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

[superdetox]

Only drinks that do not have any sugars or artificial sweeteners in them. My family is quite happy to drink water, milk and fresh squeezed fruit juices. If we want a hot drink we add a splash of lemon or lime juice to hot water. We used to drink ribena and other squashes but found when we excluded them from our diet that we were better hydrated, had better concentration and lost that awful dull ache in our stomach that made us feel hungry all day. Plus we lost weight. We always drink full fat milk as the low fat is stripped of vitamins. It is really shocking to see the amount of addiitives in drinks, especially ones marketed as sports or health drinks. As a rule of thumb, if you cant pronounce the additives written on the label, then you body wont be able to either.

[lambethlil]

We don't know how lucky we are

[Emandlu]

We tend to drink water mainly, but also buy fruit juices which the kids love.
They love making smoothies too, which tend to contain whichever fruit we have and milk and honey.

Occasionally with meals they will get lemonade or similar as making something forbidden will make them really want it.

[gazzalw]

Lime juice cordial and fizzy water works a treat as a refreshing limeade treat in this household!

[arthurfowlersallotment]

I shove a nipple in her mouth :o

[stickyLFDTfingers]

water in metal water bottles for out and about. At home they'll have water, squash or diluted fruit juice. Smoothies with bananas, frozen berries and apple juice are a good pudding in summer, cold and refreshing.

We also have the push up plastic lolly holders from Lakeland for homemade lollies - smoothie mixture goes well in those too.

[SkinnyVanillaLatte]

Mine only drink room temperature water - plain old tap stuff.

We used to get fruit juice but it never got used up,and I really don't like the teeth implications of drinking juice. I see milk as a food,not a drink,but my DC's do like a milk or milkshake.

I'll usually fill a washed out bottle or two for a day out,and get really cross with myself if I forget and have to pay for water.

Mine both ask for a drink when thirsty, and get reminded to drink. They don't really have a 'treat drink' as they choose water.

[Whirliwig72]

I get ds1 to drink water by carbonating it in the soda stream and telling him it's 'fizzy' our key word for coke

[ChildOfThe1980s]

DS has water or squash at home. If we are out for the day, he gets a treat of Fruit Shoot - mostly because I like the lids.

He has started freezing his own ice for drinks this Summer.

Sometimes he'll have home-made milkshake as a dessert.

[Teamthrills]

Mine drink water.

Occassionally they have diluted fruit juice or weak ribena.

Dd1 loves innocent smoothies.

[acsec]

DSS is 8, some days he says he is thirsty all day and drinks loads, other days I have to remind him to drink.

He has a cup of 50/50 juice with water with his breakfast (of cereal and milk), takes a bottle of no added sugar squash to school, which he tells me he's not allowed but the teacher has never said anything so I keep sending it as he tends not to drink it if it's water (though he'll happily refill from the water fountain when he finishes the squash) and he takes a carton of pure juice in his lunch box.

I always ensure I take a big drink of squash and a bottle of water with us on days out.

[Quip]

mine get tap water. If they want something more exciting, they can have tell each other scary stories while drinking their tap water.

Occasionally, I bow to pester power and make coloured ice cubes (with food dye). Usually the normal ones will do, but they go through phases of wanting green / pink water.

We keep re-fillable water bottles in the fridge in the summer, for extra thirst-quenchingness.

[Quip]

And DD's tipple of choice comes from the nipple of choice...

[lagoonhaze]

Ive banned sugar free squash apart from ocassional drink. Fed up with my son drinking juice and not eating.

Family picnics are made up juice from a old bottle and picnic cups- we are a family of six at weekends. Its expensive

[BikeRaceRunningRaceNoSkiing]

DS (3.10) will drink pretty much anything though a straw. He has a large collection of curly straws! When we are out and about it's a big treat for him to have a little carton of juice with a straw. I also usually have a sports bottle of water with me, which we share.

He'll drink gallons and gallons of milk from any kind of vessel though.

We do a fair bit of cycling as a family and he likes to use my/DH's hydration packs (Camelbaks). I am thinking of getting him a child's one for his birthday.

He can be a reluctant drinker though and if I ask him/remind him to have a drink, he'll tell me he has already had one today, but is learning that he needs to drink a lot, especially on hot days.

When I am desperate to get him to drink, he is very partial to ice lollies, especially stripey ones.

[OhYouGreatGreatBritain]

Dd (12) usually has water or milk but her favourite drink is violette syrup from France ( tastes like parma violets)

If your dc takes a frozen bottle of water to school, then be aware it can make their desks rather wet, so if you give them a bit of kitchen towel or a plastic bag for it to go on it can save their teacher getting cross at soggy books.

[BoysBoysBoysAndMe]

If I know we're going out the next day and it's going to be hot, I freeze fresh juice with a little water in ds drinks bottle. It will hold nearly a pint.

If just out and about it's just juice. Water won't be drank unless it's ice water or unless ds is desperate.

Lots of ice lollies. Home made fresh juice lollies, bought ice lollies. Jellies too if at home.

Frozen milkshake lollies go down well.

Lots of fruit kept cold with an ice pack. Satsumas, strawberries, grapes, pineapple melon are favourites with ds.

[BoysBoysBoysAndMe]

Oh and a treat drink would be anything fizzy. But reluctant to buy on hot days and regularly as not as hydrating.

Frozen pineapple juice watered down a little is always a winner. As is fresh juice with a little soda or lemonade

[ilovesprouts]

my ds2 loves iced water /dilute juice with icecubes in .

[rathlin]

A constant supply of water everywhere my DS turns. He doesn't drink anything else. I have a wide variety of drinks bottles and cups for him which seems to encourage him. In the hot weather apart from water, I also make my own ice lollies for him with fruit juice and pieces of fruit.

[boomdecker]

My dd (teenager) needs reminding to drink - I think she gets dehydration headaches and general crabbiness from lack of fluids.

I encourage her to drink water but she'll drink more if it has a bit of high juice squash in it. I try to limit fruit juice as it's hard on her teeth and is higher in calories than other drinks.

We like to throw a handful of fruit with some juice/yoghurt into a blender for a home-made smoothie.

[stephgr]

my children love any form of squash so if we're going out and watching the pennies i make flasks of squash for them. I usually buy sugar free squashes. Strangely they hate ice and would rather drink warm drinks - even warm water on a hot day!

[CheeryCherry]

My DC tend not to need reminding, they help themselves. They are happy to drink water when out and about, we usually take bottles with us. They like a variety of drinks- milk, fresh orange and sugar free cordial is usually available at home. They don't bother with ice unless we have friends over in hot weather. For treats they love diet coke, shloer and britvic 55s which I get in if they're on offer.For packed lunches I sometimes freeze capri-suns, or have small cartons of fresh fruit juice.

[floppops]

My 2 year old DD drinks diluted orange or apple juice and for a treat when we are out pure juice although she often eats less as a result.
I make ice lollies for her with all kinds of juice-cherry and apple/mango her faves. She loves these and refuses to have shop bought lollies.
She doesn't like squash and hasn't been introduced to fizzy drinks.
She also loves hot chocolate-but only from her Peter rabbit mug and pink milk but only when watching Charlie and Lola!

[CrackedNipplesSuchFun]

My DS is now 14 months and have finally got him to drink from a beaker, and he will only drink water. This I am pleased with. In my quest to get said child to drink I tried all types of drinks to bribe him into drink king.. None worked but then suddenly water was great and breaker was used.

I always have a bottle of tap water in the fridge so he can have chilled water, when it's a warm day but other than that it's straight out of the tap.

His beaker is always around so he is really good at going a getting it of a drink when he wants but I do also have to remind him.