My 4 Yr Old Refuses to Drink Water

Hi G.,

A trick I used with my daughter was making juice ice cubes. I would put one in her water cup, that way she would drink the water and get a taste of the juice as the cube melted w/o all the sugar. This also kept the water cold longer in the cup.
Hope this was helpful!
K.

G., have you tried any of the flavored waters? Some, like Propel, have a little sugar but also vitamins and nutrients. My 4 year old son loves it and drinks much more than ever now that we allow him to drink it. He too drank very little in the past and got a GI virus which brought him to the ER and hospitalized for 5 days because of lack of reserves. He got dehydrated very quickly. If you get her to like the Propel maybe you could mix it with half tap water and give it to her from the original bottle. She would never know that it is diluted. There are many flavors to choose from. Good luck, DD

Have you tried carbonated flavored water? if she likes soda then this should work. Just tell her it's a new soda (and it costs about the same if you get it in 2 liter bottles) Good luck!

In response to your update, it is very important to drink water everyday and I think most of us do know that but we are more concerned with the power struggle that seems to be going on over it in your house. Your original post did make it seem like your child was dehydrated on a daily basis. Please don't think anyone is attacking you, we are all still learning and no one is perfect here. First of all, try to make it less of an issue, don't argue with your daughter over drinking the water just make sure it is available. My 3 1/2 year old has a straw sippy cup that I keep filled with cold filtered (Brita) water and one shot of Juicy Juice for flavor. Fresh fruit is another great source of water and should be offered daily for snacktime. I think kids this age get to a point where if you ask them to do something, they will just reply with a "no". I would just start putting the drink next to her and walk away. End the power struggle. Also I would definately speak with your pediatrician about the dehydration symptoms and just make sure there is nothing else going on that could be causing the problem. Good luck to you!

did you try some of those flavored waters like fruit 20 plus calcium or propell my 3 year wont drink water either then i tried them and now she request to have a glass of waterevery day.

C.

Hi
My 3 and 1/2 year old likes a teaspoon of diet iced tea mix in his water. I know there's no equal substitute for plain old H2O, but a container of iced tea isn't very expensive, and I make it pretty weak, just enough to give it a little flavor. There are other flavors as well, like raspberry, etc. They don't have the sugar content of juice. It's better than nothing, and worth a try!
Goodluck

give the kid a break. mine drink water (plain) rarely, but if they have juice i dilute it at least with half water. try it, then you are happy cuz she is drinking water and she is happy cuz she gets her juice. and just give her some milk at least, dont deprive her thats just mean.

My suggestion is this...its not worth dehydrating your child just to get her to drink water as opposed to juice. Yes, the water is better for her, but at her age, she is just trying to assert some control. Its a pick your battle kind of situation, and this is probably one you can let her win. Find an organic apple juice that is all natural with no sugar added...apples are mostly water anyway. Give her a few weeks, and then try the water again. Its more important that she DRINKS, rather than drinks water. Also, let her drink milk as well, if she will, Her body needs the calcium and the other nutrients found in the milk. Definitely stay away from the soda though...thats just sugar.

have you tried gatorade or sports drinks???

Hello G.,
SELTZER WATER(soda water). No sugar, no sodium, available in flavors, they think they're drinking soda!! Plus it doesn't have any artificial sweetners in it. How can you go wrong? I have three boys, they'll drink soda water like it's going out of style! It can't hurt to try it.

Good luck...K. L.

maybe go to the store and buy her, her very own water bottle, make a huge deal out of it make sure mom gets one too and is excited to guzzle from her new bottle in front of her!

I'm wondering if you add a little bit of juice to the water? I'm just thinking not only is flavored water expensive, but it also contains sucralose, aspartame, and other artificial flavors and colors. Diluted juice may give her just enough flavoring...also, maybe her own cool refillable/ reusable water bottle?

First...no soda at all!!
Not enough nutritional value for a young child who will not consume water. There is a big difference between the sugars in soda pop and the fructose in juice.

