Children need to drink more water. There is no question about that. It is very rare that a child drinks enough water. There aren’t many adults who drink enough water either 😥 .
You may find it funny that we talk about pee today. I know my son would find it hilarious. Kids his age (4 ½) find any mention of pee and poop extremely amusing and I have to keep myself from bringing it up with him as it throws him in a laughing fit.
Talking about pee and making sure your child drinks enough water every day are very important. They will help your child stay healthy and poop regularly.
Convincing children to drink more water is sometimes a very tough job. If they don’t want to drink it, we can’t force them to do so. But sometimes using the following tricks might convince them to drink more water.
How to Help your Child Drink more Water
1.Encourage them to drink more water by telling them that lightly colored pee is better for their body than yellow pee as this shows that their body got plenty of water. White pee is the best!
Don’t forget that if your child takes B vitamins, the first pee after will be bright yellow. The next ones should be pale yellow or white if they drink enough water.
2. Also tell them that their body loves water as water helps their body have enough energy to play and grow. This tip might work better with bigger kids.
3. Drinking enough water also helps them have regular bowel movements. To help your child understand this, tell them that water helps their poops become soft. Also, it won’t hurt when they poop if their body has enough water.
4. Make a sticker chart and give them a sticker each time their pee was pale yellow or white 🙂 . At the end of the week, if they have a certain number of stickers, you can give them a prize: a new DVD from the library, taking them to a movie, or anything inexpensive that you know tickles your child. Do you think this would work with your child?
5. One method that works for my kids is to give them a bottle of water when they watch a cartoon DVD. By the end of their show, most of the water is gone.
6. Everywhere you go, take water bottles with you. It’s better to have them if the kids need to drink water, then not have them and be thirsty.
7. And last but not least: offer your child a glass of water when they wake up. This is an easy trick to help them start the day on the right foot.
You might ask: OK, my child needs to drink more water, but how much water should s/he drink?
Ideally, children should drink at least 1 l liter of water a day. Of course, the needed amount varies with age, physical activity, outside temperature, sickness, and other factors.
Do you want more tips on how to help your child drink more water?
What methods did you try to convince your child to drink more water? Did they work?
P.S. Does your child need help to poop every day? Are you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed? We can talk about the many ways to get rid of constipation and together we can come up with a personalized plan that will help your child go to the bathroom regularly in no time. We can do this together. Check out the “Constipation 101 – How to help your child poop every day” program. It might be the right program for you and your child.
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