As advocates for healthy drinking water, helping parents make sure their kids are drinking enough throughout the day is near and dear to our hearts. Check out some facts and a few tips and tricks from moms around the country. Here’s our recipe for teaching your little ones about the importance of hydration.
Add A Touch of Imagination
From young children to teenagers, sodas, fruit juices, and other sugary drinks are always an easier sell than water. Those drinks are also much more accessible and tend to have a high caloric content.
According to the Natural Nutrient Database, a regular 12 oz. can of soda has close to 9 teaspoons of added sugar. The American Heart Association “recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance. For most American women, that’s no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar. For men, it’s 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons.”
This recommendation is for adults – take a moment to imagine what type of impact that amount of sugar has on a child. We took some of these concerns to the people who know kids best—moms.
According to the Natural Nutrient Database, a regular 12 oz. can of soda has close to 9 teaspoons of added sugar.”
Kourtney B., a mother of two living in Utah, says, “I tell my daughter that ice cubes are magical and it makes her water magic princess water.”
Throw A Water Bottle Into The Mix
The amount of water kids need each day varies by age. Children from 2-3 years old should drink at least 4 cups of water per day, 5 cups for those 4-9 years of age, and 7 cups or more for 9 years and older. The amounts of recommended water intake only increase through those teenage years and into adulthood.
So, how can you start getting your kids to crave water over those sugary substitutes? Lacey K., a Georgia mom of two says, “A cool water bottle helps! I also tell my kids when they ask for milk or juice that they first have to have a drink of water first.”
A Pinch Of Filtration For The Win
We know getting kids to drink water can be a challenge in itself – so any hydration is good hydration. However, if your family wants to take it a step further, filtered water is best. Public water fountains, and water quality in schools is all dependent on the water systems that make water accessible to our children to drink. Sometimes, older water ways can have lead leaching pipes, like we’ve learned from Flint, MI. But Flint isn’t th
e only place where water is being affected before it ends up in our drinking glass.
Aquasana offers a few different filter bottles to rid your family’s water from those top contaminants. Each bottle removes over 99% of bacteria, lead, chlorine, cryptosporidium, and giardia from any tap water. The bottles come in glass, BPA free plastic, and there is even an insulated stainless-steel option to keep water cold for 24 hours. They come in fun colors too – so your child can pick their favorite.
