When can a 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.
This page was last reviewed in October 2017Further 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 drink water?
When can babies drink water? | Pregnancy Birth and Baby beginning of content3-minute read
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If your baby is under 6 months old, they only need to drink breastmilk or infant formula. From 6 months of age, you can give your baby small amounts of water, if needed, in addition to their breastmilk or formula feeds.
Why is water not suitable for babies younger than 6 months?
Before 6 months, breastmilk or formula is both food and drink for your baby. It is all they need, even in hot weather.
Giving your baby water may mean they drink less breastmilk or formula. This can put them at risk of not getting enough milk or formula to grow properly. Giving your baby a lot of water or excessively diluted formula over a short time can also make them very unwell.
When can I give water to my baby?
If your baby is around 6 months old, you can offer small amounts of cooled boiled tap water but you should not replace their breastmilk or formula feeds. Breastmilk or formula should still be their main drink up to 12 months of age.
After 12 months, their main drink should be water and cow's milk or breastmilk. You can offer water or milk in a cup. There's no need to boil tap water once your baby has reached 12 months.
If your baby has just started on solids, start with a few sips of water from a cup when they are eating. This is so they can learn about drinking from a cup and it can also help prevent constipation due to the increased bulk of their poo. The aim is to get them used to drinking from a cup as this will be their main way of drinking from 12 months on.
What about in hot weather?
In hot weather, it is important to offer more frequent breastfeeds or bottle-feeds if your baby is under 6 months. Do not offer water unless recommended by a doctor.
Your baby may want to drink more than usual but for shorter periods. If you breastfeed, you should also make sure you drink enough water.
To make breastfeeding more comfortable for you and your baby in hot weather:
- place a towel, sheet or pillowcase between yourself and your baby
- lie down to breastfeed to reduce skin contact
Your baby is properly hydrated (getting enough fluids) if they have 6 to 8 pale wet nappies over 24 hours.
What if my baby has a fever?
If your baby has a fever, is under 6 months and is breastfed, you may need to offer extra breastfeeds. If they are under 6 months and formula-fed, you can offer smaller amounts of formula more frequently. Do not offer water unless advised by a doctor.
If your baby is older than 6 months, continue to breastfeed or bottle feed.
You can offer water in between feeds. The most important thing to check is whether your child is getting enough fluids.
Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby on 1800 882 436 to speak to a maternal child health nurse for advice and support.
What about other drinks?
Fruit juice, soft drinks and cordial are not suitable for babies under 12 months old.
Caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee and energy drinks — and, of course, alcohol — are not suitable for children of any age.
Sources:
Australian Breastfeeding Association (Keeping baby cool in the heat), National Health and Medical Research Council (Infant Feeding Guidelines), NSW Health (Babies and children in hot weather), Raising Children Network (Fever), Raising Children Network (Healthy drinks for kids and teenagers), Royal Children's Hospital (Guide to foods for baby’s first year), World Health Organization (Why can’t we give water to a breastfeeding baby before 6 months, even when it is hot?)Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: July 2020
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Related pages
- Healthy drinks for kids
- Feeding your baby with formula
- Breastfeeding your baby
- Balancing introducing solids with milk feeds
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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Do you know what water is for children and how it should be?
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10/12/2016 9412
To begin with, you need to understand this question: should a baby be given water to drink at all? Ironically, modern society insists that a breastfed baby should not be given water. Numerous guidelines issued to young mothers clearly state: breast milk contains everything that a baby needs and it is not advisable to supplement it. What if the mother breastfeeds the baby for one and a half to two years?
It is important to understand that these recommendations apply only to newborns, that is, babies up to 28 days of age.
If the mother has a shortage of milk, in this case, supplementation can also be excluded: if the child is thirsty, let him take the breast and at the same time stimulate the production of milk.
In other cases, after the first year of life, children can be offered water. It is to offer, and the baby himself will make it clear whether he needs it at the moment. And remember, the hotter it is in the apartment or on the street, the more often you need to offer water to children.
Now consider the next question - what kind of water to give: boiled, bottled, filtered or "specialized" baby? And in general, do you know what water is for children?
Boiled water
Boiled water is not a drink. Even animals will be reluctant to drink boiled water, there is nothing useful in it. While most pediatricians recommend boiling water, this only applies to tap or well water. Boiling not only kills germs, but also contributes to the precipitation of salt, which is harmful to the child. Only if it is not possible to buy bottled water or install a filter, it is boiled.
Bottled water
Babies of the first year are given mineral water without additives and without gas. Older kids can buy lightly salted and sometimes carbonated. The mineral composition of purchased water is an order of magnitude higher than that of boiled water, it is healthier and cleaner. You can often read on a bottle of water that it should be boiled on the second day after uncorking.
In fact, this is only due to the fact that the manufacturer thus disclaims responsibility for the uncleanliness of some parents. For example, if someone drinks water from the neck and infects. So, if you follow the basic rules of hygiene (keep it closed, wash your hands before use, etc.), you do not need to boil water from a bottle.
Filtered
Filtered water is well suited for cooking for children who have moved to the "common table", i.e. after two years. Especially if they are reverse osmosis filters.
