Simple yet effective ways to encourage kids to drink water

Your child works out, plays a sport, or just sits behind his PC all day doesn’t matter. Drinking enough water every day is essential. With hundreds of beverages available, it can be hard to encourage kids to drink water. You know that such drinks are not healthy for your kids.

This article provides you with smart but effective strategies so you can ensure your children’s hydration. Tahoe Springs Water tells you how to use the findings of famous psychologists like Adam Grant in your child’s health.

How much water does your child need?

According to Kids’ Health, your children need water for everything they do. In fact, we humans need water for every movement inside or outside of our bodies. Without water, the body can not work properly. Water has the responsibility to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Water also helps the immune system to fight off illnesses. You and your kid also need water to digest food and eliminate waste.

There isn’t an agreement on how much water kids need to drink; The amount depends on:

• Age
• Body size
• Health
• Activity level
• Temperature and humidity levels

If the kids drink water when they are thirsty and drink enough during their physical activity, there shouldn’t be a problem. The amount of water for kids can increase or decrease by the mentioned factors.

Signs of dehydration

One point that can help you to ensure hydration in kids is the signs of dehydration. They could be as follows:

• Sticky or dry mouth
• No tears in case of crying
• Sunken eyes
• No normal visiting the bathroom
• Dry skin
• Dizziness

Prevent dehydration during sleeping by reading our article.

Why encouraging kids to drink water?

Today, different beverages are available for kids. Soda, sugary drinks, or the box of juice may not be that healthy for your kid as water. Such drinks contain a high amount of sugar and additives.

According to the Harvard Medical School, “sugary drinks are bad for kids. They can lead to:

• Cavities
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Heart disease

“The recent studies show that added sugar makes up 17% of the daily calories of the average child and teen”.

Now it’s clear why you should encourage kids to drink water instead of other available drinks. If they get used to water instead of sugary beverages, you can take a good step toward their health.

Strategies to encourage kids to drink water more

The following strategies can help you to encourage kids to drink water more:

Change the habit slowly.

Stopping a bad habit right away might work for you or a few grown adults. But it might not be an effective idea for your kids. You can start to change the habit slowly by smart small strategies.

Add a bit of fun

You know your kids love fun. Buy them funny cups and bottles to encourage kids to drink water. They can have their own desired bottles or cups to enjoy starting a new habit. Try to keep the bottle and cup somewhere kids see a lot. Humans tend to forget what they don’t see. So it is with your kids.

Spice it up

What is your kid’s favorite fruit? Freeze some in the fridge and add in their cup or bottle of water. You will make a healthy drink for them. The flavor will encourage kids to drink water.

Reward system

Charles Duhigg, in his book “The Power of Habit,” explains how forming a new habit works:

• Cue
• Routine
• Reward

You can create cues and routines in the mentioned ways. Yet, the reward depends on you and your kid. What are your kid’s interests? Give them something they really want. It could be going out, a new video game, or the favorite toy they long wanted. The reward is up to you and them. But when you reward them, don’t forget to repeat the cue and routine.

Make the habit concrete.

James Clear, in his book “Atomic Habits,” explains that making a habit concrete is an easy trick to start it. He mentions an experiment in a restaurant. The scientist used water for the decoration of the interior area of the restaurant. They put water boxes in different places and hid soda and other sugary drinks.

After a little while, customers would have more water with their meal. “You are a product of your environment” was proved. People drank more water without anyone telling them to do so.

If you want to encourage kids to drink water, make it available at home:

• Put the bottles around the house
• Change the sugary drinks in the fridge with water
• Put up water photos in the kid’s bedroom or living room.
• Bring water to lunch or dinner.

The more you make water concrete or obvious, the better you can encourage kids to drink water.

Limit alternative options

When you are thirsty after work out or a hot summer day, you drink whatever cool beverage in the fridge. No matter what it is, you just want something to quench your thirst.

What if you have no option other than water? You see yourself forced to drink water. Make the same situation at home for kids and, of course, for yourself. Remember that you don’t order your kids to drink more water. You will provide the right environment for them to do so.

Kids look up to their parents as samples to follow behavior. You can be the role model to encourage kids to drink water.

Aim for the character, not the action

Adam Grant, the organizational psychologist at Wharton School, speaks about the importance of encouraging character, not action. Grant provides proof in his 2016 New York best selling book “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.”

In an experiment, scientists divided the kids into two groups. When the kids in the first group painted a good picture, the parents encouraged the action. “You painted an amazing picture.”

When the second group did something good, parents encouraged the kid’s characters. “You are a great painter” This group repeated the good work next week.

If you are to encourage kids to drink water, encourage kid’s character. A complement that aims at the character, not the behavior is more effective proved by science. It will raise the possibility for your kid to continue the habit.

Importance of explaining the reason

In another part of Originals, Adam Grant explains the importance of explaining the reason. The studies show if you explain the reason for doing an action to the listener, it’s more likely that they will take action. It’s true for the kids as well.

Explaining to them why they need water is effective. This is another scientific way to encourage kids to drink water.

Think about school

According to Education Week, American students spend eight hours a day at school. So hydration in school must ring a bell for you.

Aside from home, you need strategies to encourage your kids to drink water at school.

• Make sure your children carry the water bottle to school and enjoy it. You can reward them for bringing the bottle back and refill it.
• Ask the teacher to explain the importance of water to the students. He/she can be a motivator for the children to drink enough water. The school can allow students to have their bottles on the desk.
• Talk to the teacher so your child can use the bathroom whenever he/she wants. It mustn’t be an excuse for the child not to drink enough water.
• Flavor the water for your child, so they avoid sugary drinks.

Every strategy you use to get your kids to drink water is up to you. You can get help from technology such as water apps to monitor water consumption.

Tell kids about the why

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter and the author of Smarter Faster Better. He is also the author of the Power of habit book. His books are useful in training kids and creating constructive habits in them.

The one point I learned from his book “Smarter Faster Better” is the importance of why in life.

You must have watched the training of US marines. While going through the obstacle courses with heavy bags and under a lot of pressure, it seems they are stopped and want to quit. This is the moment when the officer or trainer comes and asks them why they are doing this. The questions seem nonsense, but the trainer keeps asking. This is when the recruit answers, “because of my family and pregnant wife.”

Here the soldier keeps going. But why? Because when you connect a chore with a reason that is essential in your life, motivation will pour.

You can take the point from the book and instill it in every aspect of treating your child. Just connect drinking water with an important why like being healthy or being able to do what they want. Children then are encouraged to drink water and stick to the habit.

Bottom Line

By the several sugary drinks available, kids might not drink enough water. Now you understand the importance of hydration for your kids and how to encourage kids to drink water.

The article explained the importance of hydration, the signs of dehydration, and simple yet effective strategies to encourage your kids to drink enough water.

In case you want a water company to provide you high-quality water, Tahoe Springs Water is at your service. Tahoe has been providing water services to Las Vegas since 1994. Call us now at +702-903-1433 to order alkaline, purified, or Spring mountain water.

Popular Products

FAQs

Why should I encourage my kids to drink water?

Hydration and drinking enough water are essential for their health.

How do I know how much water my child needs?

Different factors determine it. See the article.

How can you help me to get my kids to drink enough water?

The smart strategies in the article can help you to do so.

What happens if my child doesn’t drink enough water?

Difficulty learning, poor physical performance, headaches, and irritability,  are some of the first results.