Toddler will not drink water !

[Marsh212]

Hi everyone ,

My LO 16 months will categorically not drink anything other than oat milk ( they're dairy free ). They have been offered this since 6 months and did used to drink a little bit of water but for the last 3/4 months will not drink it .

I have tried to offer it in different cups , that works until baby realises it's water . Have tried watering down the oat milk but baby knows !!!

Have tried offering it in siblings cup , still no avail

Anyone had this experience?

Any tips ?

I'm hoping one day it'll just change 😩😊

TIA

Can you water down the oat milk in a reducing ratio until it ends up as water? I can see you’ve already tried that but can you do it less? Just a splash of water maybe? It would have to be a very gradual reduction.

I'd just carry on with the milk for the time being, and try again in a few weeks.

Is the oat milk sweetened? Can you find an unsweetened one, or make your own?

Have you tried a little bit of sugar free squash.

Yes some people will be aghast at this suggestion but the novelty of it may entice them to drink something other than milk. Literally just a splash!

Keep persevering, sipping on Oatmilk all day will be terrible for their teeth due to the natural maltose sugar breaking down.

Couple of suggestions, keep the water in the fridge to mirror the Oatmilk temperature, add ice cubes, tiny drop of sugar free squash (obviously won't help with the teeth issue though).

Thanks everyone!

I have just checked and it isn't unsweetened 😩😩 it doesn't have any sweetners in it but apparently something to do with the manufacturing process !?

I'm mortified on the amount or sugar and I am so so worried and have been from the start about her teeth 😭 . I have tried not offering it at all in the day but baby will not drink the whole day !

I will keep persevering with the watering down process . We are at the dentist soon so I will discuss with them too.

Is your GP involved? This sounds concerning.

If it’s not unsweetened you really need to cut back on it, they shouldn’t be having that all day. Can you switch to an unsweetened one now?

I echo the advice to add a splash of fruit squash or fruit juice, and add less over time. Or to try offering plain ice chips/ice slushies

@whereswilsong.p involved for what reason please ?

I have tried the splash of fruit juice and again to no avail . Plain ice pops is a good shout for the hydration , will give that a go . Thankyou

Yes will definitely be looking at unsweetened alternatives !

My eldest wouldn’t drink anything other than milk either, we tried watered down fruit juice but she wouldn’t touch it. In the end we gave her weak sugar free squash and that did the trick. I really don’t think squash is as evil as some on here think.
My DD is 15 now and will drink water no problem, also has healthy teeth with no cavities and is a healthy weight!

I really don't think this is a GP issue unless your DC suffers with constipation or withholding as a result of not drinking enough. This is just a very normal preference for a sweeter, familiar drink. Just a case of what humans like isn't what's the most healthy. It'll pass.

Just while you're making the change, keep an eye out for what's coming out the other end to avoid constipation. Also keep in mind that we get a lot of water in food eg watermelon, cucumber, pears, soup, sauces, gravy etc. You could also try warm fruit teas, or a splash/slice of lemon. Maybe get them involved with making their own drink - how many slices of orange/lemon would you like to decorate your cup with? Etc.

My kids loved water ice lols at that age ! Give baby lots of water based food like yogurts, cucumber, water melon etc and just keep trying, one day you’ll probably find nah just drinks it. Mine are also dairy free but still love their water

Are you brushing their teeth twice a day minimum?

The sugar's the issue, not the lack of water because the baby is pribablly getting enough hydration from the milk and other foods.

I wouldn't worry too much.

Offer milk with meals only, don't let her drink it through the day to save her teeth.

Offer wet foods e.g. cucumber, pepper, melon etc as snacks between meals.

Have water available so she can have some when she's ready.

@Marsh212sorry I should have expanded. I was thinking about calcium.

I refused water when I was young, basically because I found it boring and wanted whatever else was on offer.

My dad used to give me "magic juice" instead.

It was water, of course, but delivered with a flourish. I drank magic juice for years. 😂

Thanks for reminding me, it's a lovely memory of my dad.

Have you tried warm camomile or a plain ice lolly (ie just ice on a stick).

Keep offering water/juice alongside the oat milk, but keep it low pressure. Get some fun cups/straws/tea set, spoons to stir etc and use ice cubes to make it more interesting than the boring old oat milk in their normal cup. Make sure you drink your drinks with them to model. I wouldn’t worry about this tbh, they won’t always only drink oat milk forever!

@whereswilsonThankyou. They had some blood tests recently and all was good and I always get the fortified stuff to help so 🤞🤞 everything stays okay

For those asking yep teeth get brushed twice a day albeit it is abit of a battle ! I have now got some unsweetened oat milk . I am mixing that with some water and then some of the sweetened oat milk and they do seem to be trying it so I will persevere. I know just going cold turkey isn't going to work in this situation. Will keep trying to offer just water alongside

Thanks again everyone. I'm not sure if I made it sound like baby drinks it all through the day but they basically have it with their breakfast in the porridge , 1 hour before bed time and if really Aggy some in the day

DS wouldn’t drink water. We went on holiday; there was a table full of orange welcome drinks and he just picked one up and downed it in one go. I gave up on my principles and let him have squash at dinner from then on. Strangely he drinks way more water than the rest of us as an adult.