Something, other than water, to drink....for little ones!

I presume their parents don't want them to have drinks containing sugar or sugar alternatives.

If the children are healthy I don't think you need to worry about them apparently not drinking very much.

Watered down fruit squash should be okay. Check the ingredients to get the best you can find. If it's their teeth you're worried about then it's mostly sweets and fizzy drinks that do the damage. My daughter drank gallons of apple juice, a very thick brown syrup from a local health food store, natural ingredients but quite sugary. Obviously it was heavily watered down so very weak. She never had a filling in her life and is nearly 40 now.

I am one of five healthy adult siblings. We were only offered water or milk both at home and at school.

My grandchildren have very weak, sugarfree Ribena or squash of some sort on the basis that the need to hydrate and form good habits is worth the potential harm.

I don't think I would dare give my grandchildren anything other than milk or water if that is what their parents prefer, would seem to be going against the parents choice. For general health and teeth it is so much better than adding juice or syrup and is what is recommended.

Get them special drinking receptacles and perhaps the ability to pour their own drinks.

They don’t need anything other than water to drink. Introducing sugary drinks as such a young age is bad practice,

Water is the thing to give them, our GCs are 18 and 16 and only ever had water to drink until fairly recently, their teeth are excellent, no fillings at all.

Stick with the water, BTW, my daughter gave me express orders not to give them anything but water ( they hated milk). (She worked in a Dental practice, you might want to check with their Mum before you give them anything else.)

They even eat their cereals dry, Because they still hate milk!

I give my grandchildren diluted natural fruit juice - which their parents also give. Even natural juices contain a lot of sugar, which is why it's best to dilute.

However, unless the weather is very warm, they don't need to drink a lot of other fluids, if they're drinking milk.

As a child, I hated water, but drank plenty of milk. My mother used to try to get me drink a bit of water, with a mug that had a mark halfway up - it was probably about 1/4 pint - and I used to resist even that amount!

I'd stick with water or milk as that's what their parents want them to have.

I certainly wouldn't be giving them anything with aspartame, dreadful stuff.

Just to say that I would never give my grandchildren anything to drink without discussing it with their parents first. I am sorry that I didn't make this clear

My grandchildren don't drink squash, fruit juice or milk - just water. In cold weather, they like warm water, as it's just too cold from the tap.

They do eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, though, so get hydration from them. Cucumber slices and red pepper sticks disappear rapidly.

(They are allowed Oatly milk, but have that on cereal.)

DanniRae

Just to say that I would never give my grandchildren anything to drink without discussing it with their parents first. I am sorry that I didn't make this clear

We don't give them anything that their parents don't. But their parents take a pragmatic view and take advice from the resident dentist.

They will drink if they are thirsty, it doesn’t need to be made into a treat. Whatever you add will contain sugar.

My eldest child began refusing milk and never took to water. She was a nightmare. Funnily enough, one of her sons only ever drinks milk or water.

We paid visits to doctors and dentists and in the end we were told just give her anything to drink.

This business of they'll drink if they're thirsty seemed to pass her by.

The other 3 were fine.

Eldest daughter is now 40 and has all her own teeth and has an ideal BMI.

So I don't lose sleep over her Ribena and Roship filled childhood.

How I loved that Roship syrup. I probably drank more of it than her.

Totally agree with others though. Don't be giving them anything without agreement from parents.

I would ask their parents before giving them anything other than water. Soft drinks have so many additives.

Add a sprig of mint or rosemary. What about a slice of lemon or lime.

Honey - definitely not for children under a year! There is a risk of infant botulism from honey, but the risk seems to diminish after 1 year old. See the NHS site for information.

I too would go with water or milk, particularly if that's what the parents say.

There is no guarantee that they will drink if they are thirsty. Much better for them to drink something than nothing. I have 5 children who drank weak low sugar drinks all through their childhoods. The eldest is 50 now but none of them have any fillings nor are they obese.

A sense of proportion is needed.

As a child (and as an adult), I didn't like tea or coffee, so had only water or milk throughout the day. In my 50s I took part in a research study into bone density. Mine was way above the upper limit of normal, and is normal in my 70s. I put this down to all the milk I drank. I have never broken a bone and hope it stays that way.
I therefore recommend milk or water only for your GCs.

Only problem is that drinking too much milk to quench thirst fills them up and then they don't eat properly. That was me as a child - very poor appetite but drank lots of milk - refused water. After 1 year old, children need nutrients that aren't in milk. So if they won't drink water, may be better to give well diluted juice some of the time, rather than too much milk.

I used to use a powdered fennel drink, I have tried to find it on Google without any luck.
There are however a number of infant chamomile and fennel tea bags available.

Do they use "sippy cups"?
Would the older one feel grownup using a paper straw instead?
I found some plastic cups with a screw top and inbuilt straws which one of my DGC loved.
She'd still use it now but Grandad threw it out .

Sago - I remember that. I think it was a Milupa brand. They also used to do savoury dinners in powdered form - very handy for travelling as just needed to be mixed with warm water. Now they only seem to do sweet cereal type foods.