Not drinking water is not as bad as it sounds. You consume a lot of fluids in the foods you consume also. If the ER did not feel the need to start an IV, it's not as bad as you think. It's almost a shame because it's a good lesson for them. Most children after getting IV fluids, decide they'd rather drink water than deal with an IV ever again.

My daughter loved the concept of self service with the water dispenser in the refrigerator door. As long as she was drinking water, we were not concerned with the lid to a
"sippy cup" (since water won't stain anything it's spilled on) and she got to get her own like a big kid in a big kid cup.

But....
Stick to juice which is 100% juice, like 'juicy juice' and dilute it with water. Maybe a third at first, then in a week try to dilute it to 50% water. Dilute it right in the jug so she see's you pour it out when serving it to her. Add two drops of food coloring if needed. If it is a brand new container, tell her it's warm and needs ice. Pour it into a jug with ice the ice will melt and dilute it. It's terrible to try to trick an innocent child, but it's for the better.

Stick to lighter juices if she will only drink juice. There are some mild flavors like Apple-banana, strawberry and watermelon. If she gets away from the heavy sweetners (corn syrups, added sugars...etc) she will appreciate the duller flavors. Fruit punches are so sickeningly sweet...I can see how the flavors are addictive to a child.

For sweets? Only natural fruits...if canned, no heavy syrup. Use pears for a while...they are not as sweet. They have plenty of fluid in them too. It is true that processed sugars are addictive. Unlike natural fructose....they burn off too fast and leave that person craving more. Make sure this is just a dislike of water and not a larger problem with sugar addiction.

Good luck

I see your position on the water, and understand about being on a budget. So why not try to cut the juice by half with water, so it still has the flavor and it is increasing the water intake. Also Capri sun makes a flavored water for kids, and stop n shop always has them on sale two packs of 10 for $5 you can by like 4 packs and be set they look just like the juice boxes so its kinda tricking her a little.Hope this helps.

Hello G.,
My daughter had a diarrea problem, and we found out that it was from too much juice. We decided to put mostly water in her sippy, and just a splash of juice. I call it her "cocktail"! You could try that just so she gets water in her. Good luck!
Steph

You are dealing with a 4 year old. And you are losing the power struggle. The best thing for you to do is give up the fight.

Water does not have to come from a bottle or tap for it be a source of nutrition. Your daughter can get all the hydration she needs from juice, fruit (especially watermelon) and even popcicles.

If you are adament that she drinks water, why not make sugar-free Kool Aide for her. Or have her help you make "lemonade" by squeezing some lemon juice into a glass of water. I know my daughter (2 yo) likes to eat ice, try that also.

I understand that you feel it is benefical for your daughter to drink water, but not allowing her any beverages is only hurting her and cause kidney problems later in life.

At 4 yo, milk is very important to your daughter's development. You could try substituting every other glass of whole milk (if she is still drinking whole milk) with skim milk or 1%, which has more water content.

Don't let her have soda, that will only dehydrate her more.

Quick get some juice,and dilute it don't worry about the water quite as much as the dehydration.I,as a child never drank water.Thought it was poison.It truly tasted awful.Imagine,the yucky flavor of nothing at all.Try watered down apple juice,pineapple juice ,even low sugar kool aids and grape juice.Even iced chamomile tea,its caffeine free,I used to feed it to my son for gassiness.Try not to be such a control freek.It will only hurt her in the long run.Fancy cups and straws are a wonderful way to keep her drinking happily all day long.

Dilute? Maybe give her juice but try diluting it with water. That is how I drink it and how I give my 2 year old her juice. She no longer will drink water either. I use frozen juice (100%) but I always use more water than the directions say and when I drink it I always dilute by 1/2 or 2/3.

No offence, but not giving her anything to drink sounds a little mean. You can't refuse to give her anything to drink. All my son will drink is Juice or milk. I make sure that the juice is 100%. But if that is all she is allowed try the flavored selzier water. She may drink it more cause she thinks its soda. If she does have other thinks to drink, and still acts dehydrated, then she may have a medical condition. Maybe you should talk to your doctor.

