According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, breastfed babies do not need additional water until they are 6 months old. They receive the required amount of liquid from mother's milk. It is recommended to give 20-30 ml of water between feedings for children growing up on artificial ones. As the child grows, the amount of fluid needed also increases.
How much fluid should a child drink?
The main criterion for determining the amount of fluid is the child’s desire. If he drinks reluctantly, you should not force him to do so. At the same time, if he greedily drinks the water offered, do not take the bottle away when he drinks more than normal.For the first six months, the child needs 100-180 ml of fluid per day. If the baby is bottle-fed, offer him 20-30 ml of water between feedings. Breast milk consists of 85% water, so there is no need to force feed your baby if he resists.
From six months to a year, the required amount of fluid increases to 260 ml per day. Afterwards, 300-400 ml of liquid per day is required. At the age of four years, this figure doubles to 800 ml. A child from four to seven years old should drink about a liter of water per day.
If a child is sick, the amount of fluid can be increased, this will help remove the infection from the body faster.
When should you give your child a drink?
When bottle-fed, a baby needs more water than. A child's body produces a larger amount of end products, which require water to be eliminated.If the air or indoor temperature is above 25 degrees, it is recommended to supplement the baby between feedings.
The baby needs water in case of dehydration due to intestinal disorders or fever. Dehydration can be determined by the following signs: infrequent urination, dry lips, wrinkling of the skin, drowsiness, pale arms and legs.
What to give your child to drink
If the baby is healthy, juices, fruit drinks or clean water are suitable drinks. It is better if it is special baby water, it contains minerals necessary for the child. The shelf life of an open bottle is 2 hours at room temperature or a day in the refrigerator.
In case of any health problems, the doctor may prescribe herbal teas. Chamomile helps with bloating, dill water - with
The benefits of water for the body, especially for children, are limitless. But the principle “the more the better” does not apply even to her. How much water should a child drink? How to do this correctly? How to recognize water shortage in time? We'll talk about this and much more.
Individual approach
Many parents wonder how much water a child needs to drink in the first days of life. Until 5–6 months, the baby does not need it at all, because he receives water from his mother’s milk. When artificially feeding from a bottle, there is also enough water. If the baby has a fever, diarrhea has begun, or it is hot outside, the loss of fluid must be replenished. To do this, the baby is given 50 ml of boiled water, 2-3 tsp. every 10–15 minutes throughout the day.
With age, the water needs of a growing body increase. Children up to one year old should drink 150–200 ml of liquid per day, including all drinks. The daily fluid intake from one to three years is 700–800 ml, where a little more than half is allocated to water. It is important for preschoolers to consume at least 1.5 liters of liquid, where the share of water is 700–1000 ml. And teenagers are supposed to have about 3 liters of fluid daily, 1.5 liters of which are water.
Water of the highest standard
The quality of water for children is important. It is best to give them bottled water without gases. Delay introduction to mineral water until 3 years of age, as there is a danger of harming the kidneys. Medicinal mineral water is prescribed only by a pediatrician.
Remember that you can only drink water from an open bottle for 3 days. In the future it should be boiled. Of course, tap water must also be boiled. It takes 10–15 minutes to destroy pathogenic bacteria. But in this state, water becomes practically useless. So the optimal cleaning method remains household filters.
Not only water should be correct, but also the mode of its consumption. Teach your child to drink water on an empty stomach from an early age, no later than half an hour before meals and no earlier than an hour after.
Reading between the lines
In the summer, you need to especially closely monitor the water balance of the child, especially the youngest ones. You can understand that an infant is thirsty by its behavior and external changes. First of all, frequent crying, nervousness, excessively dry skin and tongue, and dark urine should alert you.
You also need to be careful with older kids. The onset of dehydration is indicated by lethargy, cracked lips, viscous saliva, and circles under the eyes.
Be careful: teenagers, most often girls, sometimes deliberately refuse water, mistaking dehydration for weight loss. This can lead to fatal consequences. If you suspect your child is dehydrated, try to restore fluid levels in the body as quickly as possible. This is done using plain water and decoctions of dried fruits. As prescribed by the doctor, take a water-salt solution. Dilute 1 tbsp in 1 liter of boiled water. l. sugar, 1 tsp. soda and salt and give your child water throughout the day.
