As we all know, water is the source of life. Especially for growing infants and young children, the demand for water is greater. When it is summer time, drinking water can help your child’s metabolism, regulate body temperature and so on. Parents should urge their baby to drink plenty of water. However, the getting the baby to drink water is a task, so we will take you on a step by step interpretation:

How much water the baby drinks

The baby’s weight determines the amount of water he or she should drink. Usually, nutrients in the baby’s body will be a part of the metabolism of water, the daily consumption of milk, food supplements will also provide some of the baby’s water. However, most of the water requires the child to drink straight to meet the body’s needs. In general, babies under one year of age drink 120-160 ml per kilogram of body weight per day; infants 2-3 years old drink 100-140 ml per kilogram of body weight. Therefore, for infants and young children, drinking about 1200-1600 ml of water per day is required. In addition to the dietary intake of water, it is also necessary to drink not less than 600 ml of water per day. In summer, the climate is hot, in addition to the need to drink water, you can also consider letting the children drink watermelon juice, mung bean soup, etc., not only to add water but also subtract heat.

Baby’s symptoms from lack of water

From the analysis above, we can see that children need a lot of water every day to promote physical development. How can we know if children are short of water? In fact, for babies who are still unable to speak, it is impossible to express their thirst. This requires the mother and other carers to observe carefully. In general, the following phenomenon may occur when the child is short of water:

▪ Loss of appetite: This is because the lack of water causes a decrease in gastric juice, which in turn affects appetite.
▪ Tongue: Baby keeps licking his lips with his tongue, or can clearly see the child’s lips are dry.
▪ Stool: dry hard knots.
▪ Urine: If the baby’s urine is dark yellow, or if the number of diapers is reduced.
▪ Tears: When there is a severe water shortage, the child cries with little or no tears.
▪ Eye sockets: When there is a severe water shortage, the eye socket or the front fontanelle will be depressed.

Even if the baby can speak, the mother must pay attention to observing the signal from the baby’s body and provide timely supplements to the water. Don’t wait for the child to tell you he or she is thirsty and to give him or her water. I’m afraid that it is too late and delays the child’s normal physical development.

The baby does not like to drink water

1. Avoid adding seasonings
Baby food supplements should avoid seasoning, especially sugar and salt. Some parents always like to give their babies sweet water, or add salt to their eggs, and add sugar to the fruit purees. This will make the baby accustomed to a sweet or savory diet and won’t be interested in pure water. In addition, the baby’s kidneys and digestive system have not yet fully developed. Precocious intake of these spices will also affect the baby’s health, and its growth and development.

2. Choose the right drinking cup for children
The baby is born to be a “curiosity” who likes to explore. If you always feed your child with a spoon, your child will feel like you are always trying to feed him or her medicine. Naturally, he does not like to drink water. We suggest parents choose a drinking cup suited to a child’s taste. The drinking cup allows the child to use the drinking cup as a toy and explore for him/herself. In the market, children’s drinking cups are full of brands. Which one is better? We say that stainless steel cups are the best choice. They do not have chemicals in them, unlike plastic, and sometimes are insulated, so the drink can stay warm or cold, depending on the temperature. It can be said that the children’s water cups are in place in terms of appearance, use, safety, and storage, which not only facilitates the mother but also helps the baby grow up healthily. This is an essential childcare product for the family!

3. Do not force your child too much
In addition to paying attention to diet and tools, the mother must pay attention to the child’s mood. If the child does not want to drink water, do not force the child too much, otherwise, the child will only feel heavy pressure on drinking water, and even refuse to drink water. In summer, the weather is hot, the body is prone to water shortage, and the work of replenishing the baby must not be delayed. The parents must pay attention to it.