Tips and Tricks to Get Your Kids to Drink More Water

Many kids flat out refuse to drink water. They want Gatorade, Kool-Aid, sodas, and other sugary drinks instead. Who wants flavorless water when all of these tasty options are around? There are some easy ways to get your kids to drink more water. Try these tips for reducing the amount of sugar in your child's diet by encouraging them to drink more water.

Cool Containers. The first way to get your kids to drink more water is to provide them with some cool containers just for water drinking. Get some great looking water bottles with their favorite characters, or seek out some very grown-up looking metal water bottles. Stash these water bottles full of fresh water in the car, in the grocery cart, in your tote bag, and in the fridge at home. This way your child will have convenient access to water in a cool container just about anywhere, anytime. It's amazing how much a little aesthetic appeal and convenience will motivate a child to drink more water.

Use School Time Wisely. Just about all schools allow children to have a water bottle or other water container at school to drink from throughout the school day. Be sure to equip your child each morning with fresh, cold water to take to school. You will find that your child drinks water throughout the day, even if he or she claims to not like water. Also, if your child packs a lunch try packing water as the drink. You can load up on the milk at home where you can monitor what they are drinking. If the only drink in the lunchbox is water, she'll drink it.

Only Drink Water at Restaurants. A final way to get your children to drink more water is to make a rule that water is the only beverage drunk at restaurants. Not only will this get your kids to drink more water, but it will save you some money too. Sure, your kids may argue and complain at first when you create this new family rule, but after some time they will learn to accept that water is their restaurant beverage, no matter what. Just keep in mind that Mom and Dad need to abide by the rule too! This simple change is a great way to get your kids, and perhaps yourself, to drink more water.

Milk, juice, and occasional other beverages are fine for a child's diet, but children still need water in their diets as well. If your kids refuse to drink water try these tricks for getting your children to drink more water.