x-posted how to i get my 3-1/2 year old to drink more?

[angelachristin]

It is an ongoing daily battle to get him to drink enough. We live in the desert, summer is here and it is going to be 2+ months of days over 110 degrees and nighttime lows in the 90's. It's 1 pm and so far he has had about 8 oz of diluted apple juice and a few sips from a water bottle. He no longer breastfeeds (weaned about 3 months ago.) I am at my wit's end, his pee is hardly ever light. I try to buy juices that he likes, and he has special cool water bottles (camelbak, etc.) the only times he drinks a lot is if he has junk like capri sun, which i never buy but he had the other day at a friend's house, his pee was the clearest i've ever seen it after a day of scarfing down one capri sun after another. i am not going to buy that crap. any ideas how to get more liquid into him? I follow him around and hound him but he just refuses a lot of the time. i don't want him to dry up!

Cross posted in toddlers cuz i'm not sure what he is anymore!

[terrordactyl]

have you tried popsickles? u could make them yourself with diluted fruit juice... maybe getting some fizzy water

[*bejeweled*]

My DD is the same way. I dilute juices for her. Like 1 part juice, 3 parts water. This is the only way that I can get her to drink a lot.

[artgoddess]

yeah at that point I might just go with more diluted juice even though it's not ideal. I live on the edge of the CA high dessert so I understand that heat and need for water. Can you get reusable bottles that are clear and you can mark the outside with lines and stickers. "You have to drink all the way to the cat sticker before we can go to the park." "you need to drink all the way to the rainbow sticker before we can eat some lunch." that sort of thing?

[angelachristin]

I do give offer the diluted juice all day, I have long since given up on making him do plain water, even though he has a bottle of water available at all times, I also always have a cup of diluted juice or even full strength juice available and he just wants none of it! The stickers on bottles is a good idea. I will try that! He does like popsicles, I need to get a thing to make my own like my mom had when we were kids.

[Honey693]

Have you tried watermelon? 1 cup watermelon is 1/2 or 2/3 cup water (I forget). If he likes it you could get a ton of water in him that way.

[da-tamsta]

Originally Posted by Honey693

Have you tried watermelon? 1 cup watermelon is 1/2 or 2/3 cup water (I forget). If he likes it you could get a ton of water in him that way.

This is what we do with my DS. He just turned 3 and I am going thru two watermelons a week. You can also grind them up and put them in the popcicle makers. That is really good too. (Also for watermelon margaritas, but that is another forum!)

[LaughingHyena]

DS loves straws. Sometimes we make paper cut outs and thread them onto the straws for added fun.

Adding ice cubes, again we have a couple of silicone trays which make different shaped ones. I think they were IKEA ones.

For some reason my kids like me to refill the bottles from the odd occasions we do buy fruit shoots. I have no idea why those should be more fun than their usual water bottles but if it works.....

We make our own slushy drinks by freezing fruit squash, diluted in the bottle. I just have to remember to take it out of the freezer every half hour or so and give it a big shake up. Otherwise it freezes solid.

Dolls tea parties, where we use the play dishes and DS gets to pour water from his little tea pot. Word of warning that this can get messy, DS not wants to fill the teapot himself and since he is just about able to reach the bathroom tap he does.

Anything where the kids get to make the drinks is also popular, we make banana or strawberry milkshakes. Usually just fruit and milk but occasional I add a scoop of ice cream for a treat. My smoothies are less successful but I know lots of other kids like them.

Can you tell I struggle to get my kids to drink enough

[ThisCat]

I'd try to figure out what it is he likes about the Capri Sun so much (the straw? the pouch?, the flavor?, all of the above?) and work off that.

If it's the straw, that an easy fix. You could get some straws and use those in cups when he's at the table. And maybe you could find a different kind of water bottle that has a straw he likes for when you're on the go. We have those stainless Thermos Foogo ones, and the kids love them.

If it's the pouch, there's some kind of organic juice that comes packaged like that that I've seen at Whole Foods and Target. I know single serve stuff isn't the most environmental, but in your case it might be something to consider for at least the hot summer months.

The flavor might be more of an ongoing experiment. Maybe look up the ingredients of the Capri Sun flavor he liked so much and see what kind of juices are in it. It might be matter of mixing some juices together to find the right flavor combination that would entice your son to drink.

I think you've gotten some great suggestions here so far like popsicles and fruit with high water content, but honestly, if all else failed, I'd be willing to consider a limited amount of Capri Sun. I'd have to find out exactly what's in it, but if I recall correctly it's not that terrible (no HFCS or artificial colors and flavors). That's me though. I don't fault anyone for having higher standards.

It's hotter than hades here too with about a million percent humidity, but somehow I lucked out and got two kids that love water. We have lots of other issues though so don't envy me too much. Good luck!

