What age can children start drinking water?

Answer 1

Starting at about 6 months

Hold off on giving your baby water until he's about 6 months old, and limit it to about an ounce or two at a time -- ideally after meals. You don't want your baby to feel so full that he refuses to nurse or take his bottle. If your baby seems interested in taking occasional sips of water before 6 months of age, it's not going to hurt him. In fact, a little bit of water can help keep your baby hydrated in hot weather. But talk to his doctor if you're offering it before 6 months. Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with his body's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula. In rare cases, babies who drink too much water can develop a condition known as "water intoxication," which can cause seizures and even coma.
"Babies don't really need water, or any liquid other than breast milk or formula, until after their first birthday," says Rachel Brandeis, a registered dietitian in Atlanta. After age 1, water and milk are Brandeis's baby beverages of choice. "You want to be sure juices don't displace milk in a baby's diet," she says. Once your baby celebrates his first birthday, you can let him drink as much water as he wants.

Tip: When you introduce water to your baby, offer it lukewarm, especially if you breastfeed or usually give your baby formula that's warmed up.

Answer 2

I started giving my kids water at an early age about 8 months at the least...

Answer 3

I gave my son water when he was three months old at night to supplement a milk feeding, to get him to sleep through the night, he was at a good weight and this was my doctors advice, I just gave him bottled water. I'm not sure there is really an age, if your not sure just call your doctor

Answer 4

I know that people say NO water until such and such...but my babys doc said it was fine around 3 months.
I didn't like give it to him all the time but sincehe'd just kinda suck on it a little at bed time it's better than milk or juice for a babys teeth

Answer 5

Any age, I know when my daughter was two months old that the doctor told me instead of giving her formula early, give her water in between feedings if she seems hungry still.

Answer 6

As Toronto lactation consultant Anne Kirkham explains, "Giving water to young babies can make some undesirable things happen and can suppress other good things."

For example, in the first days after birth, drinking water has been found to increase the severity of newborn jaundice. "Babies who are breastfeeding well don't have much problem with jaundice," says Kirkham, "but those who are given water as well will become more jaundiced, and this makes them sleepy and lethargic."

Giving water in the early weeks can also interfere with breastfeeding. The infant who has a tummy full of water will drink less milk at his feedings, and his mother's breasts will decrease milk production in response. The result: The baby gets less milk, and may not grow as well. One study in Australia found that newborns who were given water with sugar after each feeding at the breast lost more weight than babies who were breastfed exclusively. In addition, if the water is given in a bottle, the baby's sucking technique may become confused.

"It's common for babies to have periods of cluster feedings when they feed frequently for a few hours," Kirkham adds. "But because parents don't expect this, they worry that the baby is unsatisfied and wants something else, so they give the baby a drink of water."

While decreased milk production isn't a concern with babies who are fed formula, water is not good for those babies either, since it will reduce their intake of formula. Too much water can even be dangerous: In rare cases, infants have died from water intoxication, and others have developed seizures or hypothermia. Almost all of these babies were bottle-fed.

But what if it's really hot outside? Do babies need water then? Some physicians, such as Danielle Grenier of the Canadian Paediatric Society, say it's OK to add water to formula during very hot and humid weather only if your baby is dehydrated or running a fever. (The water should be boiled if the baby is under six months.)

Research shows that babies don't normally need extra water. A 1978 Jamaican study of exclusively breastfed babies found no signs of dehydration in temperatures averaging 27.6 degrees C. In 1990, the same researcher studied babies in India, where the temperature ranged between 35 and 40 degrees C. Again, the exclusively breastfed babies showed no signs of dehydration and needed no extra water.

"In the summer, when the baby might be a little more thirsty, the milk will be slightly more watery. In the winter, babies receive more creamy milk," Kirkham explains. Of course, nursing mothers should be prepared to drink extra water during hot weather. (The standard advice is "drink to thirst," because if you drink too much, you may decrease your milk supply.)

So when is it appropriate to give your healthy baby water? Kirkham suggests that around seven months, when your baby is sitting up well and has started eating solid foods, you could introduce a little water in a cup.

"A cup is a better choice than a bottle," she adds. "Nature has designed babies to have a strong sucking drive to make sure they eat well. Their bodies expect the stuff they suck to be high in nutrition and full of all the calories and vitamins they get from breastmilk [or formula], and if they drink water from a bottle they could take in too much water."

Once your older baby is beginning to drink from a cup, water is usually a better choice than juice. It's the best drink for satisfying thirst, and doesn't have all the sugar that fruit juices do. But until your baby's diet includes a variety of foods, she will get all the water she needs from breastmilk or formula.

Answer 7

Tepid boiled water right from birth if needed..and stick with the water and then they don't want soft drinks coz "its too fizzy".i have three H2o kids and its great when it comes to dentists visits..

Answer 8

6-7 months usually but I would wait till a year since some babies can get too much water and get nitrate poisoning.

Answer 9

Around six month when they start to wean.

Answer 10

any time