Toddler just doesn’t seem to want to drink anything!

[manchestermadness]

15 mo and drinking just seems an inconvenience for him. He’ll have sips of water throughout the day (2-3oz max) and 10-12oz of milk which he will only drink if distracted or he gets bored and runs off.

We had a lot of feeding issues when he was newborn / a few months old that were resolved but he’s never really drank much.

Absolutely loves his solid food. We do usually offer him cereals with milk, yogurts custards and jelly’s so he does get hydration from that too.

Just feel like 12-15oz of fluids doesn’t seem much!

My son is the same. He's 13 now. I cant work it out! He's never wrinkled up and keeled over. 🤷‍♀️

Sometimes I wonder how it is enough! A glass of water for me is about 10oz. He seems to survive off just over that a day. Oh well plenty of wet nappies and very healthy just worries me sometimes! Glad to know I’m not alone!

My 2 and a half year old is the same, barely drinks some days. Hes fine so trying not to worry. I do switch his cups/bottles up to make it more exciting and that helps a bit.

I still hate it and we argue about it all of the time 😆. He drinks nothing at school some days.

Echo the different cups/bottles to make it interesting, with a straw in (you can get the fun curly straws and things as well), with ice cubes in or the reusable frozen things in fun shapes, with fruit in (slice of lemon, cucumber, sliced up strawberries etc) and generally bigging up the exciting drink "here's some lovely fresh chilled water for you" - he takes a sip and you go "ahh, refreshing!". Make sure you regularly drink in front of him so he sees that and you also exaggerate how nice that is. Worst case there's bribery - finish your cup of water and you can have a chocolate button.

When he's a bit older you can also play drinking games, and go 'chug chug chug!" as they're having a drink of water but that's probably better suited to encouraging older children than actual babies...

Worst case there's bribery - finish your cup of water and you can have a chocolate button.

This is really unnecessary and counterproductive. OP's child has plenty of wet nappies.

OP, make homemade soups and smoothies some days and stock up on homemade ice lollies made with blended fruit and yoghurt. Just leave bottles/sippy cups of water around the house for him and let him get on with it. I couldn't tell you the exact fluid ounces my son drinks. Look at the nappies, not the amount of cups he's drinking. And remember, he's only 15 months old. Their appetites and how much they drink fluctuates over the weeks and months.

Worst case there's bribery - finish your cup of water and you can have a chocolate button.

That is a terrible idea and completely unnecessary.

OP’s child is fine. They have plenty of wet nappies so they’re obviously getting their hydration from their food and the drinks that they do have.

We went through this and started adding a little drop of orange or blackcurrant squash and he drank loads more.

He has since been much better with just water but does ask for orange or blackcurrant sometimes.

A healthy child will eat when hungry and drink when thirsty. Offer food and drink and let him decide what to consume.

Obviously, if he is showing signs of dehydration then there is a bigger problem and you should seek medical advice.