Water is one of the essential things on this planet!
Without it, there would be no human race. Drinking water is a healthy habit to pick up and one that we should be passing over to our kids as they grow.
In this post, you will read about a friend whose water drinking habit has now been passed to the 3rd generation of his family!
If you want to know how to get a toddler to drink water, I will show you my 5 top tips in this post!
What you will learn in this post:
The benefits for your toddler if they drink more water.
Use water to help reduce the risk of obesity. Raising an obese child will give them health conditions that will last their entire lives. Start them off with healthy habits, such as drinking water instead of soda and drinks full of sugar.
Reduces Sugar Intake
Drinking more water means drinking less sugary drinks.
Kidneys use water to help to rid your body of toxins and waste products. If you do not take in enough water, your kidneys will not function as well as they can.
How To Get A Toddler To Drink Water – 5 Ways
Add Fruit
This first tip is easy! Cut some fruit slices and add them to your toddler’s drink.
You can buy cups and bottles that hold fruit inside the cup or bottle to release some excellent flavor into the water.
That way, your toddler gets to drink water and takes in some vital vitamins from the fruit!
Favorites include:
Strawberries
Black currents
Orange
Kiwi
You could also consider freezing these fruit slices to add to your toddler’s water on hot days. Your toddler will find it refreshing and tasty!
This is important – if you want to know how to get a toddler to drink water, then the first thing you should do is be a role model and drink more water!
You subconsciously let your toddler know that water is nice to drink by drinking water yourself. You know what toddlers are like; they want to copy whatever adults do! So why not give them something healthy to copy?
Besides getting your toddler to drink more water, it is beneficial to you too, right?
Only Offer Water
Your toddler will get thirsty. If you only offer water, they will drink it.
When your toddler drinks water every day, it becomes a habit. That habit will grow with them.
I have a friend in his late 50’s who has 3 children who are now in their 20’s. Since they were toddlers, they were only given water to drink. That is every time they wanted a drink, and with every meal.
Now they are in their 20s and still only drink water with every meal! Not only that, but one of them has a toddler of his own now, and guess what? His toddler only drinks water during meal times!
That habit has grown over 20 years and is now being passed to a new generation. All because they were only offered water.
Make It Fun
There are 2 things you can add to the water drinking experience to make it fun.
Fun cups
Fun straws
If you make drinking water fun, your toddler is much more likely to drink it.
If you have added fruit to the drinks, it will be a habit even more likely to stick with them!
It is the same with anything that you want your toddler to do. Make it fun, and they are much more likely to do it.
Create A Competition
This is an interesting take on how to get a toddler to drink water!
There are 2 competitions you can do, and I like both of them. If your toddler is competitive (most are), then give these a go:
Race to drink a cup of water.
Race to get the clearest pee!
Gamification gets things done in business and parenting! The beauty is you don’t even have to have a prize. The glory of your toddler winning is the most important thing to them.
Make it fun, and make it tasty! Follow the tips on this page if you want to know how to get a toddler to drink water. You should only offer your toddler water every time. With each meal, the options should be water or water. Cut out the soda, and your toddler will have a healthy habit.
How do you get a dehydrated toddler to drink?
The important thing is that you don’t rush the drink down your toddler. First, you should always get your toddler to take small sips. I learned that the hard way! If your toddler rushes to drink fluids, they will likely come back up again! Also, you should only offer water.
How can I get my 1-year-old to drink more water?
Make a game of it! 1-year old’s love to play games. It is something they have only just learned to do, right? Set up a water tea party and get them to drink ‘tea’ (water) from little cups.
Conclusion
If you want to know how to get a toddler to drink water, then the 5 tips on this page will help you.
The most important thing is that you allow your toddler to develop a habit where they drink only water each mealtime. I told you about a friend who only gave his toddlers water to drink, and now they are passing that to the next generation!
That is one very healthy habit! If that decision is passed on to yet another generation in 20 years, then what a gift to have given. I hope I can leave that kind of legacy to my descendants.
