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Age Recommendations and Hydration Tips

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

While it seems unnatural to not provide water to your little ones early on, there’s legitimate evidence as to why babies shouldn’t have water until they’re about 6-months old.

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that babies that are breastfed don’t need additional water, as breast milk is over 80 percent water and provides the fluids your baby needs. Children who are bottle-fed will stay hydrated with the help of their formula.

Assuming that your child is feeding well, either through breast milk, formula, or both, their hydration status shouldn’t be a cause of concern.

Giving your baby water before six months isn’t recommended for the following reasons.

1. Water feedings tend to fill up your baby, making them less interested in nursing. This could actually contribute to weight loss and elevated bilirubin levels.
2. Providing water to your newborn could result in water intoxication, which can dilute the other nutrient levels in the baby’s body.
3. Too much water causes their kidneys to flush out electrolytes, including sodium, leading to imbalances.

When your little one is at the stage where you’re introducing pureed solids, water could also be introduced.

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), once solids are introduced around 4 to 6 months, a baby’s milk intake reduces from a range of 30 to 42 ounces per day to around 28 to 32 ounces per day.

It all depends on how solids are introduced, what kinds of solids are introduced, and how often they’re being consumed. The goal for babies between 6 and 12 months is to ensure adequate nutrition intake and overall growth.

In order to effectively achieve this, introduce solids slowly and in multiple exposures. It’s acceptable to supplement with water at this time. However, assuming adequate formula or breast milk intake, your child may not need more than 2 to 4 ounces of water over a 24-hour period.

Water is traditionally introduced through a sippy cup. In this time period, as your child becomes more active, you may find that providing additional water in occasional instances is helpful.

Buy: Shop for a sippy cup.

Once your child is 12-months old, their milk intake will reduce, ideally to a maximum of 16 ounces per day.

At this stage, you may have established a routine involving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while introducing a variety of new foods. Due to the increased activity of your child, the reduced milk intake, and the varied food intake, water intake will naturally increase.

The CHOC Children’s hospital in Orange County, California recommends that a 1-year-old gets approximately one 8-ounce cup of water every day.

This amount increases each year. The number of 8-ounce cups an older child consumes each day should correspond with their age (up to a maximum of eight 8-ounce cups per day). For example, a two-year-old should consume two 8-ounce cups per day.

Staying hydrated can help your child have proper bowel movements and replenish any lost fluids.

For most children, all you need to do is provide frequent access to water and they will drink enough to meet their needs. If you seem to have trouble encouraging your child to consume water through a sippy cup, try these additional tips to ensure adequate hydration.

Encourage small, frequent sips

Offer small amounts of water throughout the day. Your child will be hydrated but not full from other fluids, which may affect their meal intake.

If you use diluted fruit juice, limit their intake to 4 ounces of pure juice per day.

Make fluids fun

Young kids seem to be intrigued by colors and shapes. You could use colorful cups and fun-shaped straws so that your little ones are excited about consuming water.

Buy: Shop for cups and straws.

Be mindful of weather and activity

Kids aren’t able to regulate their body temperature as easily as adults, so it’s harder for them to recover and cool off. Encourage fluid intake before, during, and after activities.

As a guideline, encourage at least 4 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes, or whenever a break happens. An ounce of water is equal to about one “gulp” from your little one.

Incorporate water-rich foods

Foods such as soups or fruits such as watermelon, oranges, and grapes are rich in water. You can also flavor water with lemon, lime, cucumber, or oranges to make it fun and tasty.

Your baby may be ready take their first sip of water at six months. However, it’s important to realize that newborns, infants, and toddlers have very different hydration than from adults.

What we’d expect ourselves to do in hot weather or during activity is quite different from what they would be encouraged to do. As long as you pay attention to your child’s activity and give them plenty of access to water after age 1, you’ll make appropriate decisions.

Anita Mirchandani, MS, RD, CDN, received a BA from NYU and an MS in clinical nutrition from NYU. After completing a dietetic internship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Anita became a practicing registered dietitian. Anita also maintains current fitness certifications in indoor cycling, kickboxing, group exercise, and personal training.

Should I give my child water from a bottle?

Many young mothers are interested in the question - is it necessary to give water to a newborn baby? In this case, the doctor gives a variety of advice - some argue that breastfed babies do not need additional water, others assure the opposite. To get an answer to this question, it is necessary to understand in more detail how and when the baby should be watered, and what water can be used for this.

Mother's breast milk, which the child receives from the first days of life, is both food and drink for him - it is known that on 90% it consists of water. Thus, the breastfed baby receives all the amount of fluid he needs. Thanks to special enzymes, mother's milk has a beneficial effect on the digestion process. In addition, the female body is able to independently adapt to the needs of the baby, regulating the composition of breast milk. When the baby needs more liquid, he begins to breastfeed more, thus receiving more foremilk (it is less saturated), which not only quenches thirst well, but also restores electrolyte balance.

If we take into account all of the above, we can decide that the baby does not need ordinary water as a drink at all. But in fact, sometimes it is necessary. However, giving water to a child who is not yet three months old is possible only on the recommendation of a pediatrician. Babies who are already 4 months old can drink water - this will not affect the breastfeeding process in any way. There are absolutely no contraindications to water if the baby drinks it with pleasure. On the contrary, you should be wary of a lack of fluids, which can cause much more harm to the child. We must not forget that newborns have a very fast metabolism, due to which the loss of moisture can be very significant.

