Can baby drink tap water

When can my baby have water to drink? | Baby & toddler, Feeding articles & support

We discuss when it’s okay for your baby to drink water. We also look at how to keep your baby hydrated in hot weather.

When can my baby have water?

Young babies under six months won’t usually need to have any water or extra drinks, other than their usual milk (NHS Choices, 2017).

I breastfeed my baby so do they need extra water in hot weather?

Babies who are breastfed won't need water until they’re around six months old (NHS Choices, 2017).

"When you breastfeed your baby and they’ve started eating solid foods, you can offer them water out of a cup as well as breastfeeding frequently."

Even in hot weather, you won’t usually need to offer your baby water if you feed them breastmilk. They will just breastfeed more frequently if they need to. Babies who are breastfed can feed more frequently because the energy content of breastmilk changes according to their feeds.

I feed my baby formula milk so do they need extra water in hot weather?

If you feed your baby formula milk, you might need to offer them water in hot weather as well as the milk. Make sure you boil and cool the water before you give it to them (NHS Choices, 2017).

How do I know my baby’s getting enough to drink?

In hot weather, it’s important to offer your baby frequent milk feeds, whether you are breastfeeding, formula feeding or both. In very hot weather, it’s important babies drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

In general, your baby is getting enough to drink if they have at least six heavy, wet nappies every 24 hours. This should be the case from when your baby is five days old, as long as they’re happy and alert, and they’re feeding frequently. You can find out more in our how can I tell my baby is feeding well article.

When can my baby drink tap water?

Babies under six months should only drink tap water that has been boiled and cooled down. Water straight from the tap is not sterile so is not suitable for younger babies.

Once your baby is six months old, you can offer them water straight from the tap in a beaker or cup. They’d have this as well as their usual milk (NHS Choices, 2017; Oral Health Foundation, 2017).

Can my baby or toddler drink bottled water?

Bottled water is not recommended for babies or toddlers as it may contain too much salt or sulphate.

Water and milk are good options

Older babies and toddlers who have drinks like squash or juice during the day may fill up on calories from these drinks. This reduces their appetite for milk or solids, and can make it difficult for them to get enough nutrients. It might also lead to deficiencies over time, especially a lack of iron, which can cause anaemia (NHS Choices, 2017; Oral Health Foundation, 2017).

It’s a good idea to simply offer your baby water to drink, as well as their regular milk feeds.

Taking care of your baby’s teeth

Squash and fruit juice are high in sugar and can contribute to tooth decay. Fruit juice is often seen as a healthy alternative to squash, but it still contains sugars and acids that can harm tooth enamel (Oral Health Foundation, 2017). Children under three years of age should not have anything with artificial sweeteners in it (Oral Health Foundation, 2017).

If you want to offer squash or juice to your child, only give it to them sparingly, well diluted, and as part of meal times. Whole fruit juice is a better option than squash. Find out more in our taking care of your baby’s teeth article.

Further information

Our support line offers practical and emotional support with feeding your baby and general enquiries for parents, members and volunteers: 0300 330 0700.

You might find attending one of our Early Days groups helpful as they give you the opportunity to explore different approaches to important parenting issues with a qualified group leader and other new parents in your area.

Make friends with other parents-to-be and new parents in your local area for support and friendship by seeing what NCT activities are happening nearby.

NHS Choices has information on how you can look after your baby’s teeth.

When can babies have water? When to give water, bottled vs. tap, and more.

In general, your baby doesn't need to drink water until they're 6 months old. Until then, they get all the hydration they need from breast milk or formula, even in hot weather.

Once your baby is 6 months old, it's okay to give them sips of water when they're thirsty. Don't overdo it, though, or you might give them a tummy ache or make them too full to eat well. And never give your baby water as a replacement for breast milk or formula, which are full of the nutrients babies need. Besides that, your baby's kidneys aren't fully mature yet, and too much plain water could throw off their electrolyte balance.

Once your baby starts eating solid foods, it's okay to also start offering them up to 8 ounces of water daily. From 6 to 12 months, they don't need much water, since they'll be getting enough liquids from breast milk or formula, as well as through certain fruits and vegetables. As long as your baby is staying hydrated, you don't have to worry about making sure they drink a specific amount of water every day at this age.

After your baby's first birthday, when they're eating solid foods and drinking whole milk, you can give them a sippy cup of water to drink with meals and any time they're thirsty. Experts recommend giving toddlers at least 32 ounces of fluids daily, but they only need at most 16 to 20 ounces of cow's milk (more can contribute to anemia or constipation). The rest can come from plain water and the fruits and veggies you give them, as well as breast milk if your toddler is still breastfeeding.

Can babies have tap water?

In general, the best water to give your baby is tap water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the quality of tap water and sets legal limits on more than 90 contaminants. Though water contamination does occur, usually the water that comes out of your tap is usually the safest option.

If you're worried about the quality of your tap water, you can get it tested, and use an appropriate water filter if necessary. Contaminants to look out for include microorganisms and bacteria (like E. coli and Giardia), organic chemicals from agricultural pesticides (like glyphosate), nitrates and nitrites from agricultural fertilizers, disinfection byproducts like chloroform, and industrial chemicals like benzene. The material your water pipes are made from can contaminate your tap water, too – it's especially important to make sure there isn't lead in your water if you have lead or brass pipes.

