It’s summer here in
New Zealand and especially here in Auckland we tend to get high humidity, which
can be very dehydrating.
Children tend to be more prone to dehydrate than adults in the heat of summer. Wherever
in the world you live this is of great importance!
Why? Because their bodies don’t cool down as efficiently, leaving them more at
risk during the warmer months.
I would like to encourage parents, caregivers and teachers to allow children to
have their water bottles readily available in the classroom during the summer
months. This to me should be not negotiable.
Please remember the “monkey see monkey do” principle if your kids see you drinking there is a much higher chance they will drink water also.
How can you help your kids drink more?
Most schools are very proactive in this area as I’m sure most of you are also.
- Pack a drink bottle for school or family outings, in the summer a frozen one is a good idea.
- Drinking prior and after exercise is another way
- The first thing to do after arriving home from school, lunch boxes out of bags and a long cool glass of water.
- If they are not fans of drinking water, try adding a little natural flavour. There are some wonderful natural oils out there you can add a few drops. Or a squeeze of lemon lime or orange juice, just to flavour the water slightly, not to overtake it.
- Having a good filtration system can help as the water is softer. Do some research on this, it can make a huge difference to your child liking water or not.
- They may even like it with a slice of cucumber or a strawberry popped in the glass.
The most important thing to do is keep them hydrated. A happily hydrated son or daughter will be much happier than a dehydrated one!
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The below information comes from The British Nutrition Foundation
The amount of fluid a
child needs depends on many factors including age, gender, weather and physical
activity levels. It is advised that children 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).
See the table below for the European Food Safety Authority’s recommendations
for water intake for children under conditions of moderate environmental
temperature and moderate physical activity levels
. Note that these values include water from both food and drinks (amounts from drinks only have been estimated).
| Sex | Age group | Amount of fluid from drinks and food (litres/day*) | Amount of fluid from drinks only (litres/day**) |
| Boys and girls | 2 to 3 years | 1.3 | 0.9 – 1.0 |
| Boys and girls | 4 to 8 years | 1.6 | 1.1 – 1.3 |
| Girls | 9 to 13 years | 1.9 | 1.3 – 1.5 |