Son Won't Drink Water

There are a couple of things that come to mind.

First, don't make a big deal out of it. Toddlers are notorious for refusing to do something simply because they need to express their independence.

Second, I would try to water down his milk, starting with just a little bit of water at a time, eventually getting to the point where he has very watered down milk.

You could also try giving him watery fruits for snacks, such as watermelon. A lot of foods have decent amounts of fluids in them.

Hope this helps!

didnt read other responses so forgive me if its a repeat, but popsicles made out of watered down juice might work, also, watering down his milk a bit (little bit) adding more water every few days or so might work too. Also remember that liquids in soups count. good luck, Jen
*Gaterade, I was told by an ER doctor, has too much sugar and concentrates for children under 3 to drink as a mainstay.* If they need something like that use pedialite*

No worries, my son was a milk only drinker for a long time too, but then he switched to orange juice 'only' and i have to bribe him to drink milk now with nestle quik in it! as for the water, i just add little amounts of water in anything he drinks, milk, orange juice, fruit juice etc. My son still wont drink water most of the time but he's getting plenty when he drinks his watered down drinks. Maybe that will work for you! Good luck.

Hi R.,
I have a daughter who also refused to drink water and we also tried so many things. If your son enjoys his milk why don't you try watering down his milk slowly so he won't notice it and then he will eventually be drinking a watery version. To get my daughter to drink more water she did try it with a healthy sport drink crystal that she gradually put less in and more water. Within 2 weeks of her almost throwing up she is now a water drinker.
Good luck
L.

Right on, Julia! Toddlers will get into power struggles-- watering down the milk and then offering foods with lots of water are an excellent way to encourage it without making it an issue. You could also bring the babysitter an extra quart of milk, and ask her to help you not make a big deal out of it.

I would stay away, however, from any popsicle type things that you don't make yourself. A lot of them have chemicals (dyes, artificial flavorings, etc)that would need more water to be flushed out. Need I mention the corn syrup?

Almost every bigger grocery store carries some sort of popsicle-maker molds. I've found these to be a godsend, and you can choose what you want to do with them. Dilute some good juice or make smoothies, whatever you like. When my son was teething, I made ice pops for him.

Good luck and remember not to talk about the water with him too much. Just let it be and he'll eventually move onto the next phase in life, whatever that may be!

The important bit first...
My question for you is this: What does his pediatrician say?

During the first 5 years of a child's life is when the myelinization of nerves occur. The myelin sheath is the special coating that allows neurons/axons to send messages incredibly quickly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelin has some basic info on it). It is formed essentially out of lipids (fats) with a little bit of protein thrown in.

While in school studying neural physiology we were taught that children in this age range should typically NEVER be restricted in their fat intake from healthy sources.(IE...Always whole milk in preference to any percentage of skim, etc.) Of course, there's always medical exceptions. If your toddler isn't an exception...I would be THRILLED that the one thing he does want to drink is milk. I know mine typically drank about a half gallon a day. The water bottles with the straws and the coolers you pop in the freezer keep it cool enough to be fresh for several hours.

Less importantly, here's something I have (but most people don't) which MIGHT be the reason behind things...

It may be that your son is a "super-taster". I know I am, & I can't stand the taste of most kinds of water either...nor have I been able to my whole life. ESPECIALLY fluoridated water...it catches in the back of my throat and makes me gag. Every kind of "local" water tastes radically different, even within one state...cross regions (washington v. california v. louisiana v. etc.etc.)it's so different I don't even fathom why everyone can't taste it, yuck! Even each and every kind bottled water tastes different. My mother would have to make juice straight from the fruit if she wanted me to drink it (yep...can taste the flavor of water through juice), but milk was my staple growing up.

Anyhow, Food for Thought.

:)

Z.

Hi, R.! I would suggest going a few days without allowing him any milk at all and just offering him flavored water until he gets thirsty enough to drink it and gets used to it. You can make your own flavored water by adding fresh fruit (watermelon and berries work really good) to a pitcher of water and letting it sit in the refrigerator over night. Not having any milk for a few days, certainly will not hurt him; however, dehydration can seriously hurt him.

