Kids' Wellness Matters Podcast Ep. 14: Summer Hydrating Hacks

Hydration is essential all year long but is especially important during the hot summer months. In this episode of Kids’ Wellness Matters, hosts Nina and Rob give practical tips and hacks to help kids get enough water and discuss ways to recognize the signs of dehydration and much more. 

Show Notes

• Hydration needs vary by age: children 1 to 3 years old need 4 cups of drink daily, 4 to 8 years old need 5 cups, and older kids need 7 to 8 cups. 
• Infusing water with fruits like lemons, berries and cucumbers or offering water-rich fruits and vegetables can help children get enough water throughout the day.
• Making homemade popsicles or unique ice cubes such as those with pureed fruits can also make staying hydrated more fun.
• Using special water bottles with favorite characters and setting a good example by drinking water yourself will encourage children to drink more water throughout the day.
• Keep an eye out for signs of dehydration in infants by watching for fewer wet diapers and irritability. Older kids and teenagers might show symptoms such as dry lips, lightheadedness, muscle cramps, and dark urine.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Today, we're going to talk about ways to keep your kids healthy and hydrated with our summer hydration hacks.

[00:00:08] Dr. Rob Sanchez: No matter the time of year, water is always our top drink of choice for kids over the age of one. And during the heat and humidity of summer, you may need to increase the amount of water offered to your kids. And that's not always easy. So first up, common question, I'm sure you get this Nina in clinic. How much water is needed for kids?

[00:00:25] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Get it all the time, and it's a great question. So to stay well hydrated, children ages 1 to 3 need approximately 4 cups of drink during the day. And this increases for older kids to around 5 cups for 4 to 8 year olds and around 7 to 8 cups for older children. And remember, we really want to make sure that a lot of this is water. We want to keep milk to 2 to 3 cups a day to avoid things like iron deficiency, anemia. And for younger babies around zero to six months, we really want to focus on breast milk or formula. That's pretty much the best hydration they're going to get and the only thing they're taking. Around four to six months, depending on the baby's readiness, they're able to start taking solids and that's when you add in small amounts of water with a sippy cup.

[00:01:09] Dr. Rob Sanchez: Yeah, my young one has just turned 6 months, we're starting to introduce a little bit of water, but before that, strict breast milk or formula, that's all that's needed for babies. That's a common question that we get for sure. Andwater may not always be the most appealing, especially for some of our toddlers and older kids. So we wanted to talk about different ways to make it a little bit more exciting, something more reasonable that your kid might drink. So some ideas might be infusing the water with things like fruit, like lemons, berries, cucumber, mints, those are all ways to add a little bit of flavor. There's other options too, right, Nina?

[00:01:43] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Absolutely. Another thing you can do is just keep fruits and vegetables around that are high in water content. So my favorite summer one, of course, watermelon but cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, vegetables, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, and celery. Any bit of these fruits and vegetables will also give you a little bit of hydration as well. So those are helpful. While we're on the topic of fruit, you can also freeze fruit inside of ice cubes or make your own popsicles at home with pureed fruits. And the kids tend to get really into that and think it's really fun as well. What other tricks do you have?

[00:02:16] Dr. Rob Sanchez: I love the idea of popsicles especially with pureed fruit, or sometimes we'll do it with like smoothies. Those are ways of keeping some of those fruits that you mentioned, nice and frozen, a little bit more appealing. Making popsicles where you might be doing a majority water, but then you can mix in something light, like a light lemonade or something that gives it a little bit of flavor. And that's another way of keeping them cool and hydrated at the same time. I think special water bottles or cups. Especially if it has like, I know my son has one that has his favorite, little cartoon character on it. Give him that, give him as much as he'd like, you know, let him make a mess. It's just so long as the majority of it gets inside so they can stay hydrated. That's what's key. So Nina, Do you have any like special water bottle tips that you use for your kids?

[00:02:56] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Oh my gosh my daughter is obsessed with anything that I have so even though I could buy her the coolest water bottle. She just wants the one that I'm drinking out of but some kids really like special water bottles you know with their koalas on it or their spaceships. So that's one way to really get them invested in staying hydrated. The other big tip I have is that kids really kind of role model off of their parents. So if you're walking around with a cup of water and you're pointing out that you're drinking water and you make it a cool thing that your family all does together, your kids are more likely to want to drink water. They tend to want to have whatever you're having.

[00:03:28] Dr. Rob Sanchez: And you're so right that they're going to kind of mimic what you do. So I remember, especially in that toddler age, doing like a lots of cheers. They love to engage. It's almost like a high five. And then we're staying hydrated too, so that's a nice, fun thing that you can do for sure. , My young boy, my toddler, they sweat a lot. And so I always want to make sure that they're keeping, you know, hydrated as much as possible.

