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

[Eggrules]

Water, watered down apple or orange juice and milk.

He will drink orange or blackcurrant squash occasionally but will not entertain fizzy drinks (yet).

When its hot he has asked for ice in his drinks. We make them using water or pure juice. We also make home made ice lollies the same way. We have set meal and snack times. He gets red/thirsty when he is running mad but I don't worry about dehydration.

[CouthyMow]

I make my own ice lollies from smoothies here, and my DC have free access to a tap. I freeze drinks in a bottle if it's going to be hot the next day. My DC's find lemon squash refreshing on a hot day.

[kittycat68]

my children like to add fresh soft fruits to either sparkling water or lemonade, even better when they have been out in the garden to pick them changes the flavour every time and makes them feel very grown up!

[Cambam2010]

My son drinks a lot of water. He's 2 and has had food allergies so never asks for cows milk.

He delights in having mummy's drink so I'll buy a big sports cap bottle of water and he'll guzzle that.

Juice is a rare treat for him, but he only ever gets a small amount.

Water wins all the time - it's refreshing and dries out if spilt and doesn't leave a sticky mess that wasps can be attracted to!

[SuiGeneris]

Tap water most of the time, milk with dark chocolate powder in the morning and evening before teeth-cleaning. Sometimes I mix strawberries, raspberries, peaches or yoghurt with milk and make a smoothie.

[newlark]

We mostly drink water but dd also likes apple juice diluted with sparkling water. Both my dcs love having ice cubes so I always have some in the freezer in the summer. Ice lollies are a winner too - I sometimes make my own. We normally take refillable waterbottles when out but i occasionally buy the Robinsons Fruit shoot My5 (fruit juice diluted with water) bottles. I find the proliferation of "no added sugar" drinks annoying - I would rather they had a small amount of sugar than artificial sweetners.

[aquavit]

water and milk for 3yo dd, and (only recently) juice in quantities as huge as I will allow. I make sure she's always got a drink available, usually a cup or bottle of water, and though she used to need prompting she's pretty good now at choosing to drink when she's thirsty.

hate no added sugar stuff, would much rather sugar than vile artificial sweeteners.

ice is a huge treat. She hates fizzy things as they are 'spiky'

[moonbells]

My DS has hypoplastic teeth, ie some of the enamel hasn't formed properly, so he is not allowed squashes and juices and definitely no fizzy drinks. Dentist said just give milk and water, though we have found a useful exception in probiotic drinking yoghurts - the fruit acids are offset by the milk so aren't too bad for his teeth, and the calcium will hopefully prevent it happening to his adult teeth. And at least gave him something more interesting to drink!

He does like ice cubes in water. Most of the time I carry bottled water around everywhere.

[jimswifeinTokyo1964]

Half-frozen apple juice diluted with water makes a good slush puppy!!

[AnaIsAlwaysShocked]

DC drink anything going, they aren't fussy apart from fizzy drinks, which they don't like. I buy one bottle of squash every 2 weeks and a carton of apple juice each week. When thats gone, they have water. So DC tend to ration it out themselves, DP doesn't, so DC have ganged up on him and he now isn't allowed any without their say so. Ice is a novelty. Any left over apple juice is frozen.

They are big milk drinkers and I don't limit that.

DC always have a bottle of water lying around so don't tend to get thirsty, they ask for a drink when they eat but otherwise it's not an issue.

Cartons are used for days out. For a treat they have milkshakes occasionally but they live for crushed apple juice cubes. Let them half defrost, then let DD1 loose with a bowl and the end of a rolling pin. Topped up with water.

[TheMysteryCat]

water is always DS' preference, but he does like very, very watered down fruit juice. I freeze yoghurt/milk to make ice pops which also seem to go down well.

I always take tap water in bottles out for the day.

[androbbob]

Big milk drinkers here (10 and 5) too but also have a chiller jug of water in the fridge.

Always take a drink each when go out - either squash or water. Usually have a spare bottle and chiller pack in car boot.

Recently started taking calypo apple juice shots out as a treat. Generally dont buy drinks out at venues as too pricey.

Tend to buy multi packs of treat drinks of their choice to take out on longer trips.

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

DTD1 (11)
Current favourites in the house - apple and strawerry squash, tea or coffee (yes really!). When out for the day usually take a bottle either apple and strawberry squash or if I buy whilst we are out flavoured water. She would drink a lot more of this if she could but so expensive compared to squash concentrate. Drinks with meals and when told to usually. Doesn't often prompt herself to drink.

DTD2 (11)
Current favourite - apple (either fresh chilled applejuice or squash). Same when out. Same as above. She will normally select a fizzy pop when out - cola or fanta. She is a nightmare to get to drink. Frequently find her pouring a glass of drink and I throw most away at end of day . Also partial to a cup of tea in the evenings.

DD3 (6)
Current favourite - fresh applejuice or milk. Usually takes apple squash or tapwater when out. If buying when out apple juice would be her choice. Drinks more than the others. Often helps herself. Often find sticky puddles of drink on the kitchen counter. Actually....given half a chance she would clear my Carlsberg...but lets not advertise that one

*by fresh apple I mean the stuff from the chilled cabinets - clear not cloudy. I guess it is probably made from concentrate in reality.

