NOW CLOSED: Share your child's favourite drink or tip for keeping thirst at bay for the summer months and you could win a £100 Tesco voucher

[AnnMumsnet]

Britvic are working with Tesco.com to provide 4 downloadable guides that offer Mums top tips for keeping the family active and hydrated during summer.

You can download the guides here.

On this thread they want MNers to share their own top tips for keeping children cool this summer (home or abroad) - and to share your thoughts on keeping children hydrated.

For example:
What drinks do your children like to have? Do they like ice in their juice?
Does your child complain of being thirsty or do you have to remind them to drink?
What kind of drinks do you pack for days out? What would be a treat for your children, drinks-wise?

Add your thoughts and comments to this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher to spend on summer provisions at Tesco.

Some T&Cs: The prize draw is open to GB residents (England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland) aged 18+. Normal exclusions apply. One entry per person. Entries can be made at Mumsnet.com. Closing date for all entries is midnight 10th August 2012 .

Thanks,
MNHQ

[blondieminx]

DD(2) likes apple juice, water and milk and loooooooves ice lollies on a hot day. I do always have to nag coax her to drink though.

Favourite way to cool down on a hot day is to get the paddling pool out with lots of cups/boats etc to play with.

I don't buy anything that boasts no added sugar, as I don't want DD drinking grim chemicals like aspartame etc. I'd rather she had normal sugar (occasionally) than artificial sweeteners.

[choccyp1g]

Hold cup under tap, turn tap on, turn tap off when cup is full.
Drink.

If going out and about, repeat as above, but replace "cup" with "bottle".
Remove lid to drink, replace lid if bottle is not empty.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

DD drinks tap water - she's only 2 so if I pimp up the receptacle ie put it in a water bottle, add ice or a straw, then the novelty is strong enough to encourage her to drink loads. Also lots of juicy fruit.

[Bosgrove]

While my kids like to drink water, they hate warm water. I half fill old plastic water bottles with tap water the night before, then freeze overnight on their sides. The next morning I fill the rest of the bottle with more cold tap water, this means that the frozen half cools the water in the morning, and by lunch time the ice is melting so they can drink that.

For a treat we also freeze cartons like Capri Sun, over night, use them as cool packs in the morning to keep our lunch cold, then cut off the top and have a fruit flavoured slush after lunch.

[KatieisScarlettinSpandex]

Water, milk or squash. Ice in water and squash if at home. When travelling or training, in a sports bottle.

We also freeze Jubbly frozen lollies, huge favourite here when warm outside.

[WendevilleAndManlock]

I keep a large lidded jug full of squash in the fridge. This has the dual advantage of reducing the quantity of concentrate used, as I make it up myself, and always having a chilled drink available. We also make our own lollies in the re-useable moulds - juice, milkshake, yoghurt or whatever comes to hand. Apparently you can freeze bananas, but I've not tried it.

For days out we take refillable bottles of either water or squash, frozen overnight if it's going to be a hot day. For the Olympics, with the ban on taking liquids into venues, I've been freezing yoghurt or smoothie tubes for a quick refresher.

For a treat when we're out and about, especially on a long drive, i might let everyone choose a chilled bottled drink. The DC usually go for something like Ribena, Capri Sun or Fanta.

[Beanbagz]

Mostly water for my two DCs (aged 10 & 7). Sometimes with ice (if it's really hot) and occasionally for my DD, a little elderflower cordial. DS normally has 1 glass of milk a day too - usually with dinner.

If we're eating out i order tap water (UK/when i know it's safe) or bottled still water (on holiday). When we're taking a picnic from home i generally just add some ice cubes to the water bottles at the start of the day.

My DCs don't normally complain about being thirsy as we keep two 1 litle bottles of tap water in the fridge so they are free to help themselves at any time.

[mamij]

DD1 loves chewing on ice. I tend to put a few in a cup and top up with water. I tell her she has to drink all the water before she's allowed the ice.

Putting a bottle of water in the freezer a few hours before going out so it's slushy and not frozen. Kept cool in a cool bag, or wrapping in a muslin keeps it cool too!

I also freeze the Innocent Smoothies tubes. They make great ice lollies!