Hi G.-
I would suggest the flavored waters as well. She may like them because they taste like juice. Also, if you are at your wits end because she won't drink them, you could try diluting the juice with a lot of water. Maybe if she sees the color of juice and a bit of the flavor, she will drink it without knowing it is actually just about all water. It seems her drinking anything with water in it is better than her being dehydrated.

Hi, have you thought about trying the flavored waters. Some have a bit of sugar in them but some dont. I cant get my daughter to drink plain water either but she inhales the flavored waters. My thinking is that as long as she is drinking I will cut back on the sugar in other areas. My daughter is alot older then yours is, and can handle the sugar a bit easier. but I would try whatever worked at this point. My daughter Chelsi hasnt liked water since she was very little. My doctor told me to give her small amounts of gatoraid. I dont know if that is exactally good or not but you could maybe call your doctor and see what he would suggest. Hope it hels.

I know that it is very important to have your children drink water... but what is more important, having them drink water or getting sick from not drinking at all? The easiest way is to let her drink what she wants, if she wants juice water it down, if she wants soda get diet and/or caffiene free. There are ways around this if you just understand she doesn't realize that not drinking at all is going to get her sick, so you have to bargian with her at her age level. Good Luck!

My children are allowed to drink juices in moderation. Neither one of my children are big water drinkers. I do dilute a lot of the juices I give them with water. My 4 year old will also drink water if he is given a small water bottle. He thinks drinking it that way is a lot of fun. My 2 yr old however is a big milk drinker and that is that. He won't budge for anything else except maybe a popsicle once in awhile. Like anything I am sure your daughter will drink water when she is ready, but probably not if she is forced. Good luck.

I know you don't want her to have juice but what if you just flavor the water with juice so there is only a little bit in it....will she drink it then? Then after awhile just keep moving back the amount you put in to the point where it is 99% water 1% juice......I give my son a sippy cup with about 95% water and 5% Gerber juice splashers....it really just tastes like water but he thinks there is juice in there.

Hope this helps

have you tried the flavored water like fruit 2 0? i believe it's sweetened with splenda (sucralose) so it doesn't have the calories of juice/soda/etc in it. that's what my kids drink 90% of the time and i even dilute that by about 3/4 with tap water (why i'm not sure lol). hope you find something that works!

my son doesn't drink water either so i mix 3/4 water with 1/4 juice in his sippy cup... he doesnt seem to mind

G.,

I understand your stance on water being good for the body, and wanting to make sure your child is properly hydrated. I support the flavored water idea as a way to get more fluids into her. I wanted to suggest another possibility.

Try getting water into her body in food. Give her lots of water dense fruits like melon and citrus. Grapes are great for this too, and kids love them frozen. Also, try soup for lunch, Jello or italian ice for dessert, anything that involves a lot of water. As long as it goes in, the form doesn't really matter.

I agree try the flavored water thing. Or just add some juice to the water, enough to give it flavor. Like 1 oz of juice to 8 oz water.

I dont know if someone had said to try this, but i had to wit my 16mnth old twins, back when they were like 3 or 4mnths old. One of them wouldnt drink warm water or any type of water without having to put some sugar in it. Just warm water wit some sugar. Like I said i dont know if someone had told u to try that, but i just thought i would put my two sense in..hehe. It helped wit me with one of them. So i thought i would let u know what worked for me. Thnx

I have not read all the responses, but you might want to try to offer ice water. My oldest son really likes ice water. Our fridge makes it's own ice and so it's so easy to add ice to the water. It's great to also water down the kool-aid. that way it gives some flavor to the water. My step mom likes to have water down ice'd tea. Maybe she would even like something like that? Is it possible to make your own water fizzy drink? I don't know how good it would be for you or how cost effective it would be even?

I would suggest try watering down the juice a little bit that way you know she is getting water.

