How to get them to drink water

[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).