bottled water for 21 month old in Spain or too PFB?

[DuelingFanjo]

We are taking DS to see family in Spian and after doing a bit of searching on Mumsnet about water in Spain it seems that people give their babies bottle water (I have a couple of names from other threads of water that is suitable) rather than letting them have tap-water because of the high mineral content.

Am I going to come over a bit PFB if I buy bottled water for my toddler? Or is it ok for him to have it from the tap (unboiled)?

I always drink bottled water when abroad never mind the kids!! Definitely not PFB just commonsense.

Spanish tap water is drinkable but noone does because it's bleugh!!

Went to the costa blanca in the summer (lovely holiday) and the tap water was salty (clearly desalinated I guess).

Don't worry about brands, it's all decent drinkable bottled stuff. you can pay 59 cents for 5L lidl own brand or 1E or more for nestle.

Not PFB at all :)

I'd stick with bottled water. Perfectly reasonable. Most adults drink bottled water anyway, not a delicacy or owt

Happy holiday

And remember to use bottled water for hot drinks, coffee made with salty boiled water was a dreadful shock first thing in the morning I can tell you!

I think most people in Spain drink bottled water anyway don't they? The tap water doesn't taste nice. I always drink bottled water abroad, I only drink tap water in the UK.

Ecologically of course it's not common sense to drink bottled water - plastic bottles are the fastest-growing form of waste and take 700 years to decompose, plus bottling/transporting the water has a massive carbon footprint. Depends on which you consider more important - mild differences in taste of water now, or ecological impact of massive bottled water habit on the world that PFB is going to be living in as an adult...

I can understand it in a country where tap water is potentially contaminated but Spanish tap water is perfectly safe to drink.

Thanks all, I don't want to offend my hosts.

Quodlibet - have to say that I habve drunk the water in Spain and didn't really notice any difference at all so am surprised that people say it's salty. It's only since I have had a child that it even occured to me to check the safety RE children.

Isn't the advice for small children not to give mineral water? Just through googling I found lots of references to the mineral content being high in Spanish tap-water and that it's the minerals you need to be wary of with children which is why people have suggested a low sodium bottled water.

ps we'll be in the mountains not by the coast, not sure if that makes any difference to the tap water.

What part of Spain will you be in? In the north (Basque Country, Asturias, etc) the tap water is not salty and actually softer with less minerals than here in the UK (at least London area). Central spain is fine too. It is only on the med coast that the water is desalinated and therefore not great.

We'll be in the South East.

costa blanca.

I know that Evian is fine from birth and I think Volvic is too. Evian is recommended in France for making up babies' bottles.

Can't comment on Spanish tap water though.

I always drink the tap water (Balearics) and I have never once been ill or had an upset tummy or anything like that in 10 years. My DS was 3 when we first took him and he has also never experienced any ill effects.

Spain is not a third world country, there is no physical risk in drinking the water at all.

But it needs to be recognised that a lot of this stuff about mineral water is guff propagated by the bottled water industry to make us pay money for something that is a freely available (and in the first world entirely safe) natural product. Evian being recommended for babies bottles in my mind is akin to Nestle promoting formula as better than breastmilk. It's a commercial exploitation of our wish to give the best to our children, but with dire ecological consequences.

As far as I am aware no one (in the uk at least) recommends giving bottled or mineral water to babies though. My question was only related to what I had read about mineral content in tap water, in Spain. So I was specifically asking, on behalf of my child, if the whole 'mineral water is bad for babies' thing was something to think about when drinking water high in minerals.

I don't know if it's guff and to be honest I am still confused even after all these responses.

Just to be clear too, I wasn't suggesting the water in Spain tastes horrible or s contaminated, I just wondered about the minerals and small children.

Sorry Duelling, I can understand wanting to be clear on that. I think I'm just generally exasperated with the default 'I always drink bottled water' brigade. Very few people seem to think about the bigger picture caused by the waste.

When we stayed on Majorca the villa caretaker advised to use mineral water as the villa had its own well and despite regular testing they didn't advertise it as safe.

DD was 23 month the first time we stayed there and was absolutely fine.

At home we always drink bottled water as DH and I prefer sparkling to flat. So DD was used to it from 1 year onwards.

If you are going to see family ask what they do?

I get the feeling in Mallorca and Ibiza the locals tend to bottled water too as the supermarkets sell huge bottles and you see lots being delivered.

"But it needs to be recognised that a lot of this stuff about mineral water is guff propagated by the bottled water industry to make us pay money for something that is a freely available (and in the first world entirely safe) natural product"

But in the UK water is always boiled first isn't it? Before making up a bottle? (I don't know, I don't live there). In France people just use Evian at room temperature. Most people don't have kettles.

Not debating the ecological side of it (I always BF DS and we drink from the tap).

I have just come back from Menorca and we were told catagorically not to drink the tap water as it caused upset tummies. My understanding is not that it is contaminated but hte very different make-up of the water is hard for teh tummy to deal with when not used to it. Have had simialr advice in Mallorca too. Have given both DCs bottled when they were little with no harmful effects.

I agree with seeline. I understood that it was just different and can upset stomachs simply be because of that. We've always used bottled water for all of us. No ill effects.

Have a great time, sounds lovely.

If you go to a supermarket or shop, bottled water that is low in sodium etc has a baby sign at the side, sort of like the baby changing sign. When we've been away we've used Fontvella (sp), its about 80c for a big bottle.

Well seeline, 10 years of Menorcan tap water have never made me or any of my family ill. We were told always to use bottled on our first visit (by holiday reps), but after seeing local people drink it chilled and using ice cubes made from it decided we would too and have ever since.

I seriously think it is some kind of ploy or propaganda.

I'm not trying to force anyone to agree with me, but, drawing on a lot of personal experience am just saying we have never had a problem with it.