I just had an idea, I don't know if it will work or not- What if you take your daughter to buy a special cup. Let her pick it out, pick the color or character on it. When she picks one she likes, look at it and say "Uh oh. This one says it's for drinking water only. We can't use it for drinking anything else." If she's excited about the cup she may promise to drink water if you'll buy it for her anyway. Once home, she now has a special "water" cup and because she picked it out, she may be more willing to use it voluntarily. Keep yourself from using the cup to force the issue, though. I would simply keep the cup handy, visible, and comment on how cool it is a lot without mentioning water, letting HER be the one to suggest she get to use it. Then casually remind her it's her water cup and give it to her upon HER request, so it's always her idea. No power struggle if it's up to her.

Have you tried flavored water?

Hi
Why does she have to drink water? If she is drinking liquids you will prevent her from going to the E.R.,

Not sure why the urgency for her to drink one glass of water a day? She needs liquids in general; Maybe she needs flavored water; there are a lot of flavored waters out there buy some and see if she will do it; if it has color to it, just maybe you can tell her it is juice!

Let me know

This article isn't specific toward what you asked, and you already had a few excellent suggestions, but figured I would share this. You can water down the juice, half water and half juice so that your daughter is getting water one way or another. You also know what works? Now, supermarkets sell flavored water. You know what's funny? My son HATES flavored water and prefers regular plain water over that. Kinda strange; try flavored water. Good luck!

Discipline Your Tot's Sweet Tooth
How to cut down on "bad" snacks and keep sweets in check
By Anita Sethi, Ph.D.

No one wants her child to be a junk-food addict. Even so, we sometimes desperately hand out Oreos just to get our picky toddler to eat something. We've all done it, but making too many compromises like this isn't good for your child's health. Here's how to keep sweets in check:

Be prepared. Who hasn't been caught on the road or in an emergency situation where the only option is a glazed doughnut or a chocolate bar from a vending machine? To stave off these snack attacks, keep healthy foods at the ready: small bags of Cheerios; soft fresh fruit like bananas and ripe melon, thinly sliced or cut into small pieces (no larger than half an inch); and whole-grain, low-sugar crackers and cookies. For now, skip whole grapes and raisins, which are choking hazards. Your toddler can only eat what you give him, so if you offer good-for-you foods, his diet will improve.

Water down juice. Limit the amount of sweetened beverages your child consumes, like soda and other sugary, high-calorie drinks. Give him water instead, or gradually dilute his juice with water — he probably won't even notice a difference. If he doesn't like drinking water, try dressing it up with a few citrus slices. Homemade fruit smoothies are another tasty option.

Don't ban cupcakes. When birthdays come around, don't deny your partygoer a slice of cake. Remember: Forbidden fruit is always the tastiest. Give him a small piece, and make sure he's eaten some "real" food first.

Babytalk, November 2006

www.parenting.com - Excellent resource.

trying putting sugar in her water thats how i get my daugther 2 drink it or u can get pedialyte if she is dehydrated or pediasure or even gatorade there all flavored so she wont dehydrate

You should try half juice and half water and slowely increase your amounts of water to juice everyday. I did this with my children and now they drink mostly water. When they do have juice it's 3/4 water and 1/4 juice if that. You have to do it slowly so they can adjust to it. As for soda we do not have that except for when they go to a party and they are limited to one glass with their friends. If you teach them about the nutritional value early on they will stick to it when they are older. My nine year old makes her own healthy choices and eats better than me now!!!! I never have to worry about her eating choices, especially in school. Good luck.

Have you ever thought of just flavoring the water slightly with natural flavorings, it doesn't have to be manufactured juice but hey squeeze some fresh orange or lemon or something into the water, seems she is looking for flavor. Natural additives to the water doesn't diminish the nutrients of the water. But her not drinking milk does. Comprimise. If you are adding 100% natural flavoring to the water you both win. Also you could start with a very natural juice and dilute it a little each day. There are ways to remedy this at home, without added expense. Popsicles are a great source of water, (homemade ones) make them yourself take the water then you add natural flavorin too and go with it. By the way attacking the moms here with the comment that we are not that concerned of our children's water intake, not a good choice. we are here to help each other. Parenthood is a give and take. Pick your battles. Use your imagination not deprivation, it will work better.

