably then drink from my cup.

[WantRice]

The only thing I can think of is to try giving her foods with a higher water content. Does she like watermelon?

[~cassie]

Yea, fruit with more water would help. Also what about making her popsicles-just flavor a little water and there ya go! Ice cubes in a mesh feeder. Have you tried an open cup? Maybe add a bit of lemon to the water, or a touch of fruit juice.

[nettlesoup]

She won't try an open cup either, even if it has a smoothie in it. Watermelon is a good idea; I'm going to the farmer's market today, so I'll see what fruit they have. I'll try her on cucumber too.

[karika]

does your water have additives in it like chlorine or fluoride? Both are harmful. It may be that your child knows this and is protecting herself. Much the same way a wild animal will not drink from a contaminated water source. Try a glass (made of glass, without pictures on it, see recent McDonalds recall) with pure water. It may take her a while to get over the other incidents. xdh once gave dd1 a bad tasting raisin and it was a long time, like a year before she was willing to try raisins again (I check them over thoroughly to be sure all stems are removed and no really shriveled ones). Also, it may be the cups you have tried before, the plastic (maybe BPA) or even the dishwashing liquid you are using, or something that had been in it before. I only had one sippy cup, BPA free and I only put water in it.

[nettlesoup]

We are fortunate to have pure spring water from our taps, and it's lovely. We also use a non BPA stainless steel sippy cup for her. We also use natural washing liquids. She used to take the water, and there have been no changes, so I don't know what to do other than try watery fruit and veg.

[gagin37]

what about ice cubes? I started giving them to my ds for teething, but now they have become one of his favorite treats.

[nettlesoup]

I tried giving her a homemade banana icelolly but she didn't seem to like the coldness. She sucked it a bit, but didn't seem that interested.

[mambera]

Have you tried offering when you are out in the heat? My DD isn't big on water either but is more interested after she'a been running around at the park.

[nettlesoup]

I've tried it a couple of times with no success, but will try again when the weather improves.
I think I'm going to have to phone the health visitor on Monday.

[LCBMAX]

crazy straws in a "grownup cup" work here.

[Carhootel]

my ds used to be a water lover and lately doesn't want it at all - using fun straws in an adult cup works well sometimes but other times, nothing does

[nettlesoup]

I'll buy some straws and see if that works. Thanks for all the help

[Birdie B.]

We have trouble getting Meadow to drink water sometimes too. I've found that giving her crackers or pretzels makes her thirsty enough to gulp down some water! Also, oranges and watermelon have high water content, and she loves them!

[Thalia]

DD loves to drink water...in the bathtub. We let her have a cold trickle from the tap, and she'll drink 2-3 cups at a time that way. Just a thought.

[PeachBaby]

I don't have time to read all the posts and see if this suggestion has already been made, but I just discovered that DS likes to eat shaved ice (plain, no syrup!) And it's shaved, so no fear that he will choke on an ice! I just get the small amount of chippings from the ice maker, but maybe I should get a shaved ice maker!

Anyway, hope this helps anybody going through this!

[nettlesoup]

She's finally drinking water. She just randomly started taking it, which is a major relief! Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments!