Getting Kids to Actually Drink

The plan fails at the drinking

Every piece of hydration guidance ends at the moment a bottle is handed to a nine-year-old, which is precisely where it goes wrong.

The bottle comes home full and the parent concludes their kid is stubborn. Usually the water was warm and the bottle stayed in the bag.

Make it cold and make it theirs

Cold water gets drunk. This is not a small effect and it is the cheapest intervention available.

Ownership matters almost as much. A kid who chose the bottle drinks from it more than one handed down from an older sibling.

• Ice in the bottle, or freeze one three-quarters full overnight.
• Let them pick the bottle, within reason.
• Name or sticker on it, so it does not get lost or shared.
• An insulated bottle for hot-weather sports, which pays for itself.

Build drinking into what already happens

Reminders fail because nobody is there to give them. Attaching the drink to a fixed event works because the event happens anyway.

1. A drink at the door

   Before shoes go on, every time. It is the one drink you can guarantee.

2. Bottle out before the bag goes down

   Out of the bag and standing by the pitch, not zipped inside it.

3. A second bottle in the car

   The drive home becomes a drinking window instead of a dry half hour.

Food that carries water

A kid who will not drink will often eat, and a good deal of fluid arrives as food. Orange segments, grapes, watermelon, cucumber, yogurt, and soup all contribute.

This is not a substitute for drinking during a hot session, but across a day it matters more than parents expect.

When refusing to drink is a safety issue

In ordinary weather, a kid who drinks less than you would like is a nuisance. In real heat, a kid who is not drinking at all is a risk, and it should go to the coach rather than staying a domestic negotiation.

A child who is refusing fluid and shows headache, dizziness, confusion, or vomiting needs medical attention immediately.

Questions about kids who will not drink