I know that you have received tons of responses to your question. I completely understand the importance of water. I drink water all day long and it is my beverage of choice. My son is 9 months old and I give him water in his sippy cup and he loves it. I don't give him much juice and when I do I water it down a lot. Many people are not as concerned about their children drinking water, but all the sugery drinks that children have can cause cavities, hyper activity, weight issues and so on. The flavored water is a good idea, but you are right, that can get pricey. Have you tried seeing if she will drink ice water? Or even try making sun tea or ice tea, or even fresh lemonade. They still have sugar, but you can control the amount a little better. Hopefully she is just going through a control thing. Good luck. And don't give up, because you are right, water is very important and many people don't get enough.

HI my name is A. and I don't know if you tried this. I am not a big water drinker either but they have vitamin water they are flavored but still water and I enjoy drinking them.. Here is a little about me I am 28 not married 3 boys 9yrs 7yrs and soon to be 2 on the 29th of this month...

Well i really wouldnt worry about making her drink water if you know shes not gonna drink it then i would let her have the milk or juice minus pop i wouldnt allow but she needs to be drinking something throughout the day so you dont have to run her to the er for becoming dehydrated that is sorta not so nice if she is willing to drink milk or juices i would let her have that not drinking water is not the worst thing to conquor maybe as she gets alittle older she will drink the water i think letting her drink milk and juice would be fine better then little her become so dehydrated that is not too healthy to let her go all day without drinking just because she wont drink a cup a water...

I can appreciate your budget constraints. If she likes the flavored water you could try buying some lemon juice (big bottles at like Sam's club or similar places) can last a long time and if you add a few drops into the water it will naturally flavor it. Also, lemon, lime or orange slices can be put into her glass to add flavor and might make her feel like she is getting a "grown up water" like she might see at, say, a restaurant?! You could try different flavorings too if she doesn't like citrus. Those red and white star mints will give it a minty taste. Make sure you leave it in the bottom of her glass and tell her if she finishes her water she can have the rest of the mint. I don't suggest this every time but as a sweet treat or incentive. Good luck!

Hey there,

Try the opposite approach. We give our son VERY watered down juice in the AM, then we say "that's enough, you can have water or milk now. We're done with juice until dinnertime." That'll prevent dehydration and still limit her juice intake. We water the juice down about 4-1.

Good luck

G.,
I totally understand where you are coming from with the whole having to drink water. It is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and to pass onto our children. I have read soem of the responses and just want to say, You are the mom and need ot do what you feel is the best for your child. Trust your instincts if you feel she needs the water, stick to it. Try explaining why it's so important for our bodies and what good can come from drinking it more often. I think the flavored water is a good idea, yet can be expensive for sure so Another suggestion would be to maybe try to use some food coloring in the tap water to make it seem a little more astetically pleasing! Basically what I'm sayign works for my family in situations like this that turn into power struggles, but are health issue, I talk to my children (5&7) in a manner that they can grasp yet learn from and go from there. Maybe thsi could be a good learning op for both of you, or even a good mom and daughter discussion. Good luck in whatever you choose to try, and once again keep to your convictions of hte importance of drinking water....you have the best intentions for you and your family and that's what matters.

Try the flavored water or the packets that you can put in a bottle or cup of water, or try diluting the juice. Will she eat foods, though, that have high water content? It is actually more important that we consume a good percentage of our water through high water content foods, than necessarily drinking it all. Of course, you have to drink some, but if she will eat celery or some other vegetables that contain a lot of water, that will certainly help her hydration. Also, juice is not poison. I am lucky that my son loves water so he doesn't drink much juice, but there are some good vitamins in juice, as well, like vitamin C to help with that cold you would prefer her not to take medicine for.