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

[JavaFee]

Low fat milk in the morning, otherwise tap water. DD is 15 months old.

[poppy1973]

What drinks do your children like to have?

My children like to have Ribena squash on a hot Summers day. They both prefer it if the water is ice cold or if I have made a jug up in the fridge.


Do they like ice in their juice?

They love having ice in their drinks, they think it is so much fun.

Does your child complain of being thirsty or do you have to remind them to drink?

Often they don't complain of being thirsty, I tend to remind both the children to have a drink.

What kind of drinks do you pack for days out? What would be a treat for your children, drinks-wise?

I normally pack a carton of ribena for days out or the watery type of fruit shoots. A treat out for the children is a carton of apple juice or orange juice and the children love a hot chocolate when the colder weather sets in.

[ComeAlongPond]

I make lemonade or coke flavoured ice cubes for my nieces (don't have children myself). Apparently it's much more exciting to have a glass of water with a coke flavoured ice cube than a glass of coke with a water flavoured ice cube Pretty sure it's got to be the healthier option too, so I don't feel like an Evil Auntie who's selfishly ruining their long-term health for short-term affection!

[missyb890]

My children are not really fussy on what they drink, they will drink anything but they especially like water with frozen lemons in it.

They also love ice lollies and I will often make up orange juice lollies in the freezer so they have plenty available which is ideal on warmer days.

For days out I make sure that I freeze up sports bottles of water the night before so that they slowly melt through the day and taste deliciously cold later on.

As a treat my children love to have any fizzy drinks, they usually have these if we eat out so it is a treat!

I have no problems with them forgetting to drink as they always have bottles of water or juice in the fridge and know they can get them at any points during the day.

My little one isn't as keen on water as his brothers are so I will give him very diluted squash instead through the day to keep him hydrated.

I just recommend making drinks fun for children who don't like drinking, for little girls making a little tea party with a childrens set will get them drinking water or juice from their little tea cups, for boys use a cool sports bottle that has their favourite character on it, this would also work for girls!

[lambinapram]

Iced fruit tea with Xylitol - sweet but good for teeth.

[sharond101]

My LO loves anything which is really cold when its hot outside. Water goes down well in a plastic glass I cool beforehand in the freezer and put some frozen grapes in as ice cubes. This looks pretty too as I use a mix of red and green grapes. She then eats the grapes after quickly finishing the water. As a treat when friends are round we make ice cream floats which we make with sugar free lemonade and vanilla ice cream. WHen you add the ice cream to the juice it froths and looks really impressive. I thread slices of strawberry onto a cocktail stick and balance them on the top of the glass or add in a frozen fresh strawberry as a surprise for when they get to the bottom of the glass. I also freeze fresh juices in old yoghurt pots and these make great ice lollies which can be enjoyed by gradually pushing the base of the pot upwards. Favourite flavours are pineapple and mango.

[THERhubarb]

Another vote for water. Why pay for sweetened drinks that are laden with colours and preservatives when you can get the best juice out of your tap for free?

Fill up a water bottle with cold water. Pop it into a bag along with some freezer blocks and there you have the perfect thirst quencher. No additives. No flavourings. No preservatives.

Also fruit. Proper fruit. It's mainly made out of water so naturally quenches thirst and provides vitamin C. Again, it's simple and costs much less than sugary fruit drinks.

And I hate Tesco.

[Silibilimili]

H2O.

[SkiBumMum]

Water with food and in bottles when out. DD1 usually asks for it when thirsty. She takes a Sigg waterbottle to bed.

She quite likes high juice squash, isn't allowed "no added sugar" as I loath sweeteners. Blue Fruit Shoots are banned but lusted over, green are just about ok!

Watered down apple juice is ok, but she prefers OJ and loved freshly squeezed on holiday in Spain!

Doesn't really drink milk anymore but will in vast quantities just before a growth spurt.

Ice cubes, straw, fizzy water are treats.

[beautifulgirls]

Home made ice lollies from blackcurrant or orange squash - great for keeping them hydrated while they are busy running around the garden and not interested in a proper drink.

[rusmum]

Dc 1 likes flavoured water best
Dc 2 likes orange squash cold!!
They both have fresh orange With breakfast, hot chocolate at bedtime and have a cup of tea when they visit their nanny xx

[NannyPlumIsMyMum]

Ice Pops !

[zipzap]

During the day I make the dc up a sport bottle of juice (dilute squash or diluted fruit juice usually, water occasionally but they aren't very good at drinking it in that case). Then they can keep on drinking throughout the day without the drink getting knocked over or flies getting in and I can top it up as required. Or if we are going out it is an easy thing to grab them and go.

I always have a pint glass of dilute elderflower juice on the go too and they know they can always drink from that too if they are really thirsty.

Lemonade is a very occasional treat - and if it's hot and we're in need of a real treat, then ice cream soda is the order of the day (mainly because they were a big deal treat for me when I was little and it's a nice little tradition to continue although I don't think the dc like them as much as I did. And in this miserable summer it hasn't yet been hot enough to have them other than that one good week - which we were all in bed with flu for so we didn't get around to even thinking about them).

If we are going on a long car journey then I tend to pack lots of cucumber and melon, wash it before I go but then cut it up whilst going along (obviously dh is driving, I'm not cutting and driving at the same time!), (I know, I am sad, I have a designated car cutting board/tray and knife that comer everywhere with us).

I also have a pack of tesco basic plastic disposable cups (or are they glasses if they have no handles on despite being white plastic?) Anyhow, the dc get one cup/glass each and I keep refilling with melon or cucumber as required. They keep topped up and refreshed without needing lots of juice to be swilling around in the car. The cups are perfect for them to hold in the car (either in their hand or in the cupholders between seats or one of the child seats has a cupholder) - much less likely to get tipped over or for things to slide off than a plate, and very cheap so I just throw them away at the end of the journey if they are damaged.

DS2 loves coconut water (so do I) which is sometimes available from the world food section of big supermarkets - used to be about 30p a tin. But then apparently there was a big shortage of coconuts - reported in terms of coconut cream shortages on the news - and ever since it has been much more difficult to get hold of - plus it is now about £1 a tin so significantly more expensive. But lovely and refreshing, especially when fresh. I saw one of the green coconuts for sale in the local supermarkets recently and got it, thinking it would be lovely to have the fresh juice. I barely made a dent in it with my big chopping cleaver so asked dh if he could drill holes into it to let the juice out for me. I also made the mistake of reminiscing about the man at the market where we used to live who opened them up very easily with his machete...

Unfortunately dh took this as a personal challenge and reappeared with his axe. Let's just say that the score ended up something along the lines of coconut 37-axe 1-chopping board retired due to fatal injury

And he didn't bloomin' listen to me before doing the sodding chopping because when he finally did chop a chunk out of the coconut the juice was all over the floor in a moment. arrrghh. and whilst the coconut jelly was very nice on the inside, it wasn't worth the loss of the juice, the loss of the chopping board, or the high risk attack on the kitchen floor tiles, not to mention the worry that dh was going to chop his hand before he chopped the coconut!

Neither dc will drink milk - dc2 was bf and I could never convert him. dc1 drank it at bedtime from a bottle but as soon as we refused to let him have it from a bottle he refused to drink it as he said it tasted funny. Tried all sorts but never managed to convince either of them.

[catfart]

My 2 year old is obsessed by ice creams and lollies so I make up a 'healthy' batch of homemade ones in my freezer.

Ice lollies - I use a little juice or squash concentrate and mix it with water pop in ice lolly moulds and add a little fruit like blueberries. Its quite weak but the idea is he can have as many as he likes.
Frozen yoghurt ice cream - In my blender I whizz up some yoghurt, a good splash of whole milk, a couple of bananas and a handful of strawberries and freeze. Of course you can do any combo that your DC likes.

My DS LOVES these, and I he can have as many ice lollies as he likes and a the yoghurt pops are all good as well.

Another thing I do is filling up his toy tea set with 'tea' (weak squash or water) and he drinks away out of his little plastic tea cups! Cute.

[StellaMarie]

Cold Redbush tea or fruity herbal teas are popular in our house along with water or half juice-half water.
I make ice cubes with berries in to add to drinks as well as it makes plain water more attractive.
Frozen apple juice pops are also popular in this house

My batch of home made elderflower cordial this year was put in ice cube bags in the freezer, this way I can flavour water easily and they are rather delightful in my G&T too

I always have water in the car on days out and some old flannels to dampen to place on hot heads/necks to cool the children down. I don't have to remind the children to drink as much now as I used to, they get better as they get older. Also having lived abroad in the searing heat they are used to the constant nagging by me to hydrate!

A treat in this house would be a milkshake made with fresh fruit. Frozen grapes are also popular and fun.

[justshootmenow]

DS's drink robinsons squash very diluted, i fill an empty bottle with the squash water mix so even DH cant c*#k it up.
DS1 has hs sports bottle filled with water and he drinks t a lot, ds2 & ds3 ask for juice regularly but i dont like to give them a drink at bedtime or we have wet beds, tonight however ds2 has a juice bottle in bed as he keeps waking thirsty despite drinking approx 2 1/2 litres of juice today!

[BabySocksNeverStayOn]

Water out at all times - i.e. in cups/beakers where the DCs can get to them.

Milkshakes, very diluted squash, fresh orange jucie, ice pops, ice in the water are all extra ways my DCs have more liquid.

Always, always, always take drinks (water in a sports bottle) out even if just to the library, or a walk round the block.

[frazzledbutcalm]

Mine ask for a drink when they're very thirsty, but I top them up at other times! Mine prefer juice but will happily drink water. I freeze water bottles for school. We make fresh juice ice cubes which kids think are great.

[bubby64]

Milk at breakfast, OJ in lunch box, and dilute sugar free squash the rest of the time, they are not allowed this at school, only water, which they will only really drink if iced, and because of this restriction, I do find that they do not drink enough during a school day despite me encoraging them to drink.
For a treat, we do buy sugar free fizzy lime or cherryade, but not cola, as this makes them manic!

[aokay]

frozen juice on sticks - also use mix of water and juice, bitter lemon etc - kids love it and cheaper than bought lollies

[lorisparkle]

Water is the way to go in our house although DH has squash (I always buy the high juice with sugar as I don't like them having aspartame) and they nag him for it. I occasionally make fruit juice ice cubes but we keep a jug in of water in the fridge when it is really hot.

[Cammelia]

I have always given dd bottled water (Evian when a baby but any after a certain age) on the grounds that it seemed to her like a "proper drink" when other children were having cartons/cans etc

Some people don't like paying for water but its still cheaper than cans/cartons of other drinks

She got used to drinking water regularly from a very young age and continues with the good habit

[KatieBMumsnet]

Thanks for all your comments, the winner of the prize draw is....

AnaIsAlwaysShocked

Congratulations - I'll PM you to get your details

[AnaIsAlwaysShocked]

Thank you MN and Britvic I never win, ever.
I wonder how much I can buy with the voucher.