How can I get DS1 back on drinking water?

[MrsHelsBels74]

DS1 used to drink water & plain milk quite happily. MiL looked after him once or twice a week & gave him squash & 'pink milk' (strawberry milk). DS1 started demanding squash at home & I stood firm but then he got D&V & I was desperate to get fluids into him.

Now he flat out refuses to drink water or plain milk & I have no idea how to break it, bearing in mind he still sees MiL weekly & she will give him squash & flavoured milk (I asked repeatedly for her not to & she just ignored me).

DS1 is a very wilful 3yo & I don't want him dehydrated. I myself don't like water & will actually go thirsty rather than drink it, so how do I tackle this without support from IL or DH?

my DS won't drink water anymore. i just give him squash, i don't buy the real crappy stuff and make it up quite weak

Maybe you could try making the squash up a little bit weaker every couple of days, so gradually he has less squash and more water per glass.

Or limit him to one glass of squash with his dinner, the rest of the time it's water only.

He will drink it. It's just at the moment he knows you will cave. Put it in front of him regularly and when he is thirsty he will drink (been there done that and we now have a rule, juice or smoothie at breakfast time, milk in the evening, water for every other drink)

I think it's good to be able to drink both, so maybe you can make a deal with MIL. We do water with meals and squash at other times, milk at bedtime, or during the day when out for DD (4) if she wants it (or for DS for that matter but he normally chooses something else).

You could tell MIL that you need him to drink water because when they get to school they are only allowed a drinking bottle with water in it, not squash, so he needs to be able to drink water. This is true! And that they give them normal milk mid morning at school nursery/Reception class, not pink, so the same follows. Squash and pink milk sometimes, but water sometimes as well.

Mine actually ask for water quite often rather than squash and when we go out we always just take water with us.

DS always refuses water, but if I put it in his Star Wars bottle or give him a curly straw he is too distracted to notice.

Two years ago my DC1 was like this, would only drink "juice" (fruit juice rather than squash) and it was messing up her appetite.

We solved it by going cold turkey and not allowing any juice in the house until we had it cracked. She adapted pretty quickly.

It's worth bearing in mind that once he starts school it may be water or nothing, so it really is best to tackle it sooner rather than later - that might be a good argument to use with MIL "school won't let them take squash"?