I have a 21 yr old daughter and a 4 yr old granddaughter. 2 yrs ago, on July 4th, my daughter had taken my granddaughter out all day playing in the sun and then joined us for the fireworks show. My granddaughter kept throwing up. We could get her to drink some water but she would throw it right back up. I didn't know that she was dehydrated but I was convinced that something was seriously wrong and that she needed to be seen; nobody else thought it was that serious. By the end of the show, we were heading back to the cars and her eyes rolled back into her head and she became non responsive for a good minute. We had to call an ambulance and she was rushed to the hospital where she spent a good amount of time on IVs and they told us that she almost went into a coma.

My point to this story is that, when a child almost passes out, it could be too late for preventative measures.

We lived in CA when my girls were little and it was HOT(90+ in the summer). We made the rule of "if you want to go outside you drink 2 cups of water first". They didn't like it but they hated being inside worse. Then we added "if you want juice you have to have 1 cup of water first or you have to come in". They didn't like that either. We had to be strict and consistent on it.
Also we found that crushed ice works well. They liked that best. Maybe you could get a slushy maker or use your blender and add a little juice or soemthing to make it fun.

Good luck

Make ice smoothies or make fruit popsicles- don’t add sugar. This way he gets hydrated and gets his fruits (you can throw a carrot or other veggies in the smoothie as well)

My kids don't like water by itself either. No matter what we try, they won't drink it. We put juice in it. We do about 3/4 water to 1/4 juice and they drink it down pretty well. That way they aren't getting all the sugar of the juice, but they are getting the water that they need. This was a recommendation from our pediatrician. Good luck!

Try flavored water and tell him its magic and will make him grow strong like dad.

You might try otter pops, especially with it being hot to cold would feel good and he wouldn't feel like he had to drink water so it could be fun.

My advice for heat: POPSICLES! Make your own, actually have you son help you so he wants to eat them when they are done. Tell him you are using popsicle juice to make them, then you could freeze 100% juice and water, like a 1:1 ratio. You can get pop makers probably at walmart or anywhere- check online!

Maybe take him to the store and have him pick a juice he thinks would be really tasty- does he love a particular fruit like cherries, grapes, oranges, strawberries? You could find the juice from his FAVORITE fruit and see how tasty it is!

Try not to make a big deal about it,.. Doctor Oz was on Oprah not to long ago saying when it comes to children, don't make a big deal about eating certain foods. If you do, chances are kids will refuse to eat/drink that type of food. Or if its bad foods that you make a big deal about not letting them eat, they are going to demand to have it and crave it. When you don't make a big deal out of it, it ends up not being a big deal.

My son is a HUGE milk drinker, and we were worried about this too not too long ago, (I actually wrote in about it here!) We started watering down his milk and it really weaned him off of this issue.

I second the response about saying you may have_______ after you drink this water. I would just say be matter of fact and positive about it, like 'yes of course you can have some milk just drink this water right up first' When I first started on that kind of dialouge with my girl she didn't comprehend it at first but now she understands sequence and it has helped with lots of things.

Try somethng with electrolytes or natural juice popsicles.

Are you using filtered water? My son never did drink water with chlorinated taste. A Brita pitcher is a cheap thing to try. Let him see how it goes in the top and trickles out the bottom of the filter to make yummy water. You might try slightly different temperatures, too.

R., It sounds like you have tried most everything and might have tried this. But I used Propel, I don't llike Gatoraid due to all the salt in it and my neice is a diabetic so we don't keep that kind of stuff in the house that she can't drink in it. But Propel she can drink, it has lower salt and a great flavor. My daughter saw my neice drinking it and started wondering, which was great due to our family being in the Sacramento area with a 110deg. weather in the summer time. What we started to do was give her a week mixture and she thought she was getting grape juice. We started to put it into the little water bottles (clear color. Now she has no problem drinking water or anything we give her. We just make a real big deal out of it for the first time and she tries it.We have had shuch good luck with propel with her and all the flavors we don't even use the kid drinks when she gets sick. I have compared them and I like propel better. I don't Like the sugar in the kid drinks and we have always used propel at the rodeos for as long as it has been out and have really liked it. Good luck with your little one I know it is tough, C. B.

Try to get him to eat ice pops, popsicles or make your own with juice..it's pretty much flavored water, but will seem more fun for him. My boys eat them constantly all summer.