In parts of the United States, the tap water is treated with fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay. But if your baby consumes a lot of fluoride before their teeth come in, they may develop fluorosis, which looks like faint white lines or streaks on the teeth. You can't develop fluorosis once the teeth have broken through the gums.

Fluorosis doesn't impact the health of the teeth, and it's possible only a dentist would even notice it. To prevent it, talk to your child's doctor to figure out if your baby might be getting too much fluoride.

To learn more about the quality of your tap water, you can look up your area's annual Consumer Confidence Report. To get the tap water in your home tested, your local water agency or health department may be able to do it, or you can have the testing done by a state-certified lab.

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Bottled water is also fine – it's regulated by the Food and Drug Administration – but since tap water is usually safe for your baby, it's not necessary to give them bottled water instead.

Learn more about the safety of tap and bottled water, as well as whether babies can have sparkling water.

Water intoxication in babies

Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with their body's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula. It can also make them feel full, so they'll eat less.

In very rare cases, a baby who drinks too much water can develop water intoxication, which can cause seizures, coma, and brain damage. Water intoxication happens when too much water dilutes the concentration of sodium in the body, upsetting the electrolyte balance and causing tissues to swell.

Is it okay to dilute formula with water?

Don't try to stretch formula by diluting it with water – carefully follow the package directions for making formula and use the recommended amount of water. If you add too much water to your baby's formula, they won't get all the nutrients they need.

What to do if your baby is dehydrated

If your baby losing more fluids than they're taking in (because they're sick and vomiting or have diarrhea, for example), they may become dehydrated. Symptoms that your baby is dehydrated include:

• They play less than usual
• They urinate less frequently (for infants, that could mean fewer than six wet diapers per day)
• Their mouth is dry
• If your baby still has a soft spot on their head, it may become sunken

If your baby is showing signs of dehydration, call your healthcare provider. They may want to see your baby to check on them. If your baby is younger than 3 months, they'll likely recommend that you give your baby more breast milk or formula than usual. If your baby is older than 3 months, they may recommend giving them some water or an electrolyte drink like Pedialyte.

Should children be given tap water

Slides and text for this presentation

Parents face many questions when a baby is born into the family. One of which is: “Can a baby drink water from the tap?”. Due to the heavy workload, mothers and fathers do not try to study this topic deeply enough and decide to give the child the water that they drink themselves. But this is not quite the right solution.

How to understand that raw water is really drinkable

Water from underground wells can be contaminated with various organic compounds. Many of them are toxic. The source of toxins is wastewater, into which substances from farms or enterprises enter.

The quality of tap water in the Russian Federation leaves much to be desired. It gets worse every year. Every seventh water sample does not meet sanitary and technical standards (according to the study of the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of Russia in 2015). After such frightening statistics, the question of drinking such water for a child disappears by itself. nine0005

But in order to finally understand the composition of tap water, parents can take it to the laboratory for analysis themselves. This is a paid study. It will show the presence and amount of harmful substances (eg chlorine and aluminium). But even if the indicators of toxins are minimal, it is impossible to give a child such water to drink! It is necessary to at least let it stand for a couple of hours at room temperature by placing water in a special jug with a charcoal filter.

Requirements for baby water

According to sanitary standards, the quality of children's water falls under a number of requirements:

• Quality and purity.
• Minimum amount of minerals and salts.
• No additives, dyes or fragrances.
• Neutral water-salt balance (for children of the first year of life pH=7).
• Complete absence of silver ions and carbon dioxide.
• No taste or smell.
• Filtration of hard salts.

As for the container, it must be clean or even sterile. Children's water is not bottled in bottles containing more than 6 liters. For home feeding of a baby or baby, special bottles with a volume of 0.33 and 0.5 liters will be optimal. nine0005

And if you boil tap water

It is forbidden to give boiled tap water to a child under one year old. Even for the preparation of baby food or mixture it is not used.

The harm of boiled water far outweighs its benefits. The boiling point is not capable of destroying all pathogenic microorganisms. Dangerous chemical compounds, when water is heated, completely settle on the walls of the dishes. Thus, salt decomposition products, called scale, are formed. And if there is a sufficiently high concentration of chlorine in the water, then when boiled, it forms toxic compounds that can cause serious disorders not only in the baby’s stomach, but also in the central nervous system. nine0005

At what age can children be given tap water

Tap water is not recommended for drinking, even for adults, let alone children. But bottled water is not cheap, so many parents continue to give their children water from the tap. It is strictly contraindicated for babies up to 3 years. And at preschool age, you can give such water in a small amount, but only after cleaning it with filters or freezing. Melt water from the water supply cannot be called useful, but it is at least some kind of minimal treatment for bacteria. nine0005

Whether or not to give tap water to a child is the decision of every parent, because it is he who is responsible for the health and future of his child. If possible, buy drinking purified water and do not experiment on children. Treatment of gastrointestinal problems will cost much more than a bottle of water.

• Author: Katya
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