Hi Moms,
My daughter recently was diagnosed with a heart condition. Although it is asymptomatic right now, her dr. has suggested a few lifestyle changes to maintain optimal heart health. One of the items is to make sure she is drinking 8 1/2 - 11 cups of water a day. I don't think my daughter drinks nearly that amount now - probably closer to 40 on a good day. As an adult, I'm pretty sure I don't drink that much. Any suggestions for how to fairly quickly boost drinking in a 3 y.o.? I don't want to feel like I'm pushing liquids on her all the time. At dinner tonight she drank her whole "cup" of water, but I think there were only 4-5 ounces in the cup. Then she wasn't thirsty anymore.
Any suggestions?
Thank you!
I meant 8 1/2 - 11 cups of liquid - it doesn't have to be water. My daughter is okay with drinking water and she loves to drink milk. She drinks a little bit of juice, but not much. My biggest issue is "making" her drink more. She has a water bottle with her name on it and loves drinking out of it, but I've never had to fill it several times in a day.
Thanks for the suggestions. We'll keep trying things and hope it catches on.
By the way, I do have a water bottle too and water is my favorite drink (as well as hubby's). If I keep the water bottle with me at all times, I do drink a lot of water a day. I just think most days I'm not as good as I should be and I fall short of the 8 or so cups. lol!
Make flavored ice cubes together / put fruit in the middle of the cube.. You can even get different kinds of ice trays.
Fruit, especially melons, have a high water content. Get her to eat high water content fruits and her overall water intake will go up by a lot!
I randomly just hand my kids cups of water all day long (I buy the cups with the straws b/c we don't allow open containers in our living room). If I walk by and it's empty I fill it back up. My 7 y/o is awesome about drinking water and he refills his cup many, many times throughout the day. My 3 y/o isn't nearly as great, but as long I keep his water cup full he drinks it :)
I also fill up cups for the car before we go anywhere ~ we live out of the city and it takes an avg of 30 min to get anywhere and by the time we arrive they have both usually downed all their water.
I don't keep pop in the house and rarely juice. They get milk with meals and water the rest of the time.
The biggest thing for my 3 y/o is drinking with a straw ~ he drinks a ton more with one than just a regular cup.
My kids always drink more when it's "fun". So they down cup after cup when we're having a tea party and they get to pour it themselves. Try using different cups, pitchers, fun straws, food coloring, anything to make it different and silly!
I was going to suggest a cute bottle that she can pick out herself.
But another idea would be to give her or you rubber bracelets or bangles - 10 of them. When you drink one glass of liquid, move the bracelet from one arm to the other. Next glass, move another bracelet to the 'other' wrist. So by the end of the day, all your ten bracelets should be on the opposite wrist. Maybe a prize or sticker when she accomplishes this? You could also try rubber bands ON the water bottle if you want. But this is not as effective if she has milk out of a different cup of has a juice box or soup. Maybe you could count your glasses with wooden clothespins on a large ribbon.
added: Ice cube trays sound like fun (suggested below). You could buy some little toys "treasures" and clean them and freeze them in an ice cube .... she can drink her drinks and let the ice melt and see what sort of treasures are hidden in each cube.
Offer her water throughout the day. Cut out any sugary drinks or reduce the milk intake she is getting. My kids love ice water, but won't drink water without ice, maybe that will help if you haven't tried it already. Also, increase your water intake, then it will become more of a habit :) My friend had a massive thermos she would fill with ice water, and she would make it a habit to drink it all day long.
Well, the easiest thing to do is to eliminate other drinks. If your daughter's only option is water, she'll drink water. But, in her interest, the rest of your family will need to do the same. It's a good habit for everybody to have.
Ice may add attractiveness. So could straws - especially interesting ones! (That's not just for kids!)
You could let her know that it's good to drink water even when you're *not* thirsty. I live in a high-altitude (read: dry!) area, and the common instruction around here is that if you wait to drink until you're thirsty, you've waited too long.
What about flavoring her water with a little juice? My guy (3 in a couple of weeks) loves it this way and he isn't drinking cup after cup of juice and it's sugars, just the cup of juice he's allowed per day.
Start her with milk first thing in the morning and keep a cup or cute water bottle filled at all times near her. (My guy loves his COLD, so I add ice.) If she has no restrictions on exercising that will keep her thirstier and if the juiced water is nearby she should be willing to drink. And if YOU start drinking more as well, seeing you do it will get her to model the behavior.
Gosh, I myself have a hard time drinking all that water.
And I get full from it and then pee a lot if I tank a lot of water at one time just to get in the quantity.
I can imagine how hard it is for a 3 year old.
Is the 8.5 to 11 "cups" of water... per her age, or per her health condition????
I know for adults, they say we should get about 8 cups a day.
But for a 3 year old, is that the same quantity, requirement?
Is that, a "cup" in terms of a measuring cup? Or in terms of a person's drinking glass size? Or in ounces?
So she needs to drink enough in "liquids" not necessarily that being only water. So, maybe just give her a "liquid" that SHE likes, most. So that it is more palatable for her. The key being, to allow her to drink some kind of liquid. Even if that is milk mostly.
Or try natural flavored water drinks. Whole Foods has those. So there is less sugars in it or none.
I push liquids (milk and water) with my son. He always has a water bottle near by. When playing, I will just say "Drink some water Buddy!" and he does...I do the same while reading books at night when he has his milk cup...every few pages, I give him a reminder...and he does it. I don't feel like I am "making" him do it, but the "friendly" and nonchalant reminders definitely work with him. I have always done it, so it's nothing new to him. Good luck!
I'd cut out all junk drinks for sure. Find out if there's a sodium concern from the doctor, and then be sure you are not giving Gatorade - very high sodium. Also no Vitamin Water or Powerade - way too much sugar, and there are lawsuits ongoing now about the makers (e.g. Coca Cola with their product Vitamin Water) promoting them as health drinks when they are garbage.
High water content fruit is a good option, and also all-fruit popsicles if you can find some with just fructose (fruit sugar) and no high fructose corn syrup. Applesauce is pretty liquid-y although it's not loaded with nutrition - get the no-sugar-added type. Cucumbers have a ton of water in them too, as do tomatoes although sometimes it's hard to get kids to eat those. See what the doctor says about foods that absorb a lot of water during cooking - barley, rice, couscous - vs. pasta or noodles which absorb little. Also try soups (make your own to cut the sodium).
"Fluids" don't have to be liquid! Make your own Popsicles out of water slightly sweetened with 100% juice using those freezer forms, Sugar-free jello cut into cubes, frozen chunks of watermelon; these all seem like fun treats, but will count for her daily requirement. I use these tricks when my girlie is sick & I need to push fluids. Good luck & I wish your little one good health & a happy life!
You could try squeezing a little lemon or lime juice into the water. Also try cute cups with fancy silly straws/
