How to get them to drink water

[mommylove]

I put ice in there clear sippies they love how cold it is and shake the cups which keeps them interested....great for teething too

[Spixie33]

I only do water also and am glad to read I am not the only one.

I started off offering apple juice, water or milk.

Then last year I eliminated the juice and told parents that there would no longer be juice available. I felt it was bad for them since my own child ended up with cavities.

So now we do water and milk and I would not offer more than 1 cup of milk a day. The reason being that they probably had milk with breakfast or dinner plus you are likely sering some calcium during the day i.e cheese cubes or yogurt so they don't need constant calcium. Too much calcium and dairy can make them constipated.

So most days I now offer water only.

Sometimes when I try to offer milk they gulp it and ask for another and another and refuse water too.

Honestly - going to water only for anyone over 18 months has been great and made them eat better too.

[daisy]

I also only offer water - they will eventually drink it, just don't give up!
I would probably stop offering milk in the afternoons if you think it is discouraging them from drinking water.

[DisneyPrincess]

Wow !! I offer milk at breakfast and lunch, 100% juice at snacks and water during the day (mostly in summer) as much as they would want but they dont drink much of it. I only give a little bit of juice and milk and ONLY after they eat their meals or else, they will drink, fill up, and wont eat.

I see no harm in juice and especially milk !!! Milk does your body good and its important. I dont like throwing it out as well (or food in that matter) because its a waste, but that is why I give only a little bit at first and at lunch they get their desert after they drink at least 3/4 of the milk (used to be desert before but then wouldnt drink milk). If in the end there is a waste, I was reminded once that its the parents that technically pay for it :\

Kids mostly drink when I give them a straw, they looovveee it

[monkeymama]

I do water at snack, milk at lunch. I make it clear at interview I dont serve juice.

[mom-in-alberta]

I've cut out the juice (you don't realize how much sugar there is in juice until you give it to 6 small children, hahaha).
Now they get a HALF serving of milk at snack time, and a regular serving at lunch. Totals up to two servings (not two full glasses/cups), which doesn't seem excessive to me. If they finish the milk and are still thirsty, they have water. If they are thirsty in between, they have water. I also keep a cup of water accessible to them all day.

[playfelt]

Mine get 4 oz of milk at snack and lunch. In the summer I give juice mixed one can to 4 water as we take it outside as soon as they wake up. Right now I have one that drinks only milk out of choice - won't drink juice and one that drinks only juice and brings a cup of it from home and I ration it out and top up for after nap if needed. The two little ones do milk at all snacks and meals. Anyone that is still thirsty at any time get water. There are no seconds of milk or juice for anyone.

[treeholm]

I make it clear at the interview that since juice as been identified as one of the number one causes of childhood obesity, I neither purchase nor serve juice in my home. I tend to attract the kind of parents who appreciate my attention to proper nutrition and none of them serve their children juice at home either, so it works well. The children are all used to getting only water to drink. It does make it easier when the rules are the same at home and in the daycare.

[sunnydays]

One thing to note is that there is new research that suggests that too much milk can actually lead to iron deficiencies...the calcium blocks the absorption of iron. Now, 2-3 cups of milk per day is fine, but if you are serving milk with every meal and parents are serving it at home, that is something to consider. And for juice, I just don't see the point in serving it when they get the vitamines out of fruit and I think it's important for them to learn to like water right from the beginning. If we add juice to their water every time, even just a little bit, then they may develop an aversion to plain water. And kids get so much sugar these days, I don't think they need the extra that comes in juice (even if it is 100% fruit juice, it is very high in sugar).

[DeeDee]

I also only serve water. I have one DCB that dosnt like to drink it but I keep offering it. He does drink a little here and their. Eventually they get used to it and drink it. They will come to realize that they won't get juice at your house.