In a special mode
It is important to understand that excess fluid in a child’s body is no less dangerous. It can wash out protein that is vital for it. Excess water greatly overloads the kidneys and heart. This is fraught with the development of chronic diseases, especially if there are already problems with the functioning of these organs. Sometimes unquenchable thirst is a sign of the onset of diabetes.
What to do and how much water should children drink per day during illness? It is recommended to put infants to the breast more often and, as already noted, give 2-3 tsp of water. For older children, the daily water intake is increased by 20–30%. It has been noticed that they drink water acidified with lemon juice much more readily. By the way, in case of food poisoning, which occurs more often in the summer, water with lemon is the body’s first aid. It stops vomiting with diarrhea and replenishes fluid loss. For prevention, you can prepare unsweetened lemonade for your child.
Treats in a glass
What should a child drink besides water? Starting from 4 months, doctors allow the introduction of herbal teas from chamomile, linden or lemon balm into the diet, diluted 3–4 times. A little later, fresh juices from apples, apricots or pumpkins are added to them. They are diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio and start with minimal portions of 1–2 tsp.
In the period from one to three years, it is the turn of cow's milk and fermented milk drinks. They are easily absorbed by the child's body and have a beneficial effect on the microflora. Homemade jelly made from fresh berries will also be beneficial, especially for underweight children. Dried fruit compote will help with digestive problems.
If the child does not have allergies, after 3 years of age, offer him berry fruit drinks. You can pamper him with cocoa little by little, but not more than 1-2 times a week. Children also really like natural coffee drinks like chicory with condensed milk. And this is a real gift for the body.
There is no need to prove once again that water is a source of life and health. But in order for water to bring exceptional benefits, you must be able to handle it wisely. Especially to parents who care about.
By liquid we mean water, drinks (tea, dairy and fermented milk products, juices) and food, including smoothies and soups. It happens that by what a teenager needs, for example, 2 liters of liquid per day, we mean water and also add other liquids to it, which is not entirely correct. Experts from the British Nutrition Foundation believe that a child should get 70-80% of the recommended amount of fluid from drinks (of which 6-8 glasses of clean water) and 20-30% from food. That is, two teenage liters should be distributed between water, drinks and food.
The amount of clean water should be evenly distributed throughout the day - one glass before each meal + from 1 to 3 glasses the rest of the time.
A glass of 100-150 ml - for children under 5 years old.
150-250 ml - for children and adolescents from 5 to 18 years old.
The European Food Safety Authority has established fluid intake guidelines for children to ensure adequate fluid intake in conditions of moderate ambient temperature and moderate activity in children.
Lack of fluid in the body leads to headaches and constipation, and can also cause increased irritability and deterioration of brain function, which especially affects schoolchildren. In the long term, mild chronic dehydration contributes to a number of pathologies, including urinary tract infections.
If the lost fluid supply is not restored, dehydration may occur. Therefore, children need to be taught to drink water from childhood, and it is important that the child gets used to maintaining fluid balance in the body. You need to drink plenty of water and other drinks that help maintain the required fluid level, such as milk, juices, and soft drinks. However, when choosing a drink, it is important to consider its nutritional value, calorie content, caffeine level and impact on dental health.
In summer, you should pay special attention to your drinking regime. Children are more susceptible to heat than adults and become dehydrated more quickly, especially during physical activity in hot weather. Accordingly, in hot weather and after intense physical activity, more fluid is required. In adolescents, thirst indicates a lack of fluid. Remind children to drink adequate amounts of water after playing and other physical activities.
Informational
Which is the basis of the entire organism. Many parents do not know what the child should drink - only drinks or must receive pure water; They begin to worry when, after reading on the Internet, they realize that their child drinks too much water or does not get enough of it in serious quantities.
The amount of water you drink varies from person to person and depends on your lifestyle - with an active lifestyle, the amount doubles compared to a sedentary lifestyle. Nice and shy children who prefer quiet and calm hobbies such as chess, drawing, reading, bead weaving will naturally drink less than choleric children who do not sit still, but live in constant motion, preferring rollerblades, bicycles, ball games, etc. .
The amount of fluid also depends on the nature of the diet - with high consumption, enough water is supplied, but it is poor in water and requires additional fluid intake.
How much water should a baby drink (0–6 months)
It is very dangerous to drink little liquid if you have diarrhea, vomiting, or excessive sweating. Dehydration affects the nervous system and can cause fainting and coma.
