How can I get him to drink more......?

[LHP]

.....DS not DH that is! He's 3:5 and eats everything thats put in front of him but he will not drink anything even in this heat. He's got no sore throat. I must spend about 2 hours per day cajoling and threatening him to drink and he has about 500ml per day. So far I have tried offering loads of different cups/straws/cartons/drinks including drinking out of an egg cup,giving lollies and soup for fluids having drinking "races" with him, offering drink before meal so hes not full up,putting him on his "naughty" step (not happy with this though, but end up at wits end), explaining about headaches and constipation etc, offering reward: "finish this then we can get the paddling pool out" etc, but it still takes 25 odd mins of teeny tiny sips, spills and refusals. Thing is, if it was food he was refusing, I know I could just ignore it and think ah well, He'll eat when he's hungry. Any experience/tips please. TIA

I have the same problem with my ds (who is the same age as yours LHP) so I will intrigued with your replies.

One thing I have to say is that every few days ds gets very thirsty and actually asks for water or juice. He is very strange, with food and drink, in that there is no guarantee that if he eagerly ate or drank something one day, he will do it again. It's all very random.

I just keep offering drinks but I'm pretty sure he's consuming much less than what's recommended.

hi LHP I have this problem with my 1.10 month old ds he has not liked juice or any kind of thirst quenching drink EVER...and still refuses it in this weather, although he does crave milk all the time, I have tried all sorts like yourself but he is having none of it and worry about this...when given a juice he will see it and either a) throw it on the floor knowing it is not white!! or b) take it and then proceed to spray or throw it all over the t.v, sofa and whatever he can.....have even tried a beaker for this and he still turns his nose up!!!! This is a hard one and am sorry that I cannot come up with some advice as I am in the same position....but interesting thread and glad you have brought it up LHP....I am not alone with this

I worry about dd and her drinking too. Some days she hardly seems to drink anything. She's always been like this. Ice lollies are a godsend at the moment for me and at the weekend she was given some Ribena at a party which she gulped down. So despite my best intentions to get her to have water only, I'm giving it to her as I'd rather she had a drink in this weather.

good idea with the ice lollies surfermum

LHP, the first thing I would do is stop all the pressure as too much pressure can stop your lo from doing what you want him to do. Make the drinks available to your lo and if he is thirsty he will drink them. He will also get fluids from the foods he eats. If he is not constipated and is peeing ok, then he is fine with the amount of fluids he is having. You might find that once the pressure is off he will start to drink more. ps my 20 month old loves the yoghurt drinks you can get especially if you give her a straw to drink it with. The only downside is that she doesnt want to have a normal yoghurt with a spoon now!!

dont forget jellies..lots of liquid hidden in them.

I agree with Seona. Try not to make an issue of it. I was told by a doctor that if ds is not constipated, and is weeing a few times a day, he is not dehydrated and is getting enough liquid. Remember, whatever the "experts" say, each person's system is different (I certainly can't drink 8 glasses of water a day or whatever the recommended "minimum" is for adults, and I never have and I'm pretty healthy).

I leave bits of oranges (or watermelon or other watery fruit) on a plate for ds and he just helps himself while playing (finishes before he even knows it), or sometimes I pop a piece into his mouth every now and then while he is playing (he eats it no problem). Since I started eating "his" oranges, he scrambles to get the pieces before me!

Also, just leave a cup/bottle of water around where he can access it. Tell him it is there if he wants it and he can help himself. He is old enough now that his body will tell him when he needs a drink. I found that since I have been doing this for ds he has started asking for water when his cup is empty.

Hi kgc - at 1yo my ds didn't drink anything other than milk. If you want to get more liquid into your little one, you can always dilute it. But my ds only really started going onto water and other drinks at around 2yo, so I wouldn't worry. If he is craving milk, I'd just give it to him. It has other nutrients in it that his body probably needs. And he is getting the liquid component as well - so that is good. If you make an issue of other drinks now when he is obviously not ready for them, it might set up bad drinking habits later? I'd just wait a while before trying other drinks again.