mo2 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 My kids really don't like water. Neither do I, for that matter, but I make myself drink it anyway. I'm thinking of instituting a rule that they can only drink water between meals, no milk. Does this seem harsh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Our rule is water first, then other beverages alternating with water for the rest of the day. I tried "only water between meals" but ds just stopped getting anything to drink between meals. Now when he asks if he can have juice or milk I say "yes, but drink a glass of water first" and he downs the water so he can move on to what he really wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 My kids really only drink water. Most mornings they have a cup of chocolate milk while watching their morning TV show, but aside from that it's usually water. Once a week they may have some juice, but that's it. That being said, I'm still not sure they drink enough. I need to get them their own special cup and have it sitting on the table all day for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I don't think it's harsh to have them only drink water between meals. We drink water almost exclusively. I will make regular iced tea (no sugar) and the kids can have that if they want but they rarely do. I do buy organic milk for cooking and dh will have a glass of that with dinner if it's available, but the rest of us don't drink milk. Water does take getting used to if you're used to drinking other beverages most of the time, but it can be done (dh and I both used to drink a lot of pop before we had kids). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 My boys get 1 cup of milk in the morning and water the rest of the day, even with meals. They each have their own water bottle. Occasionally they'll have juice, tea, or hot chocolate for a treat. I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day and water the rest of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 We really only drink water as well. (As soon as I typed that my 4 year old asked me for water. :)) We have a juicer, and (when I actually have things washed and ready) I make them carrot and apple juice. But other drinks just aren't part of our lives. I think it is a result of growing up in a poor, but extremely nutrition conscious family. Juice was too expensive, and no way was my mom buying kool-aid. So water it was. I don't think making that nutritional change for the better is harsh. If you have kids who are resistant to change, maybe ease them in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 We include it on our daily food chart. We follow the food pyramid and include water as one of the food groups. We don't have a rule because by the time we eat everything we need to eat, nobody has room for extra milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 My kids drink a lot of water. We have a dispenser with a 5-gal bottle so it's always cold and it's easy access. I don't like to drink water much myself. I will drink sparkling water, though, so I try to keep stocked up on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leighton Academy Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 We drink lots of water here too. The only juice I buy is orange juice and my youngest is the only one who drinks that. He'll drink it once a day if he remembers to ask. We have a water dispenser on our fridge plus a Brita pitcher on the counter. Hubby and I will have coffee in the morning then it's water for the rest of the day. I used to drink lots of soda but now I don't buy it anymore. We bring our own water bottles everywhere. I have to say that waitresses look at us strangely when my sons ask for water to drink at restaurants. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 It would not occur to me to allow my dc to drink milk between meals. :001_huh: If dc are thirsty, they can drink water. And I wouldn't monitor that, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) As a regular thing, I don't buy drinks. :tongue_smilie: They don't have a taste for anything else. I buy milk for cooking and cereal (not big cereal eaters, so half gallon lasts at least a week). Each of us has a stainless water bottle. I do make smoothies. My kids do eat yogurt and cheeses. Edited March 31, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 We only drink water between meals. We serve water at lunch and dinner as well, even if there is a small glass of milk or juice on the table as well. Milk and juice is served in 4 oz. glasses, and we don't do refills. My kids like getting water from the Brita pitcher. They say that it tastes better than tap water. I disagree; our tap water is fine, but I am not going to complain so long as they are drinking water willingly and regularly. I think it's important for Mom and Dad to follow the rules as well. My dh and I follow the same rules as the boys -- we aren't sitting around with sodas or juice between meals. We also got cool water bottles for the kids, and they enjoy filling them up before we leave the house so that they can quench their thirst on the go. Have you considered adding a citrus wedge to your water since you said you don't care for the flavor? I am personally not big on sweetening water with Crystal Light and such; I feel like it just encourages the palate to prefer that sweetness all the time, so that plain water becomes almost unpleasant to drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 We all don't like still water, but drink a lot of carbonated water (make it at home).Must be filtered - the tap water has chlorine and tastes awful (we have a water filter on the faucet) My kids drink what they want when they want it - water or milk. They help themselves, I don't police. They will drink when they are thirsty. We have no soft drinks in the house, and rarely juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 It would not occur to me to allow my dc to drink milk between meals. :001_huh: That's funny, because it wouldn't occur to me NOT to allow it. :lol: It's becoming an issue, though, because that's ALL they want to drink....no water. Alternating, as a PP suggested, might be a nice way to ease into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 When my kids were born we lived in a super hot climate -the kind where if you didn't drink enough water you could die. I never gave them any alternative to water when they were babies - I didn't want a toddler sufferering from heat exhaustion because they refused to drink anything but milk or juice. I think I gave them their first drink of juice at 2 years old - after their liking for water was firmly established. Now they are so used to it they won't drink anything else when they are thirsty because it doesn't quench their thirst. My kids were also milk intolerant so they never developed a taste for that either. We drink one glass of juice with breakfast and the rest of the day its water including with meals. If I let them drink anything else with meals it fills them up and they don't eat. To me milk is a food - I never understood why people drink it to quench their thirst -it just makes me thirstier. Anyway - I would just start limiting access to other drinks - maybe just start out making sure they have one glass of water between meals and then slowly increasing it as they get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Mine drink water between meals as well, milk with many meals. It's fairly rare for them to have milk between meals (though I do often use milk in smoothies for snacks). Juice is a rare treat, and we don't keep soda in the house (and I don't think they've ever actually had kool-aid). I started giving them water as older infants/toddlers, so it's what they're used to having. If your kids are used to sweet drinks, I would start by diluting them with water, gradually adding more water, until there's hardly any sweetness left anyway. Or encourage water plus an orange. You can also add slices of lemon to water for a bit of interest. It can take some time to change the palate. I didn't grow up drinking water, and it took some time to get used to it; if I have a lot of soda or juice for a while, I will find that I have to develop the taste for water again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 To me milk is a food - I never understood why people drink it to quench their thirst -it just makes me thirstier. Yes! I have never been able to drink anything else when I'm actually thirsty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 My kids really don't like water. Neither do I, for that matter, but I make myself drink it anyway. I'm thinking of instituting a rule that they can only drink water between meals, no milk. Does this seem harsh? Why would that be harsh? My kids get water during the day. Milk with meals and things like cake or cookies when we have them. Actually, the older kids no longer like milk with certain meals and just have water. Water is the primary beverage in our home. Once in a while they will have hot tea in the colder months, iced tea in the warmer months. As for making sure they are drinking enough water, I run around all day reminding people to drink water. Usually every time I get myself more water I tell them to drink some too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 No one in the house drinks milk. We drink water 99% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3innc Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 My kids are little but I keep cups near the fridge and they love using the water dispenser:001_smile: so that is the drink they can get anytime and they usually do quite a bit. Diluted juice is allowed at meals. We have major issues with dairy here so milk doesn't show up very much. If they stop eating well, the juice goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Having a dispenser handy with cold water in it is key here. I've been buying less juice and milk on purpose, too, so we save those for meals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 We always offer water first, milk second, and juice only at breakfast. No sodas unless it is a special occasion or a visit to a grandparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 My boys get 1 cup of milk in the morning and water the rest of the day, even with meals. They each have their own water bottle. Occasionally they'll have juice, tea, or hot chocolate for a treat. I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day and water the rest of the time. That is what we do around here also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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