Worries are often in abundance for new parents, but one in particular which comes up time and again is if their children are drinking enough water.

Babies who are used to solely breast milk or formula may dislike a switch to water, no matter how gradual. However, it is important young children start to drink water regularly as it is vital for gut health and dental hygiene. Water also helps towards successful mealtimes making sure they don’t fill up on tasty milky drinks and have no room for solid food or dampen their enthusiasm to try new foods as they already feel satisfied.

Although it may initially seem like an easy task, here a few ideas to help make sure your children are getting enough water each day.

Create a Game!

Making things fun is always a great way to encourage or educate young children. Sometimes something as simple as having a ‘tea party’ by pouring your child’s drink from a tea pot rather than straight from the tap is amusing enough to get them interested in drinking more water. Although sometimes subtler persuasion is needed. Some children respond well to being given half a glass of water and being told to drink it all while others will react much better to being given a full glass and only being expected to drink half. Similarly, it may help if you measure out the full amount you would like them to drink throughout the day so they can see it reducing over the hours and ‘winning’ once it is all gone but seeing the whole lot in one go may be a bit dauting and put certain children off all together.

Get Creative

Once a child gets the idea they ‘don’t like’ water into their head it is sometimes difficult to change their mind, especially when tasty alternatives like juices or even fizzy drinks are available. Infusing water is a brilliant way to bring them back around to the healthier choice. Many fruits and vegetables lend themselves to infusion such as Cucumbers, pears, strawberries, tomatoes and grapefruit. Not only will this make the water’s taste more appealing, but it will encourage them to perhaps try a new fruit or vegetable. Children love to help in the kitchen and, when supervised carefully, preparing the fruit and veg and adding it all to the water is great fun. Older children can also be encouraged to drink more by using fun shaped ice cubes. There are hundreds of different types and shapes of ice cube moulds available to buy, everything from cartoon characters to gemstones.

Make it Colourful

Considering all aspects of the actual vessel they are drinking from is a great way to encourage children to take in more fluids. A change of cup be it size, colour or pattern is often enough to grab a toddler’s attention. As they are made especially for little hands Babycup First Cup is the perfect size for first weaning and toddlers once they have mastered feeding themselves. They come in lots of beautiful bright colours but are also transparent so little ones can see how much they have drunk and how much is left. As the cups are specifically theirs, they can choose which colour they want on which day or with which meal. Making these decisions will make them feel involved in the process and more likely to want to drink.

As with most things, children learn from watching what the grown ups do. Not only will drinking more water yourself encourage little ones to do the same, but it will also benefit you. Drinking more water promotes so many positive changes in your body. It’s win win.