DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Do you drink enough water? 
Are your kids drinking enough? Find out my methods for keeping track in a fun way. How can you tell if you aren't getting enough?  Keep reading to find out!!


How much water should we drink?

Well, probably not this much!!! My friend's darling girl, Kate is taking my advice seriously to drink more water.:)

Drink At LEAST 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of body weight every day.  That means if you weigh 150 lbs then you need a MINIMUM of 75 fl ounces of water EVERY DAY. 128 ounces = 1 gallon

I use glass canning jars.  They are sturdy and durable and don't break like other glass cups.  I also know exactly how much liquid they hold.  The small jar is 4 ounces. The pint jar is 16 ounces.  The quart jar is 32 ounces.

 

So as parents, keeping track of how much water our children drink is important. I guarantee your little ones are similar to mine and don't just love to sit down to a nice glass of water.  Here's some tips.

• Make the water accessible for young children to reach and just hard enough for really young toddlers to not be able to poor it all out.
• This is what I use.  Available at health food stores.

 

•  Keep track in a fun way. I made these tags for our glasses.  They are super easy to make (see instructions below).  The kids get a tag every time they drink a glass.  If the kids drink the # of cups they need to, then at the end of the day they get a reward.  Be creative with rewards.  It doesn't have to be treats :)  
• Pack water in the car. Always have water with you.

Try stainless steel water bottles for your school kids or for on the run.

• Encourage your kids to drink water if they just ate a meal an hour earlier and they are back in the kitchen saying they are hungry.  A lot of times we are thirsty when we feel the urge to snack or eat in between meals.  GREAT WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT TOO!

You can see that Miles is on his 2nd glass of water since there are 2 tags on his jar.  The kids think this is really fun.  And then I don't have to guess if they've had enough water especially on hot summer days.

When I say drink water, I mean drink good water (not tap water). Water that has been filtered.  There's all different types of water available to us.  There's Reverse Osmosis Filtered Water (RO), Distilled Water, Electronically Charged Water, Alkaline Water, Spring Water, Bottled Water, and many more I'm sure.  I'm not a water expert and everyone's got their own theories.  I have tried all kinds of water and have chosen to use primarily RO water and Alkaline Water because I have these available to me and I like how they taste.  Obviously, convenience is important and cost is another issue.  The bottom line is make sure you have some sort of filtered water that you can drink everyday.  Stay clear of bottled drinking water.  Most of the time it's just tap water put in a bottle and isn't filtered at all.  Besides, studies show that the plastic bottles are causing all kinds of diseases because of the leaching and chemicals in the plastic (another subject), not to mention waste problems. So for now stick with using bottles that are BPA free.  I use the blue BPA free 3 and 5 gallon water jugs and glass gallon jars as well. And avoid water that is too cold, the studies I've seen say that ice cold water is harder to absorb.

For best results, sip on water all day, and juice, milk, and sodas don't count.  Avoid soda because it actually causes more dehydration. 

Signs of dehydration.

• dry lips, cracking and dry skin
• feel hungry all the time
• dry mouth
• constipation
• weight gain or unable to lose weight
• headaches

• fatigue 

In all my research for fighting disease, drinking plenty of water was at the top of all the lists.  It's essential for every process of the body.  So here's my challenge.  DRINK WATER instead of SODA or JUICE.  Start bringing water with you wherever you go.  My families have made fun of me for years for lugging water around, but when you are on the go and not home very often you need to be sipping on water to get the minimum amount needed daily.  If you are prone to headaches, try drinking more water instead of grabbing for pain relievers.  Just like in anything teach your kids moderation and to not drink too quickly just because it's fun to get the tags.  Have I made you thirsty?  Go grab yourself a nice tall glass of filtered water.  I love it!! I've got mine right hear. CHEERS!
  


 Directions for making the tags

1. Print pages of names typed in fun fonts, colors and sizes.  I have 4 for each kid. Make back ups just in case. Great project for the kids to do.
2. Cut out each name and glue to fun paper that is a little larger than the name.
3. Cover with packing tape on both sides.
4. Cut around the tag.
5. Put a hole punch through the top corner.
6. String rubber band through the hole punch.