Four year old won't drink enough

[Violet1988]

My four year old son comes home from preschool with his water bottle full every day. In the morning he drinks a small cup (150mls or so) of semi skimmed milk. I think he gets a cup of water or juice at lunch time, not sure if he drinks that. He then has another milk with a snack when he gets home (150ml) and then a water with his tea. He manages 150mls of water but only because he doesn't get dessert if he doesn't finish his drink. By choice he probably wouldn't bother with this either. He has a water bottle to take to bed and he occasionally has a few sips from this.
Preschool have suggested giving him squash in his school bottle. I'm not sure about this because I don't want him sipping on squash throughout the day, if he's having squash i think it would be better with meals, rather than sips here and there. He does need to drink more though but not sure how to get him to? I drink cold herbal fruit tea. Not sure if this would be healthier than giving him no added sugar squash or should I try diluting orange juice (the kind that goes in the fridge not squash). Any ideas? X

Have you tried making ice lollies? Otherwise look at upping high water content foods, water melon and cucumber are great for this.

If you don't want to give squash what about flavouring water with fruit or cucumber

Would he drink more if you gave him a straw? Don't young kids often find drinking through a straw more fun?

Good idea re the lollies he likes shop bought ones so could see if he likes homemade and could also use them for desserts. He did like cucumber but seems to have gone off it now and he has never liked watermelon. He loves strawberries, blueberries, oranges and eats plenty of these. For the fruit infusions do you just mean putting a strawberry etc in a regular bottle?

Have you tried a different style of water bottle? DD was a pain drinking last summer but would drink out of mine sometimes. Then when we were out about once I drank some out of hers and actually it wasn't nice to drink out of (very soft large mouth piece to suck through). We got her a couple of different style bottles that were more like mini versions of adult ones and she was then much more enthusiastic about drinking from hers.

I did and it worked for a while and then the novelty wore off x

I drink squash throughout the day. I made the decision that hydration was more important than principal. I don't dislike water but drinking it is a chore I have to put effort into and something I forget and skimp on. If I have a bottle of squash (it doesn't have to be strong) next to me then I'll sip it regularly without thinking and I'll stay hydrated with no effort.
I reckon hydration is healthier then the impact from the chemicals.

Similar here he showed some interest in my water bottle I got him the same one and it comes home from school full every day!

This is my dilemma, but it's more teeth I'm worried about than the chemicals, but yes hydration is what's more concerning x

Don't most children just have a drink with snacks and meals, especially in the winter?

Add ice cubes to his water bottle, water sitting in a plastic bottle tastes awful after a while. DD definitely drunk more when it was colder.

Sparkling water?

Can you drink more around him which is not a drink in a mug but a glass? He needs to see you to mirror it.

We allowed dilluted apple juice with sparkling water at mealtimes as this is what we drink at home but DD's was even more dilluted.

Bottle which is more free flow than sucking? You drink more as it's less effort. Practice at home so he is not spilling it everywhere. I found the majority of non-spill bottles an absolute pain to drink from.

Is he actually showing signs of being dehydrated though? Is he constipated, or otherwise unwell? Will he drink if he is thirsty?

The obsession with water bottles is fairly new. Most of us made it to adult hood with carrying water everywhere we went. If he’s drinking with meals and eats fruit etc, he’ll be getting liquids then.

If he’s healthy & active, I would just stop obsessing over it and, apart from regularly offering drinks, stop worrying.

I also wouldn’t start offering squash in a bottle - not great for teeth & also won’t be allowed at school. Sticking with water is best.

I found that DD needs more than just a drink with meals because she was a lot more active and in winter nursery/school rooms are warm and stuffy.

I wouldn't be keen on squash for a child to sip, as like you say, it isn't great for teeth. Is the amount he is drinking having implications? If not, I would try not to worry too much. We don't need as much water as we often think, as all food has some in. I would encourage more at home with lollies etc and consider what goes in food e.g. sauces often have a fair liquid content, pasta/rice absorb water as they cook. You could also try marking his water bottle e.g. if you drink to here, you get a sticker and 5 stickers = reward, or whatever system works for you.

Is he actually showing any signs of ill effects from not drinking enough? DD doesn’t drink much at all from her water bottle at school but has milk or water with meals and tbh that seems sufficient since she’s not constipated or anything like that. I wouldn’t offer squash unless you’re genuinely worried about dehydration.

I remember being in year 6 and being allowed 3 seconds at the drinking fountain after doing PE in hot weather. No water bottles, only a drink at lunch! I now have a bottle or glass with me permanently!

I really wouldn’t worry about this. Leave him be. He’ll drink when he’s thirsty and it might be better in the long run if he learns what thirsty is and how to quench it.

If he's healthy, then he's drinking enough. How much do you think he should be drinking? The eight glasses of water thing (for an adult) actually means water from all food/drinks, so if he eats an orange, that's probably half a glass of water.

We've got a similar drink averse 4 year old. It was causing problems for him (constipation) so he has milk and juice with meals. Preschool have been pretty good about reminding him to drink water, and I've also overenthusiastically praised him when he comes home with the water bottle close to empty. I also make a point of drinking lots of water in front of him (not sure that has any impact tbh).

I don't think a four year old needs to be carrying around a water bottle and drinking it on top of all the liquid he gets from food and with meals.

Remember as well as drinks he'll be getting liquid from his diet - oranges, tomatoes, apples and cucumber all have loads of water in, for example, as well as things like soups and sauces.

If he's not showing signs of dehydration or illness I really wouldn't worry.

My kid was like this - now a preteen and finally drinks what feels like a normal amount of water. I only ever worried about her water intake if she was ill because then she also wasn't eating and getting water from foods.

Yes they probably do but two of his drinks are milk which apparently doesn't count towards fluids and one I'm unsure if he actually drinks as preschool can't confirm and so it's just the other which he drinks very reluctantly if we make a real effort to encourage him.

This!

I'm not sure that's too little water. How much do you think he should be drinking?

Milk does count towards fluid intake.

He manages 150mls of water but only because he doesn't get dessert if he doesn't finish his drink.

This is really weird.

It's normal not to finish a whole drink in a specified time. Mine always just had access to a drink throughout the day.perhaps if you take the pressure off he will start drinking more.