Teaching Your Children to Stay Hydrated This Summer

• Make Water the beverage of choice
  • Water should be the beverage of choice for all children and adolescents
  • Minimum recommended daily intake of water:  4 oz for 6 months to 1 year, 4 cups for 1-3 years, 5 cups for 4-8 years, and 7-8 cups for older children
  • Limit juice of any type: no juice for those younger than age 2, no more than 4 oz per day of juice for ages 2-3, no more than 4-6 oz ages 4-6, and no more than 8 oz per day for ages 7-18.
  • Avoid drinks with artificial sweeteners; choose regular milk over flavored milk
  • Start early on encouraging water as a healthy daily habit
• Healthy ways to Flavor it up
  • Infuse with healthy fruit and veggies ie cucumbers, lemon, cherries and mint
  • Eat fruit and veggies with high water content: watermelon, zucchini, grapefruit, iceberg lettuce, celery, cantaloupe, strawberries
  • Make your own fruit puree popsicles or fruit frozen ice cubes
• Sports and Summer
  • When active, encourage additional water on top of the daily recommended amount
  • With vigorous activity: ages 9-12 should drink 3-8 oz of water for every 20 minutes and Teens should drink up to 50 oz per hour
  • If vigorous activity lasts more than an hour, your child may need additional electrolyte replacement (remember to mind the sugar content)
• Signs of Dehydration
  • Infants may have decrease or no tears when they cry and fatigue; monitor wet diapers which should be 6-8 per day
  • Children may have dry lips, dark colored urine, and irritability
  • Teens will have similar symptoms of children as well as dizziness, headaches and muscle cramps
• What is Heat Exhaustion vs Heat Stroke
  • Heat exhaustion – excessive sweating leads to an increase in the core body temperature
    • Move out of the sunlight and into a cool place, rehydrate with cool water, use ice packs and cool rags to help lower the body temperature
  • Heat Stroke – when the core body temperature reaches 104 degrees or higher.  Symptoms include altered mental status, headache, nausea and vomiting
    • Seek immediate medical attention