How Do I Get My 5 Year Old to Drink More Water?

I agree with the "cool water bottle" idea. I have a 3yo and a 16mo and they love when I give them "juice" I put about 20% juice and 80% water. both V8 an juicy juice make new juices that have veggies in them...got to figure you have to sneak veggies in where ever you can.

my kids love slushies- I just take some crushed ice and mix it with the watered down juice

for the chapped lips, try putting some aquaphor on her lips at night and find a fun chapstick for during the day

I squeeze fresh lemon into my kids water bottles and they think it's lemonade!! And it gives them alittle extra Vit C.

I'm not a huge fan of crystal light because of the nutrasweet, so i give mine half 100% fruit juice half water. They have fun bright colored water bottles and they can have as many refills as they want. You could try making fun shaped ice cubes to put in his cup.

One thing my 5 y.o. son just got this year from school is that water makes you grow and he decided he wants to grow to be the biggest kid in his class (theres only two kids taller than him this year). Maybe showing him how a plant needs lots of water to grow will help show him that people need lots of water to grow too. Try encouraging him to want to grow bigger or to make his lips stop hurting by drinking more. Play up the health values of lots of water and it may help him understand that he needs to drink more.

Another thing you could do is tell him he has to stay at the table for meals until his whole glass is empty.

My almost 5 year old wasn't much of a water drinker either. Maybe you could buy special cool cups "just for water" & let him have them around the house as he plays. We found some character cups w/ lids & straws. My son also really likes the flavored water (Propel or fruit H2O). It's a bit expensive, but it's one way to get him to drink something other than juice. When we have it on hand, he's much more likely to ask for lemon or grape water than for other drinks. :)

My boys always respond well to positive reinforcement, so maybe promote a sticker project or something similar that you do in your family for drinking water every day...hope this helps a little!

I bought child-sized hydration backpacks for my children (9, 5, 3), and they love them. If I think that they are becoming dehydrated, I get them out and they wear them while they play and take sips from the drinking tubes much more often than they otherwise would. I got them at Recreation Outlet in American Fork, but Out-N-Back, Park's Sportsman, or REI (maybe even Sportsmans Wearhouse or Cabella's) would have them, too. Be sure to use Aquafor or Vaseline on their lips so they won't crack.

Children will naturaly take in what they need. If he isn't sick, and doesn't seem to be dehydrated I wouldn't worry about it.

WIth my boys, If I put the crystal light mix into a bottle of water...they think it's kool-aid and its all they want to drink. with all the different flavors, it's not a bad choice for them to be drinking, and I drink it right along with them. Plus we have a water/ice maker on our fridge and they will get water all day long if i would let them play with the fridge. i have a 6, 4 and 18mo old. I even get the youngest drinking the crystal light!!!

Chapped lips are so common in this dry weather this time of year. But increasing water consumption is smart. Twice a month we get new water bottles for the whole fam. My 5 year old labels each with our names-she enjoys the responsibility. We leave them in the fridge where everyone can access it whenever he or she wants. When a bottle is empty I fill it up right away. It has increased our families water intake. It has also saved me from making tons of kool-aide and juices since they feel so big having their own water bottle and can access it themselves without my help. But honestly I think the biggest thing has been that my husband drinks from his a lot. And he will set all of the water bottles out at breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to whatever drink I may serve. It's the example that has really taught my kids. Good luck.

T.
i never had a problem with that my kids just love water my little one will argue with the cashier at mc D to they let her get bottle water with her kids meal she will even pick water over pop or cho milk so i guess find small little bottle

When I fill up a glass of "juice" for my kids I mix 1/2 crystal light and 1/2 water. By the end of the day they end up consuming a decent amount of water, but they think that they have been drinking "juice" all day long! :)

I have my daughter alternate, she knows that if she has a glass of juice the next thing she drinks has to be a glass of water... its just a rule we have. Good luck.

I always bought cool drinking bottles! Yes, I agree with the water/ice in the fridge. When my son was 4 we built our home and booth the kids asked for this in a fridge--they loved it!