Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

...a rant....

How yellow is your toddler's pee? I'm serious! Do you know? Does it smell? Think hard.

Then think, how much water does your little one drink? Does he/she drink any at all? How many times a day do you offer a drink to your toddler and it’s not water? ***

I always see toddlers in the mall drinking cool aid, fruit punch and (believe it or not!) diet or regular soda!! Now, I’m talking little ones – 4 and under. How crazy is that? It is absolutely no wonder to me that so many American kids are diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. There is no way they can sit still and concentrate with the amount of sugar and additives floating around in their systems!

It is the one thing that our bodies can’t live without and we don’t even think to offer it to our kids. My mom thought I was crazy when I told her that I don’t let my kids have juice. But, I figure that the best way to keep my kids as healthy as I can is to break the sugar cycle now before the influence of school cafeterias and constant commercials get into their brains. I offer milk at meals and water with snacks. Most toddlers should get about 8 oz. of water a day and no more than 4-8 oz of 100% fruit juice.

When they are thirsty, I want the first thing that comes to mind to be water! Now, I’m no angel. Sure, my kids can have a juicebox once in a while and once in a blue moon I’ll even buy a bottle of juice for them to have with meals. However, I water it down by about half. Yeah, it tastes crappy to me, but to them, it’s a big treat! They love it and I’m okay with the amount of sugar they are getting (not to mention how much longer a bottle lasts!). (Also, even though the sugar in 100% juice is natural - it's still sugar!)

Of course, if your little one doesn’t eat/drink dairy, then juice is a great alternative for the calcium, but of course consult your doctor. Your kids need that calcium! But that’s not a problem for my boys – they are huge fans of cheese and milk. (They get that from their mommy!)

If you are unsure of how much fluid your young one is getting. Check their pee. If they are urinating frequently and the urine is pale yellow and with little smell, they are getting enough fluid, but if their urine is bright yellow and acrid smelling, it's a good indication that the urine is very concentrated and more fluid is needed.

So, next time you offer a snack – don’t forget the water!



*** I want to add a little note here about infants. Babies under the age of 6 months should not have water at all as they can fill up on it and not get enough nutrients or it can lead to a very serious condition called water intoxication. Children under a year should also avoid water as most of their nutrition comes from milk or formula and too much water can be dangerous for them.

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