How do I get my child to drink more water. He hates the taste.?

Question

My child is 3. He refuses water. I have to add juice to his water cup to get him to drink.

Answer 1

Put a little sugar in it...he will drink it then...after a while take the sugar out and he won't know the different...

Answer 2

Maybe the water really does taste bad.

Flavoring it is not a bad idea, and neither is adding juice. But you might also look into filters or bottled water to see if a differently flavored water would suit him better.

He needs to drink water, and to avoid sodas or overly sugared drinks. Chances are good this is a phase he'll outgrow.

It's also possible he may simply be trying to push your buttons by being a toddler. Don't quit loving him and do remain firm about making sure he is encouraged to drink water.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Maybe the water where you live has an unpleasant taste due to chemicals that he finds repulsive. I know sometimes they flush out the water system where I live and the water tastes horrible due to extra chlorine. Try putting ice cubes in it because it is harder to taste cold things. If that still doesn't work I'm afraid you might have to try bottled water. Milk is healthy too, try getting him to drink that. It is much more important to his health than water. Sometimes adding a drop of food coloring will trick him into thinking it's juice or something. Hope some of this helps

Answer 4

My neice loves juice but it is so expensive, she too, doesn't like water, unless it belongs to someone else... so to remedy both, her parents usually give her about 20-30% juice and the rest water. Sometimes it is even less juice. But the little bit of taste is what they want, and fruit juice is pretty healthy. If you are worried about the cost or the sugars, you can even get those sugar free powdered juices and just add a tiny bit to the water to make it taste better.

Answer 5

My son does not like water as well. though he drinks gallons of diluted milk and water(as long as it has a milky color huh!).you can get a lot of flavored water too from the supermarket.You can also make your own, add some lemon and a bit of sugar.This way,you can control the sugar intake of your child.It is true enough that,whatever fluid is possible.Although you have to consider the smell and color of your child's urine. Once my son's urine had a strong and dark yellow urine when he simply drink and drink milk and juices.Try to check the sugar content of instant juices, if you give juice better fruit juices...

Answer 6

Okay, here's the deal. You can't force a kid to drink something he doesn't like. Personally, I dont understand how someone could not like water because its my favorite drink, but I get where he's coming from by refusing to drink it. Children are usually quite active.. and depending on his activity level, this could be a reason why you are so concerned. The thing is, everything drinkwise has water in it..... Try not worrying about it... Sometimes it's one of those things where the kid just has to grow into it... When I was younger I used to hate corn, but now i love it. Just give him space and let him learn....

another thing to ask yourself is how much water do you drink? if he doesnt see you drinking water, what makes you think he's going to want to drink it? You were a kid once too. Think about it.. when you were little, didnt you want what your mommy was drinking?

Answer 7

My son has that problem too but gerber makes like a flaorved water that tastes reaaly good start him on that but slowly switch him to regualr water alot of people say put sugar in it but then he is going to want it that way all the time, try giving him water instead of juice for 1 day if he gets thirsty enough he will drink it .
Cut back on the juice

It worked for me

Answer 8

Really -if it is the only thing available he will drink it. The body is a wonderful thing. It craves what it needs and demands it too. You may have to consider that he does have a "taste" issue if yours is not good water, if it is city water it may taste of chlorine, fluoride, or sulfur. Maybe bottled water, or let your water from the tap sit overnight in a gallon container for tomorrows use.
Also a fun cup, or sports bottle is a good trick that I've used- they have many varieties at walmart.

Answer 9

Add a little bit of sugar or Kero syrup. It will sweeten the taste of the water. Honey may work also. Also you could try getting the water very very cold. Some children like water better that way, and a new SPECIAL cup may help... anything in that cup just may be good tasting....

Answer 10

make sure it's real juice. Nothing wrong with that. Water it down lots. This way he gets the benefit of water plus a few vitamins.

Not a battle worth fighting if he'll drink some water-down juice.

Answer 11

Capri Sun has just come out with flavoured water (35 calories a package) My daughter seems to like that, although she's ok with plain water, as well. Kool Aid has a 10 calorie drink, but she likes the Capri Sun one better. (Both have some amount of Splenda)

Try taking something like that and water it down a little more each time you give it to him. Eventually, you should be able to give it to him with nothing at all in it but water. If the colouring is what he's using to figure out there's nothing but water in it, maybe a drop of food coloring in it?

Good luck! They can be pretty stubborn at this age.