[00:03:49] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Absolutely. And I think this is a place where just like brushing teeth, grownups really need to kind of stay on top of it because of course, kids want to focus on playing outside and that is their main job to play. So I think it's really important that we remember it's our job to sometimes chase them around with a cup or a water bottle and remind them to take sips, so we want to kind of stay on top of that as grown ups.

What about sports drinks and sugary drinks? What do we do with those?

[00:04:14] Dr. Rob Sanchez: So, standard recommendation is like, we're going to want you to limit any excess sugar in your child's diet. Just because it's not needed. It can sometimes have the opposite effects when you're trying to keep them hydrated. But that being said, some kids, especially those that are a little bit older and really involved in outdoor sports they're going to need some extra replenishment, so an extra water and things like that. Sometimes you can reach for a sports drink. So for activities lasting longer than one to two hours in super hot environments, sports drinks can really help replenish things like carbohydrates, electrolytes, and of course, staying hydrated as well. Those are different from energy drinks. Energy drinks have things like caffeine, excess sugar. Don't want any of those. You know, I'm thinking of myself, like growing up in Texas, being out playing soccer and running cross country in like 90, a hundred plus degree heat, definitely might need a sports drink there to make sure that your kid is staying hydrated. And getting some of those necessary things being replenished, like electrolytes and other types of things like that too.

[00:05:08] Dr. Nina Alfieri: And I'll share that in the Alfieri family, we never pass up a lemonade stand. It's like a strongly held conviction my husband has. So we were late to a wedding once because my husband had to pull over to support a child's lemonade stand. So we will always support lemonade stands. One thing you can do if your kid is really into sugary drinks like lemonade or Kool Aid or those kinds of things is water it down. You know, it's okay to have, you know, a sugary beverage. You just don't want your kid drinking tons of it.

It's so true. Like we made a little bit of crystal light. I made it for my wife, because she loves it. Especially on a really hot, humid day, like we've been having. And of course my son wanted some too. So, unbeknownst to him, definitely like half water and then a little bit of lemonade on there too. Like he's not going to know the difference, especially if you catch it early on. And it's one of those ways where, yeah, you can give them a little bit of the treat, make it a little bit more appealing. But also ensuring that they're getting plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Let's talk about what happens when kids start to play a little too hard and they get a little behind on fluid. What are some signs of dehydration in kids you know, starting in infants but then in older kids? What are you looking for?

[00:06:12] Dr. Rob Sanchez: Yeah, so, common thing that we're talking with parents about for younger infants they're going to have fewer wet diapers. So it's all about their ability to pee. That's going to be your big sign. Usually they're going to do about six to eight wet diapers in a day. But if you're noticing much less than that, or a lot more space between wet diapers, that might be a sign that they're starting to get dehydrated. They might be more tired than usual. Sometimes for babies that have an open soft spot still in that first year of life, it might start to look more sunken . And that could be a sign of dehydration. And less tears. That's another thing when you're hydrated, you can make tears regularly, but if they're not producing them when they're crying, and that's usually for infants that are older than about two to three months that could be a sign that maybe they're actually a little bit dehydrated, and so some of those signs are really important to look out for. And then for older kids, Nina...

[00:06:58] Dr. Nina Alfieri: For older kids, you know, we're looking for things like dry lips or their mouth looking a little more sticky, decreased urination or darker colored urine. You know, if you're well hydrated, your urine really should be light yellow, almost clear looking. And then if kids are getting more sick being out in the sun and getting dehydrated, you might notice that they're sleepy or they're really irritable. They have the flushed cheeks and this can progress to more serious conditions like heat stroke. And so we really want to avoid getting to that place, but you might notice the earlier signs that we discussed before and might want to push fluids at that point.

[00:07:31] Dr. Rob Sanchez: Teenagers who can experience this, and that can be hard because teenagers really can seem resilient. Like, remembering my younger days, I felt like I could go on and on, but it is something that, they're going to show signs that might be similar to adults when they're feeling super dehydrated. So they might have dry mouth or really dry lips. They might start to feel lightheaded or experience muscle cramps, and they're going to be thirsty. It's also going to show up as having like darker urine or less urination too but they can have more severe symptoms, especially when they're getting more into that, you know, heat intolerance or heat stroke types of symptoms. That can be like headache, heart pulse, like racing really fast, skin getting very red and flushed, and then they can actually get like, really intense chills, like feeling really cold, or also feeling super, super hot. So those are significant signs, especially in your older children in the teenage years, that you want to watch out for dehydration and making sure that you're getting them to a shady, cool space. Really getting them cooled down with ice and making sure they're getting a chance to drink lots of water, or some of those sports drinks that's going to replenish some of those electrolytes too, in them as well.

[00:08:32] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Absolutely.

[00:08:33] Dr. Rob Sanchez: We hope that you enjoyed those tips and keep those in mind. So what do you say, Nina, should we raise a glass of water to summer?

[00:08:41] Dr. Nina Alfieri: Absolutely. Hey, thanks for joining us, everyone. We hope these tips and hacks help you this summer and happy hydrating!