But seeing as this is sponsered by Tesco can I make a plea? DTD2 used to live on Tesco Apple, Pear and Plum HighJuice squash...any plans on bringing it back. Please?
And also I always go for the option that isn't reduced sugar a) I don't like the taste of artificial sweetners and b) I would rather deal with the potential health impacts of sugar than the debateable and debatably unknown health effects of artificial sweetners.. I love the way that your caps are colour coded - but can you offer more choices in your own brand range?

[BellaOfTheBalls]

Juice. He will drink water at nursery or if it's in a sports-type bottle. We have high juice squash that I dilute to almost nothing very well. As a treat while out he may occasionally have a lemonade. I often buy mini tetrapak cartons of pure juices that I keep really cold in the fridge. He's always thirsty and I have to really watch the amount he drinks.

Never ever ever no added sugar squashes; I'm very wary of artificial sweeteners. For a special treat I make up a jug of high juice with sparkling water and ice then add fruit like slices of orange, lemon, fresh raspberries or strawberries. He loves that!

DS2 drinks only corporation pop. Occasionally with ice in if it's a very hot day.

[YohoAhoy]

Lots of water, some juice (preferably not reduced-sugar, although that's getting harder to find) and dd will have the odd glass of milk.

Both love ice, and will happily crunch their way through a tray full given half a chance.

We also do the frozen squash for days out, re-using big squash bottles so there's always plenty.

The odd fizzy drink when we're out and about or for a treat at home.

They're both a bit older (10 and 13) so tend to recognise when thirsty and get themselves a drink. This doesn't stop me fussing around them on very hot days and almost flinging drinks at them, wanted or not

I'm very bad at 'remembering' to eat and drink so over-compensate :)

[HipHopSkipJumpomous]

Water water water in our house.

I used to do diluted juice for DD1 - now 4.5 (from aged about 20 months) as well as water, but found that it interfered with her appetite. We have reverted back to just plain water - it is what she likes. DD1 will ask for a drink if thirsty and I also offer them too her if we are out and about. She tends to deal with heat better than any of us and drinks when she is thirsty.

Milk too - usually in the evenings.

When we are out and about DD1 does like a juice, or even better some of DP's much loved ginger beer, but I wouldn't give her a whole can of fizzy. When she gets to choose a drink from the shops she usually chooses water or Ribena (yuk).

I avoid ice in her drinks as she plays with it, gets wet, makes a mess. She can't seem to resist it no matter what I say - so no ice.

For picnics on hot summer day (so not very often then) I will freeze a bottle or water or water/juice which helps keep the picnic cool.

I HATE Fruit Shoots & will never buy that kind of drink - how they can sell them in McD's is beyond me. Have you ever tasted one of the green or purple ones? It is so concentrated and hideous. I would love them to have a change of drinks on offer. DD will have OJ or a kids shake on the rare occasions she eats there.

I will also never buy artificially sweetened drinks for children.

When we go to a cafe DD will have a hot milk or sometimes, a hot chocolate,. Most cafes are really good at making these warm for children rather than hot!

DD2 is 15 months and loves water and full fat milk (cows or goats). She drinks loads and she always has water accessible to her.

[toobreathless]

DD is only 16 months & has only had milk or water.

She's not overly keen on drinking anything so i give lots of fruit (chilled on a hot day), cucumber sticks, jelly etc to try & boost her fluid intake.

We like Coke/Diet coke (I know!) & homemade lemonade.

[MTBMummy]

DD is almost 3, and loves fresh apple juice, we make her ice lollies from it in summer.

She doesn't have a sweet tooth, so doesn't like fruitshoots, coca cola or most other fruit juices. She has just recently decided she quite likes Roses lime codial and the Greens Elderflower.

But she happily drinks water by the gallon as well, but recently we got her a camlebak (one of those back pack things cyclists use) as DH and I also have them and she wante done of her own, and she'll happily wear that when out and about and drink from it frequently.

[HelloShitty]

DS3 only likes water. Saves me a fortune in manufactured diluted sugar syrups.

[fifi007]

Add a sugar free ice lollie to water :)

[timetoask]

Water water water

[Punkatheart]

My daughter has one kidney - so I have always been really particular about her never being dehydrated. Funky water bottles were the thing...trying to make a game of it. When she was younger, it was water. I was pretty strict. By then, then she hit her teens, it was any old rubbish! She also loves melons, oranges, apples etc...all of which have a high water content...

[Rikalaily]

My older kids will drink anything, we tend to stick to full sugar high juice rather than no added sugar squash when they have juice as my oldest goes loopy when he has aspartame, the older three will happily drink water or milk, the youngest has refused plain water ever since she was tiny and had to have Gaviscon added to it, she'll drink flavoured water though.

For days out we pack Caprisun drinks which we have popped into the freezer, they are brill in coolboxes as additional cool blocks and they thaw slowly so there are always icy cold drinks for the kids on scorching days, if they are still mostly frozen you can cut the top off and they can eat them like a giant ice lolly.

When we have a BBQ I always make a big jug of 'punch' for the kids, fresh apple and orange juice mixed together with a good slug of blackcurrant juice with loads of ice and chopped up fruit in it. They love it!

The kids never need reminding to drink, they drink alot and always have a drink with meals.

When we eat out we let them have a glass of coke or lemonade as a treat and they always have ice, they love crunching it up at the end. When we go to the shops they always have a milkshake on the way home.

[JennerOSity]

DS prefers water over anything. Sorry britvic.