Drinks for Children

What Kids Should Drink More

Jan 28, 2009 Wei Yin Wong

Children's drinks of choice should be milk and plain water, both of which are easily available and very affordable.

Of all the drinks in the world, only two truly matter as far as young children are concerned – milk and water. What’s more, these drinks are cheap and easily available!

Milk and Kids

Milk is by far the best food source of calcium. It’s hard to get enough calcium from other foods. Young kids with no allergies to milk should be encouraged to drink more milk. Up to around 11 years of age, a child should have about three serves of milk daily.

For the first two years of a child’s life, he should drink full-fat milk. However, children over two do not need the calories or saturated fat that come with full-fat milk, says Karen Miller-Kovach, Chief Scientific Officer of Weight Watchers International and author of Weight Watchers: Healthy Parent, Healthy Child [New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2006]. A switch to calcium-rich and low-fat milk and milk products is recommended after the age of two.

Water and Kids

For children over the age of one, about 60% of the body is water. The body continually loses water through breathing, sweating, urinating and bowel movements. And because children have bigger surfaces in relation to their body sizes and they move faster, the need for water replacement is even higher.

In most developed countries, tap water is just fine for kids to drink, say Dr. Patricia McVeagh and Eve Reed, co-authors of Kids Food Health [Sydney: Finch Publishing, 2001]. Some families preferred filtered water but studies in Australia have shown that families who use filtered water suffer from gastroenteritis as much as those who use tap water, they add.

“If you do elect to use a filter, ensure it does not remove fluoride. Studies overseas have shown that commercial bottled water is sometimes more contaminated than tap water,” McVeagh and Reed say.

Fruit Juices and Kids

While fruit juices do have nutritional value, they also contain a lot of natural sugar. In addition, they lack dietary fiber from fruits. When there is over-consumption of fruit juice – more than one glass a day – the high sugar content can replace natural food. “This can result in poor growth and extra weight, and children may miss out on important nutrients, such as iron and calcium,” warn McVeagh and Reed.

Miller-Kovach agrees that fruit juices are high in sugar content, adding that fruit juices are only healthy if you’re only looking at providing some vitamins and minerals. “When it comes to weight, it provides a lot of calories without giving a feeling of fullness. Kids are better off getting their vitamins and minerals from food, like a piece of fresh fruit,” she suggests.

Parents should encourage kids to drink up – milk and water, that is. Low-fat milk is recommended for children older than two. Plain tap water is okay to quench a child’s thirst. Fruit juices, although healthy, should be limited because they are packed with sugar.

Those who find this article useful may also be interested to read How to Boost Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Kids and Preventing Childhood Obesity.

The copyright of the article Drinks for Children in Stay-at-Home Parents is owned by Wei Yin Wong. Permission to republish Drinks for Children in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Kids Should Drink Mmore Milk