With summer on the way, outdoor activities will soon be the norm for kids and adults alike. When you’ve got young children, preparing for this is a production number.
There's so much to factor in, like kids’ safety, nutrition, and hydration during those long summer days.
Parents of young children mostly understand how kids can often get out of hand and become so rowdy. Play is a part of their life, whether they’re at home with you, in school, or at a friend’s house.
Because they’re so active, it’s important to let their body catch up with the sweat and fluid they’ve lost. This is where the importance of staying hydrated becomes a priority.
There’s one challenge, however. Keeping children hydrated is often easier said than done.
If you’ve long struggled with that, you’ve come to the right place as this article presents you with some of the best tips and tricks to keep your kids hydrated.
Quick Navigation
1. Serve Fruit-Infused Water
To give a variety other than the usual juice and water combination, you can also go for fruit-infused water, or water infused with hydration powder.
In your pitcher or mason jar, cut up a few slices of fruits and drop them in the water. If you’re on a rush, flavored hydration powder will do just the trick as well.
This will help add flavor to your kids’ water, without being too overwhelming. Experiment with different fruits and flavors, so your kids will get used to this as well.
Plus, if you’ve got younger kids, it’ll be fun for them to look at the different slices of fruit floating in the clear water.
Not only will they be getting all the nutrients and good things in the fruit or the powder but they’ll be drinking more water too.
2. Drink Water Before Leaving The House
If you’re out for a day at a sports activity or function, the busy-ness of how your day runs can mean one thing: neglect of water.
It can be so easy for fun to get in the way of remembering this basic need. Before this happens, there’s a sneaky and proactive solution instead.
Right before you leave the house, have your kids drink water. That way, you’ve given them enough hydration to nourish their body, right before their activity.
Another handy tip is to fill up a couple of water bottles before a big day and pop them in your bag or car, so that your kids can hydrate when and wherever they need.
3. Make It Readily Available
A big trick to hydrating children is to get them used to it. Making water always readily available could help with this.
If the kids are playing outside give them water bottles to take with them, or always have a pitcher of water on the table instead of sugary drinks, especially on hot days.
Kids aren’t too bothered with the reasons why water is better, but they will most likely drink it if they are thirsty and it’s the first thing they see.
This is also a great way to monitor the amount they are drinking. You can check their water bottles at the end of the day and if they finish the pitcher of water, you will roughly know how many liters they have consumed.
4. Serve Their Beverage In Colorful Cups And Silly Straws
Kids like to have things that are fun and colorful. So, if they won’t take water in a plain, ordinary glass, make things more creative! Bring out the colorful kiddie cups, and serve them with playful, silly straws.
If you don’t have these at home, now’s a good time for you to include that in your next grocery list.
There are so many biodegradable and paper straws that are colorful enough for kids. If you like reusable straws, there are plastic, washable curly ones as well.
This will make your kids feel like as if drinking water is part of the game!
5. Serve Up Fruits
If you struggle to get your kids to drink water to stay hydrated, another trick is to serve them fruits. Fruits have a high concentration of water and natural sugars.
Plus, they’re infused with lots of nutrients and vitamins, so you know you’re boosting their levels nutrition too!
Keep your fruits in the fridge to keep them cool and fresh. Another fun way is to make your own fruit slushies, or make fruit ice popsicles!
You can mix all the fruits together to make your own juices as well. Just pop their favorites in a blender you can even add some yogurt or ice cream to make smoothies.
Conclusion
Water may seem like a very simple beverage, but getting kids to drink it isn’t always easy.
However, challenging it may be, this isn’t something for parents to neglect. If you want your kids to stay healthy and well, it’s important for them to stay hydrated.
Drinking water, staying out of the sun and consuming lots of fresh fruits are just a few ways you can keep your kids hydrated this summer.
