Toddler doesn’t drink enough and struggling to know what to give him drinks in

[Askwhyhedidit]

My son (nearly 3) can honestly go most of the day without having a drink. He only has water or milk, if out in a cafe he will have a fruit shoot but doesn’t even really drink these any more.

He used to have a bottle and he’d have a big drink of milk morning and night but stopped recently and I realise should probably have stopped it ages ago. I’ve bought water bottles with things he likes on them but he keeps breaking them, and I’m really unsure how to get more fluid into him. Help!

Just give him a cup? Mine went straight from bottle to normal cup, sometime with a straw. Get him a fun curly straw?

You can give him wet foods like jelly, ice lollies, soup. Milk is ok, it is fluid.

I used to give mine a "cup of tea like mummy's having" - Warm water, a splash of milk in a cup like mine! We'd sit down and have it together.

Watermelon
Cucumber

That's very cute

Cereal or porridge in the morning
Fruit to snack on like watermelon and grapes

Keep some old fruit shoot bottles and wash them out, then use for water or weak squash? When they get ratty just buy some more fruit shoot.

I agree try him with a cup of his own. I also give ds watermelon and cucumber and water heavy foods when I think he's not drank enough. I also make things like his porridge a bit more runny and just keep offering throughout the day. I'd also use reflective language like oh, we've been so busy that now I feel really thirsty- does your mouth feel thirsty too? To try and help him learn to recognise the feeling.

My 3 year old uses an open cup now at home.
we do have some silicone straws he likes and he often drinks more with them I think. Especially if I give one with milk

like these https://www.scandiborn.co.uk/products/liewood-badu-silicone-straw-set-10-pack-surf-blue-multi-mix

^ This.

My dd has SEN and has gone through phases of not drinking. We were recommended ice lollies, ice cream, jelly yoghurt and soup to up fluids. Fruit like grapes, orange, melon are all high water content too.

This. Half filled cups of water get a straw leave the cup where he can get to it.

I also used to have cups of tea with my DC mid afternoon when they were little (and at breakfast). We also had a mid-morning routine of a "coffee", which was in their case frothy milk. I never had water bottles or anything, though - they just drank from cups. Part of it was just the routine - they had a drink then because it's what they were used to doing.

If you added up everything he eats and drinks during the day, you'd probably find the water content was ok. I know "keeping hydrated" is a massive thing now, but plenty of foods have a high water content and you need to worry less than you think you do (iyswim).

Oh yes Jelly.! I wouldn't give him milk as a drink maybe morning and night before bed.

Thanks - he does have a cup of his own but just pours it on the floor.

He doesn’t drink fruit shoots

He isn’t a fan of watermelon or cucumber although he does eat other fruits but still not enough. You can go a whole day and not change his nappy (I don’t do this by the way, just to be illustrative!)

I don’t like tea myself I’m afraid!

Does he get attention when he doesn't drink/throws it on the floor I mean do you get stressy about it ?

I suggest food dye, crushed ice and those funky straws (basically a home made slushie). No toddler can resist a wiggly straw.

A Soda Stream might also create drinking excitement!

I got mine to practice using a cup by giving them cups of milk on the bath. That way it doesn't cause too much mess if they spill most of it

Three year old granddaughter goes for hours without drinking and only drinks water.She eats fruit but is very rarely thirsty. She can be persuaded to have a baby chino .

I don’t think so @Mrsjayy although I do remind him to drink otherwise he really doesn’t. Yet he must be thirsty as he drinks bath water 🤢 really strange.

Yeah most kids drink bathwater it's rank ! I'd go for maybe ice lollies and jelly and a drink with a meal/snack maybe leave a plastic cup out and you give it to him every now and then for a drink.

All kids drink bathwater don't they?! My son wees in it then drinks the water 🤮

Think about fluids in foods so things like soup too.

would he have a fruit pouch or fruit pot? There are various makes and flavours of the pouches but I think it only Heinz that make the pots.
There are sweets you can get for old people that contain a lot of water.
My 3 year old often has a cup of tea. (Proper tea but weak) and dips biscuits in it and drinks it.
Would he drink orange or apple juice? Mine often have orange juice at dinner.
Drinking out of a cartoon or capri sun pouch is a novelty that he might like.

As others have said jelly and ice lollies.

I’m relieved about the bath water then, thought he must have been horribly dehydrated to be drinking it!

Are his wees particularly dark or strong smelling? If not then he's probably ok in terms of hydration.

If he still likes milk then I wouldn't stop him having it, try lidded cups or straws if you are worried about his teeth.