[Autumn Breeze]

Straws, sippy cups, popsicles, watermelon, really fruit is good.

Since you're already doing juice watch the sugar content, you might be giving him more sugar than you think you are, between that and other additives in the juice may be making his urine a darker color.

How often does he urinate?

Then honestly I'd probably try to quit the juice over the cooler months. We did that with our kids a few years ago, and keep water bottles on the table, they can always come through to get a drink, refill it etc.

When they drank juice, they only wanted juice, and then they wouldn't eat as much food because they'd drink so much juice. I just bought a gallon of lemonade, and my kids just about fell off the shopping cart of shock.

And....he's 3.5...he doesn't understand WHY it's important...have a talk with him, and lead by example, keep your water bottle with you, and keep drinking. "Baby See, Baby Do"!

[angelachristin]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions! I should have mentioned, he does love straws and he always has a straw in his regular cups. His camelback bottle is a straw bottle, too! ANd i'm a runner and nursing a 9 month old, so I am ALWAYS drinking, he definitely sees a good example.

Sometimes he only pees 3 times a day. To me that is not enough. I did end up getting some organic store brand drink pouches last night that are organic, no HFCS, no artificial colors or sweeteners. I would love to cut out the juice altogther but I really think he would not consume enough liquid if I did that. He likes watermelon but will go in phases, eat a ton one day and then not want any for a week. So I can't rely on that. Since I bought the juice pouches last night the kid is floating away. I think for the summer I might have to do pouches and have a rule, one pouch and then 1 cup of water before he can think of having another pouch.

And I talk to him about it all the time, I tell him if he doesn't drink enough and pee a lot he will make his body sick and that I can see him drying up. Usually that is enough to get him to drink a few ounces but then he's back to his old tricks.

[workjw]

I had trouble with my 3 year old until I put a water dispenser in the fridge low enough for her to reach it. She loves to be the "big girl" and get her own water, and will drink cups and cups just so she can refill it. I'll admit that she often makes a bit of a mess but it's worth it to have her drinking lots of water.

My kids also like to help me make lemonade. I find that if they help make it they are more prone to actually drink it. I also like the watermelon suggestion. It works really well for hydration.

[JuniperBCN]

Seconding homemade popsicles and watermelon! My LOs are really into herb teas and I've been making giant jars of something sort Red Zingerish (pretty colour) with a few slices of fresh orange and sweetened with honey. They're drinking like crazy and it works out to be super economical. Both kids like to be able to choose between a variety of options. I also set them up outside with jars and/or pitchers for pouring and general water play and they tend to drink a lot there too. My 3 yo will go to the fridge and serve himself juice a lot... he seems to really like the independence. Also, a doctor friend just gave us all sorts of hospital stuff and he's been really into making straws out of iv tubes and stuff.

Oh, and I try and drink a lot and talk about how good it feels and important it is for me.

[One_Girl]

As long as he is peeing he should be fine. My dd doesn't pee that often during the day because she has a strong bladder, but she pees a lot when she does pee. I always just left a water bottle in the room dd was in and she drank when she was thirsty and that has never once been a problem, even when she has been sick.

[snoopy5386]

I have a 4 yo who is a nondrinker and nonpee-er. She pees 3x a day and that middle time is generally because we force her - ie it is 4 pm and you haven't peed since you woke at 8 am, go pee. She doesn't like juice at all so pretty much drinks only milk and water. I've given up trying to force her to drink. She has been like this ever since she weaned over a year ago and is doing just fine and is perfectly healthy.

[provocativa]

you could also encourage eating sea salt. my dds will just eat chunks of it; they find it entertaining. it helps the body to retain water rather than sweat it all out, and aids in electrolyte balance. the army and atheletes consume salt tablets for this purpose. my dh is a chef and eats salt in the summer because he's in 110-120 heat all day long. also, tummies often feel weird drinking cold drinks, and can actually consume more quantity of more tepid water. ginger water was also a traditional drink in the summer because one can drink tons and tons of it without that over-full-of-water feeling. . . .

[Paeta16]

I'll be honest, I'm here FOR the suggestions not to offer up any of my own! My DD is 3 as well and we have to tell her to drink water every 5 minutes all.day.long if we want her to stay hydrated! Grrr. It is so frustrating b/c even then she'll take the tiniest sip and say "done" and move on. Her bladder is like a camel's and I cannot get her to drink/pee often enough

I think I'll try the straw and ice cube tips. The cubes may be messier but hey, it's summer so who really cares right?! <sigh>

ETA: She won't drink juice. I think b/c I never offered juice when she was younger that she finds it too sweet. Milk is a struggle also. She had a carbonated drink for the first time the other day and laughed every time she took a sip...maybe I'll try adding some "fizzy" water to her daily drinks! LOL