We all know it’s important to stay hydrated – so why is it so hard to remember to drink water? And, while we can try to hack our own habits, keeping little kids hydrated is a whole other story. Here are our top tips (and a few of the best non-toxic water bottles!) to help keep you and your family cool this summer.
How much water do you really need?
The old 8 cups of water a day rule has been outdated, but a good frame of reference is that you’re drinking enough if you’re not often thirsty and your urine is pale yellow. It’s important not to wait until you’re thirsty, which can be a sign of dehydration.
Signs of Dehydration
Knowing signs of dehydration is important, especially for kids. During the hot summer months, they may not remember to take breaks to drink water and can get dehydrated fast. Here are some signs your child may be dehydrated:
- Dry or “sticky” mouth and tongue
- Lack of tears when crying
- Sunken eyes (or sunken soft spot in babies)
- Not urinating for 12 hours or having a wet diaper for 6-8 hours
- Dark urine or small amounts of urine
- Dry, cool wrinkled skin
- Fatigue, lethargy or dizziness
- Irritability
- Difficulty breathing
- Muscle cramps
If you see these symptoms in your child, you should take them seriously and contact your pediatrician or medical provider.
Top 3 Tips To Keeping Kids Hydrated
Make Water Super Available!
We are such creatures of convenience, and if you have to seek water out, it’s so much harder to remember to keep up with your hydration. Making water available is a great way to increase how much you and your family drink throughout the day. Setting up water stations in a few areas in your home, especially ones that kids can access themselves, as well as leaving water by your bed at night, are great ways to increase water consumption.
Make It Fun!
Reusable cups, straws and non-toxic water bottles are great ways to encourage kids to keep water with them all day. And, because sports can offer more opportunities to get dehydrated, having a non-toxic water bottle option you can take with you increases your odds of keeping them hydrated at practice and games. Here are a few of the best non-toxic water bottles:
Make It Tasty!
Skip the sugary chemical bomb of sports drinks and make your own flavored water. Some cool ideas are to freeze fruit in ice cubes (a fun activity for your kiddos to join in on!) or dilute organic, low-sugar fruit juice with water for added flavor. Making your own popsicles is another great way to keep kids hydrated – and they get to enjoy a healthy treat, too!
Learn More
We’re parents too. We get how hard it is to get kids to do stuff that’s good for them, whether it be drinking water, eating vegetables or going to bed (or about a million other things). One thing we can do is help you keep your home free from toxic cleaners with our kid and pet-friendly cleaning system, Force of Nature. We’ve harnessed the power of simple household ingredients to create a cleaner as effective as bleach, but gentle enough to spray on your non-toxic reusable water bottle (and pretty much anything else!)
