Your kids probably aren’t drinking enough of this

There’s one simple liquid that has a huge effect on how well your family feels today: water.

Yes, good old water. More than half of children and teenagers in the United States might NOT be properly hydrated, but even if they’re drinking water, they’re still not getting the good stuff. In fact, 54.5% of the students in the study had urine concentrations that qualified them as below their minimum daily water intake.

 

I am surprised that almost one in four kids drank no water during the course of their day according to research.  And get this. Not all children and adolescents were equally dehydrated, according to the study. Boys surveyed were 76% more likely to be inadequately hydrated than girls, which was a statistically significant finding.

 

While mild dehydration typically isn’t life threatening, not drinking enough water could result in some things you might think are wrong with your children. Things like cognitive impairment, headaches and even nausea in severe cases.

 

For younger children who are not hydrated, symptoms include: fussiness, infrequent urination, dry mouth and a lack of tears when the child is crying. Keeping kids hydrated can help them with learning and to perform better in school.

 

So how much water is enough? For kids and teenagers, daily water requirements vary quite a bit and depend on several factors, including age and activity level.

 

*For total water intake, experts recommend that kids get the majority from drinking water, but also a small amount from food. Kids 1 to 3 years old need roughly four cups of drinking water daily. For kids 4 to 8, five cups is recommended a day. Once kids reach 9, the requirements differ by sex. For boys 9 to 13, eight cups of water is recommended daily, while girls need about seven cups.

 

“Children don’t have a highly developed thirst mechanism, so they’re especially vulnerable to becoming dehydrated.  This is also true as we age… the thirst mechanism goes down drastically, especially after age 80.The body’s ability to retain water in blood vessels also decreases with age, so fluids are more easily depleted.”

 

When you think about losing water from the body, urination typically comes to mind. But breathing, sweating and your skin are all other paths that water can take to exit the body. In fact, YOU lose nearly 4 cups of water a day through the skin and normal breathing. That’s why it’s important to regularly rehydrate your body, which is roughly 60% water by mass (65% for children) depending on age and body composition. The brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%

 

Your kids should steer clear of caffeinated and sugary beverages because they contain other ingredients that don’t provide nutritional benefits. Even worse, beverages with caffeine are mildly diuretic, meaning they cause the body to produce more urine. This means that caffeine could even make dehydration worse.

 

Some schools built before the 1980s may have contaminated drinking water because of lead water pipes. For these communities, purified water from outside sources or bottled water are possible alternatives (reusable plastic-free bottles are best).

 

At home, parents can start by setting by a good example: drinking primarily plain water to create a “culture of hydration. Children shouldn’t even have to ask for water,” and younger children in child care should have access toclean drinking water available to them at all times.