Do you know how much water your children should be drinking?
Almost two thirds of parents admit they don’t know how much fluid their child should be drinking, despite 91% of parents accepting chief responsibility for their children’s hydration habits, according to new research.
Worryingly, almost 70% of parents say their children are thirsty when they get home from school and almost half of parents regularly notice other signs of dehydration in their children, including tiredness and irritability.
The research, carried out by Netmums and the Natural Hydration Council (NHC), surveyed more than 1,000 parents with children aged 4-10 years across the UK.
While the amount of fluid a child needs depends on many factors including age, gender, weather and physical activity levels; guidelines from the Department of Health state that they should aim to drink approximately 6-8 glasses of fluid per day (on top of the water provided by food in their diet). Younger children need relatively smaller drinks (e.g. 150 ml serving) and older children need larger drinks (e.g. 250–300 ml serving).
Nutritionist and advisor to the NHC, Dr Emma Derbyshire, said: “This research highlights the need to provide parents with more information to help their children develop healthy hydration habits. Water and milk are the best drinks recommended for regular consumption with children of this age. Fruit juice should be consumed in moderation and smoothies should really only be drunk once a day. It’s important to note that these drinks are perfectly healthy in moderation, but that water should be a priority and is the ideal choice for regular hydration as it contains zero sugar, calories, preservatives or additives.”
Many parents also said that they would like their child to drink more water and indicated that they believe schools should be doing more to promote healthy hydration choices. More than 62% of parents said that their child’s school does not provide water throughout the day and that water is banned from classrooms.
Further academic research of 1,456 children and adults in the UK, published in Nutrition Today, found that more than half of 4 –18 year olds’ fluid consumption was below the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommendations. Author Joan Gandy, PhD, RD, a dietetic consultant and fellow of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), also said that “water consumption was low for all age groups of children” and on average, children were consuming at least 175 kcal per day from soft drinks.
While parents considered smoothies as a “healthy” option for their children to drink throughout the day and almost all agreed that fizzy drinks are “unhealthy”, recent media reports highlight that both these drinks contain similar levels of sugar.
Siobhan Freeguard, Netmums founder, said: “The focus group and quantitative survey activity we conducted with the NHC and a selected representation of members, was extremely interesting and really highlights some key issues surrounding this important topic for parents and carers nationwide. Between the ages of 4-10 is such a fundamental time in child development and this work really raises the point that parents are in need of more communication and advice around hydration to make the right choices for their children.”
Dr Emma Derbyshire has offered some top tips for parents on how to encourage children to drink more water and stay hydrated throughout the day:
1. Children often copy parents’ behaviour and habits, so try to get into the habit of drinking more water in front of your child(ren)
2. Always offer water at mealtimes – apart from anything else it will help those vegetables tasteless bitter if children are drinking something plain, rather than sweet
3. Put a bottle of water in lunchboxes instead of a sugary drink
4. Don’t overlook the need to give your child(ren) a drink at breakfast so they start the day well hydrated. Water is best as it contains zero sugar, calories, preservatives or additives
5. Offer younger children drinks on a regular basis and actively encourage consumption
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Health children's health Hydration