On a note! Thirst occurs when you are only 1-2% dehydrated.
When a child can normally drink more water than usual:
- After eating salty foods, sweets, fried and fatty foods.
- If you ate dry food or ate practically nothing for the whole day.
- On hot summer days.
- If a child drinks a lot of any sweet drink, this does not indicate illness, the reason is a taste addiction. Drinks containing Coca-Cola, Pepsi, when consumed frequently, cause addiction like a narcotic. The carbonic and phosphoric acids contained in them cause additional thirst.
When should a child drink clean water?
- It is better to quench your thirst with plain water, and drink drinks containing sugar and other sweeteners after meals.
- After sweet, sour. This will relieve thirst and...
- If the child has eaten heavily and refuses to drink tea or compote.
- During colds,...
- To restore fluid loss due to vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding.
- It is better to drink water at least 40 minutes before meals, otherwise, by filling the stomach, it will slow down the process of digesting food.
The program “Doctor Komarovsky’s School” talks about how to give water to a child, especially if he does not want to drink:
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The child does not eat. What to do?
Day after day, the mother tries to feed the child, but he does not eat, or eats very little, or eats only when persuaded, a cartoon, a book, a song, a grandmother’s dance, etc. In addition, a child can be very selective in food, preferring not the most healthy foods. What to do?
All doctors and printed publications talk about the benefits of water for the human body, but few people specify how much water we need for a normal life.
Quite often, parents are faced with two opposite situations: the child drinks a lot of water - and the child drinks almost no water. Mothers of such children are concerned about this problem and begin to limit their water consumption or, conversely, try to force them to drink. So, where is the “golden mean” and how much water should a child drink?
To begin with, it is worth noting that we include ordinary water as water - spring, bottled, boiled, filtered, etc. Juices, compotes, sweet water, carbonated drinks, milkshakes, fruit drinks, tea, herbal decoctions, infusions - under the concept of “water” do not apply.
What is the best water to give to a child?
Proper drinking water, which is essential for the normal growth and development of a child, must comply with the hygienic standards set out in SanPiN No. 2.1.4.1116-02. Definitely, the water that flows from the tap in the apartment is unlikely to meet these standards and should not be given to children to drink. If you have a well or borehole, this water may be more suitable for drinking. But to find out, take the water samples to a laboratory, where they will conduct a special study and give you a professional opinion. It is best to give children bottled drinking water. This water must be labeled “highest category water” or “children’s water.”
Requirements for “baby water”:
Balanced mineral composition. Remember, the amount of salts and their concentration in baby water is much lower than in regular water.
Should not contain preservatives, including carbon dioxide and silver, microorganisms.
Baby water should not be treated with chemicals.
Child water consumption standards
Consumption rates depend on the child’s age, nutrition, lifestyle, and time of year. It must be remembered that water enters the child’s body not only with clean water, but also with porridge, soup, vegetables and fruits.
Children under one year old
Those who are exclusively breastfed do not need water (WHO recommendations). If the child is bottle-fed or complementary foods are introduced, then the child needs to be supplemented with 100-150 ml of water per day. In the hot season or at elevated body temperatures, the volume of water can be increased, provided that the baby drinks it and does not spit it out. As soon as solid food appears in the diet, the child must be given water at the rate of: child’s weight X 50 ml – volume of liquid food (soup or milk) X 0.75.
For example, your baby weighs 10 kg and eats 300 ml of milk per day:
1. 10 kg. X 50ml. =500 ml.
2. 300 ml. X 0.75=225ml.
3. 500ml. – 225ml. =275 ml.
225 ml is the amount of water that your baby should drink per day.
Children from one to 3 years old
At this age, children can already walk, run and actively play outdoor games. Therefore, at this age the amount of water required reaches 800 ml. Don't forget that all children are different. If your child prefers to stand next to you and watch other children play rather than participate, then 500 ml per day may be enough for him. But if your child runs actively, then the need for water may increase to 1.5 liters.
Water should be drunk strictly between meals, 20 minutes before meals or 20 minutes after. It is not recommended to drink water with food, as this will worsen the digestion process.
Children from 3 to 7 years old
The consumption rate at this age will be from 1.5 to 1.7 liters. The normal limits may vary depending on the child’s activity and gender.
Children over 7 years old should drink water at the adult norm - 1.7-2 liters. We increase the amount of water if the child plays sports or is sick.
