Encouraging 21mo to drink more

[jessmum46]

(Sorry if not the right forum)

J really doesn't drink a lot at all over the course of a day.  I offer a drink of water with all meals and snacks and she also has access to it in between but I really don't think she takes in much more than 200-300mls in a day.  She is getting a bit constipated and I looked on the NICE guidelines - recommended fluid intake at this age is 900mls from drinks  plus fluid in food.

So how do I encourage her to drink more?  I've started offering diluted juice with one meal as she will tend to drink more of that than water.  Any other tips?

[anna*]

I think Audrey drinks about half that amount daily. She has VERy diluted juice with meals (the influence of an older brother I'm afraid), milk in the morning, water always available. She just doesn't drink that much.

[cuckoochick]

My C very rarely drinks water too. She has milk with her breakfast and at bedtime but other than that she has very diluted fruit juice or sometimes squash (without any aspartame or other types of sweeteners). I tried to persist with water but she ended up horrifically constipated so can I listen in for some tips too?

[Khalam's Mama]

Mine don't drink much. What about home made lollies to increase fluids? Can you Talk about how the water will help when she is having trouble with a poop and then have I've special cup she likes to drink from all day with some Talk about how she needs to drink it all by lunch or dinner etc? What about hot drink like warm milk or weak hot choc?

[*Kara*]

I find that the cup makes all the difference here!  If I use only an open cup, intake is much lower as she has to stop and think about having a drink so she doesn't soak herself.  I limit cups to meals when we are seated at the table.

Sippy cup allows her the ability to just have a few good slurps without the risk of spilling... and I am much happier to have a sippy in my living room

[*happy*]

The cup makes a big difference here!
We go between the open 1-handled cup,the doidy cup&
a sealed straw cup!

[Hedgehog17]

How about some fresh fruit juice?

It will help with the constipstion too.

My DS drinks water from a sports style bottle which he loves. Always drinks plenty and the bottle doesn't spill. I think he likes it as it's grown up - mummy & daddy have them too 

[becj86]

L drinks a lot more from a pop-top type bottle or an open cup than a sippy. Yep, messy for a bit til he got the hang of the open cup (no handles) but he does drink a lot most days. He downed 200mL in about 2mins in the car this afternoon.

[jessmum46]

Thanks everyone, great suggestions I will try some different cups.  At the moment she has a basic sippy cup and also a beaker with a spout, but will try the doidy cup/open cup again to see if that helps.  She seems to quite like dilute sugar-free squash and will drink a half-decent amount of that.  Will also try some fresh juice - do you make your own Hedgehog?  Would ultimately prefer that she drinks water really but I guess it comes down to limiting sugar as much as possible but making sure she drinks a good amount.

[*Kara*]

Stick to 100% juice when you can Katherine and she'll be okay.  I did the same thing to get DD to drink more (started with about 50/50) and I just reduced the amount of juice over the course of a couple of weeks while she got used to the new flavour (water) and she was fine then.  Drinks loads of water now!

[ZacsMumme]

Hun have you considered a straw sippy/drink bottle. Z drinks a lot more with this, it's great for out and about too.
 
http://www.kathmandu.co.nz/accessories/eat-and-drink/drink-bottle-bpa-free-kids-clear-blue.html

[Hedgehog17]

LOL no I don't make my own juice 

Fortunately we can get great quality fresh apple juice from a local orchard