Wow! You do have a problem. Try to make it a rule. Stop his play and say: "It is water time. If you don't feel like having some water we need to go back in side (or home)" and if he refuse, just do it. I would imply that rule at home too. You can't have snack if you don't drink your water. We can't go out if don't drink your water. You can't have your milk if you don't drink your water first. Start with smaller amounts and be consistent. Don't offer juices, you will enforce another bad habit. Good luck!

My daughter was very similar when she was 18months to about 2 she didn't really care for water. But man did the girl like to eat ice. Something about ice was really fun, she is 3 yrs old now and still like to pick ice out of MY cup. Does he eat popsicles? Maybe try freezing juice, flavored water, etc in those little popsicle molds or even an ice try with toothpicks inserted. Maybe if it seems like a treat or dessert he will be more likely to "drink" the water. Hope that helps!

A co-worker of mine had this issue with her son. Her pediatrician suggested letting him have as many popsicles as he wanted when it was hot because he LOVED those. He grew out of the phase by the next summer. Good luck!

Hi there! I usually make homemade popsicles using either sugar free kool-aid or crystal light. My son favors the crystal light. Since they are sugar free I don't mind him eating them frequently. Seems to keep him hydrated when he's not in to drinking water or juice. Hope this helps!!

Well then i suggest you buy alot of popsicles that he picks out

I have never had this problem. I am greatful that my son likes water. I would say to put a little milk in his water. Maybe start by putting a little water in his milk and then add more water and more water, untill he is drinking water strait. If he drank juice, I would suggest adding a little juice to his water, or lemon and stevia to his water if he liked lemonade. Does he like popsicles? You could freeze juice, or make the lemon and stevia water and freeze that into popsicles. Good luck with that.

As Lorraine suggested I used to water down my son's milk and it worked well. I would do like 2oz of milk to 8oz of water and he would drink it. You might want to use whole milk or 2%to start with otherwise it will be too weak. All these suggestions are good. Popcicles really work well too. Good luck!

R.,
With the hot weather I give my boys Gatorade. I know it has a lot of sodium, but when they are running around, they need more than just water. Perhaps you might try diluting it down a little and see if he likes that. It's different than flavored water and juice and he just might like it. (That pedialyte is gross so I don't recommend that.)
My oldest son gets overheated easily, so hydration is important to us too. We use Gatorade in the small bottles and we also take him out of the heaat even though he is having fun. He has no choice but to get in the shade or in the house and cool off. At school, all of the teachers are aware of his heat sensitivity and they follow my protocol to put him inside.
Kids are so easily dehydrated, so please be careful.
Best of luck to you.

Hello, I am a stay at home mom of two, a four year old boy and a two year old girl (the loves of my life):) my advise would be tough love. You are right about the danger, dehydration can be extreemly dangerous and even fatal in kids. If it were my kid and it was as bad as it sounds like it is, I would simply MAKE him drink it. Tell him if doesnt take 2 big drinks (or whatever, but start small) he will have to go sit in time out (or what ever you call it) if he still refuses, make him sit in time out and tell him he cant get up untill he takes a drink. The other thing I would try is to tell him he can't go outside if he doesnt drink water. if he refuses when he is out there, tell him if he doesn't take a drink he has to go inside. always follow through. Explain to him how dangerous it is to not drink water, tel him about how sick he could get and how sad that would make you etc. Good luck!

R.,

I know the water is important, and your son is exerting his independence. Have you tried crystal light or lemon, lime, or orange for some flavoring? When my boys stop drinking water I give them diluted crystal light or add a bit of flavor to get them to drink their "special drink".

Hope this helps. good luck.

T.

Hi R.,
How about diluted juice? We do 50% juice and 50% water. As long as he's drinking something, that is what's important.

;)

We had this same problem with a little boy i use to nanny. So what we started doing was making drinkin water fun~ We got a clear sippy and we made colored ice cubes (ffood coloring just a tad bit) and also freezing cubes of diff juices, so he oculd choose what color he wanted his water. It was so fun to him he forgot he didnt like water.lol!
Good luck to you~

Have you tried offering him some ice. I used to hate water but I loved sucking on ice.
good luck!