[ouryve]

DS1 is reluctant when it comes to drinking. He has ASD and anxiety issues around eating and drinking and I have to insist he drinks certain amounts at certain times. eg, after dinner, he has to drink his drink before he gets anything for pud. He also needs a drink to take medications with once or twice a day.

We find the key is variety. It's rare that he'll accept water. So he has watered down fruit juice with his breakfast medication and we have various flavours of squash or barley water available so he doesn't get bored and refuse to drink that. Having carton or bottled drinks of his choosing on hand encourages him to have a drink while we're out or mid-afternoon

DS2 is much easier. He'll only drink water and drinks it when he's thirsty.

[Elainey1609]

Like to have orange or apple juice in morning with bteakfast.

Rest of the day im quite luckly they like water, which I put in a bottle with easy drink lid.

They like squash at times I always have it at home but they dont use it much......variety is good so they dont get bored I buy a different flavour each time
And sugar free of course.

They like milk ar night.

In winter they like warm milk or warm blackcurrent before they go to bed

They both seem to drink regulaly I dont have to remind them to except sometimes when they are busy with friends playing in sun

[Mama1980]

Ds aged 4 likes everything mostly drinks water, squash occasionally he also likes cinnamon milk in the evenings. Orange juice with breakfast. He loves ice I freeze plastic bottles of water for when we're out and about. He drinks loads so I don't worry about him not drinking enough. He always has water available to hand when we're at home.

[internationalvulva]

My two like water or milk, but as a treat we make lemon iced tea...which is easy. Two decaf teabags in a cup, add boiling water, get as much tea out of the bags as you can, tip tea into jug, add ice, water and the juice of 3 lemons and sugar or sugar syrup to taste. Yum!

[Charlene1]

My kids have apple & blackcurrant squash - they take a plastic bottle full if they go out playing and keep refilling it as they need it. We have cup drinks with straws as well for car journeys - as a treat they would have bottles of milkshake - usually when we go shopping, they will drink one on the way home in the car. They don't like ice in drinks, but will happily eat as many fruit juice based ice lollies as they can get away with!!

[iklboo]

Strawberry & kiwi juice but he very partial to a hot chocolate with croissants & strawberry jam for his 'French Boy's Breakfast'.

[RSVPentathlon]

water, cucumber sticks,
apple juice, cold milk

[mynameis]

Have varying age Dc but they all enjoy water, milk and the teenage dc's squash

Ds2 has ASD and for a long time would ONLY drink water. Eventually we found that trying a variety of cups, beakers, straws has convinced him to try other drinks

So it's one cup for water, a different one for milk and at school he has a cup to pour his milk carton into
At least this way I know he will drink enough.

[mynameis]

Oh and on days out its bottled water only for him with the label removed first.

[ScorpionQueen]

One thing I notice is that my children will say they are hungry when really they are thirsty, so it's important to recognise children's thirst, as they don't always realise themselves.

I offer water, diluted fruit juice or squash as main drinks. For a treat I use frozen fruit (Sainsbury's do a value pack) as ice cubes and call it fruit punch. A rare fizzy drink as a treat is fine, as are smoothies, but I consider them almost a snack.

As with most things, leading by example is important so I try to make sure I drink enough myself.

[GaryTankCommander]

My DS only really likes water or milk. Sometimes he gets to drink the last mouthful of grandma's tea and he loves that!

[GaryTankCommander]

A great tip if they're not drinking is give them cucumber or watermelon to nibble on... Very hydrating!

[GaryTankCommander]

Oohh and those innocent smoothies when frozen make great slush puppies!

[Chewbecca]

DS drinks only water at home and at school. We have a water dispenser fridge thingy so he helps himself whenever he wants which I figure is enough. It's also his job to get water for everyone at dinner time. There are ice cubes in the dispenser too but he doesn't bother with those they're just for the g&t.

We take small water bottles with us when going out for the day, and normally buy another whilst out.

If we're out for dinner he has a coke or a lemonade with ice, can't believe I'm the first to say this! I've allowed it since he was about 7, it started with orangina on holiday and has now been extended to any treat meal out.

Straws / gimmicks not needed.

[turnipvontrapp]

Water most of the time. Treat is a calypso or apple juice/ orange juice. Tell me when they are thirsty.

[AuntieTeggles]

My lads love red bull, so I mix a redbull in with some lemonade for a refreshing drink.