Why kids need water

You’ve heard it from your family doctor, you’ve seen the headlines, you know it in your heart: water is the best drink for your children. Yet, still, you find yourself giving in when they ask for juice, iced tea, lemonade, sports drinks or pop.

Why? The kids are thirsty, it’s summer, you’re worried about dehydration, your children are ‘bored’ with water, you dislike water yourself…have we run out of excuses yet?

Before you say ‘yes’ again, here are some things to consider about water and why this should be your child’s beverage of choice.
For one thing, water is calorie free. Yes, kids are active, they run around, they burn more calories than adults, and so on. Well, they’d have to run a few kilometres to use up the 97 calories in a can of Coke, or the whopping 310 calories found in a Gatorade Energy Drink.

“(Water) allows them to not overfill so that they get their nutrients from their solid foods,” says Dr. Karen Dockrill, a pediatrician at the Mom and Baby Depot in Whitby.

She says the problem with other beverages is that they give kids a sugar rush – even if they’re all-natural, unsweetened fruit juices.

“The reality is the actual amount of sugar that gets concentrated in orange juice, versus having an actual orange, or in apple juice versus having an apple, is so much more,” she says. “It’s a quick-release sugar. It’s very filling to the system. You get a high but then it drops low.”

Even a cup of apple juice, for example, adds about 117 calories to a child’s diet. That’s almost twice the amount in an apple, with twice as much sugar and almost none of the nutrients or fiber. A glass of unsweetened pomegranate juice, which may seem really healthy, contains 150 calories – about as much as three whole red peppers or two cups of blueberries.

Dockrill says worse yet are the fruit drinks (not 100% fruit juice), sodas and sport beverages on the market. Most fruit drinks offer about 130 to 150 calories, pop averages about 100 calories a serving and sport beverages range between 50 calories to more than 300 calories per serving.

“They’re rabid sugars and, in particular, some of the sports drinks and some of the new market power drinks that children are drinking – they’ve got caffeine and lots of other ingredients in them.”

Let’s not forget that most children don’t stop at one glass either, and what’s a glass to one family may be three to another.
Interestingly, a study by a Hamilton dietician, published in 2003, found that fast food and sugar-added drinks were leading contributors to childhood obesity. The study examined the diets of obese and non-obese children and found that obese children drink far more sugary drinks than non-obese.

Water, however, is not without its controversy.

Dockrill says while she’s encouraged to see more children drinking water, unfortunately most of it is bottled and contains no fluoride.

“Cavities are increasing in kids who drink bottled water,” she says. “You can get fluoride in toothpaste and so on, but really, the basic fluoridation within town waters meets the needed maintenance for families.”

If you still prefer bottled water, including the kind found in large cooler jugs in many homes, Dockrill suggests talking to your dentist about a fluoride supplement.

Meanwhile, she says it’s important for children to limit fruit juice to four to six ounces of juice a day, the size of a small juice glass, and to be sure to brush their teeth soon afterward, as juice and other drinks cling to teeth, causing cavities.

You can also sweeten water naturally by squeezing fresh lemon or lime into it, but be wary of flavoured waters. Many contain added sugar or small amounts of artificial sweeteners.

A refreshing alternative to iced tea mix (which scores between 30 to 50 calories a glass) is chilled herbal tea. Make something kids would enjoy, such as lemon mango, add ice and a few lemon or lime slices, and serve.

Finally, try to include higher water-volume food in your child’s diet, with things such as watermelon and cucumber. It all helps to keep kids hydrated and healthy.