Water for baby during breastfeeding

You can give your baby water from about 4-5 months. It is best to do this not during feeding, but between them. When the baby feels thirsty, he will gladly drink water from the bottle. As for the norm of fluid for a child, this is a very individual question. As a rule, pediatricians advise giving babies about 100 mg of liquid per 1 kg of body weight, while the liquid includes breast milk. Water in this case will be from 30 to 70 ml.

The baby can drink water from an ordinary bottle with a nipple, you can also use a spoon for this (it will help to accustom the child to complementary foods, which will be needed soon). However, the main rule to remember is that the baby must drink water voluntarily, in no case should he be forced to do so.

Mixed or formula-fed baby water

Artificial feeding has significant differences from natural feeding. The fact is that infant formula contains much more protein than mother's milk. A formula-fed baby has a special need for extra fluids. If you constantly give him a rich nutrient mixture, this can cause constipation. The additional water received by the baby will improve his well-being and contribute to the normal emptying of the intestines.

If the child is on mixed or artificial feeding, then you can start giving water to him a little earlier - already from 1 or 2 months of age. In this case, the water temperature should be cooler than the temperature of the nutrient mixture. Pediatricians assure that babies who are on artificial or mixed feeding definitely need water.

You can give your baby a drink immediately after eating. You can also drink it in between feedings. It is important to remember that babies have a very small stomach in volume, and they will not physically be able to drink a lot of water. It is enough to give him 2-3 teaspoons of water. Gradually, this dose can be slightly increased.

There are situations in which the need for additional liquid for the baby increases dramatically - for example, when the child has been in a room that is too dry for a long time, or has become slightly overheated. Some parents are too afraid of catching a cold while bathing, and maintain a high temperature in his room - because of this, the humidity in the room decreases, and the baby's body is dehydrated. To prevent this from happening, the air temperature in the baby's room should be maintained at 20 degrees, and the humidity should be between 50 and 70%.

If the air in the room is too dry, the child begins to breathe rapidly, swallowing becomes difficult and colic begins. With overheating, which most often occurs in summer, the baby sweats more, as a result of which the body loses moisture. Signs of dehydration can be signs such as dry skin and mucous membranes, as well as infrequent urination. Pediatricians agree that during illness, newborns need to be given water - for example, with colic, or at elevated temperature. The water in this case should be warm.

The child needs water in such cases:

• at a high temperature - you can give him a little drink from a spoon, and just moisten his lips with water;
• with diarrhea - you need to give the child a little drink, after which it is imperative to show it to the pediatrician;
• when there is fever without temperature - water can be given to the baby in a small amount;
• for constipation - the liquid will help to empty the intestines without discomfort for the child;
• when vomiting - water will prevent dehydration and cleanse the stomach;
• for hiccups - water will relieve spasm of the diaphragm, which happened from hypothermia, and also help to get rid of excess air in the stomach.

What kind of water should a baby drink?

Some parents are sure that only boiled water can be given to babies. Actually it is not. When water is boiled, not all bacteria die in it. And in the composition of such water there are chloride compounds that are extremely harmful to babies. Water obtained from open sources can be no less dangerous, as it contains bacteria from the soil and nitrates. In no case should children be given carbonated or mineral medicinal water with a complex chemical composition. Water purified by home filters is also not suitable for babies.

Where can you get water that will not harm the child? It is best to buy it in a pharmacy. Special water for babies is labeled on the bottle, it contains the optimal amount of minerals for the baby. Water from the pharmacy does not need to be boiled, but after opening it can be stored for no more than a day, and only in the refrigerator. It is best to immediately pour such water into a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.

Which water purification methods can be used for a baby?

The most economical and easiest option to provide your baby with high-quality drinking water is to buy a special "children's" water filter. This can be a jug-type device - it is inexpensive, it is very easy to use such a filter, and the degree of water purification is very high - the device effectively removes chlorine, bacteria, pesticides and particles of mechanical impurities from ordinary tap water. For the manufacture of such filters, only high-quality safe plastic is used, which is approved by pediatricians. Water purified in this way can be used not only for feeding the baby, but also for preparing various decoctions and infant formulas.

Can I give my baby water during hiccups?

What is hiccups? This is an involuntary contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm and larynx. Babies are especially susceptible to hiccups, since their diaphragm muscles are characterized by increased excitability. Hypothermia, air entering the stomach, nervous overexcitation and accumulation of gases in the intestines often lead to hiccups.

As soon as a child has hiccups, you need to immediately eliminate its cause. If the baby is cold, it needs to be warmed up. In order for air to come out of the stomach, the baby should be held in a “column”. A few sips of warm water will also help to cope with hiccups.

It is necessary to give water to a child with hiccups, as this measure will quickly eliminate the cause of discomfort.

If you do everything right and give water to the baby only when he really needs it, then there will be no harm - on the contrary, the child will receive the necessary amount of fluid for the normal functioning of the body.

Information about higher organizations

Ministry of Health of the Russian FederationOfficial portal of the Mayor and the Government of MoscowDepartment of labor and social protection of the population of the city of Moscow: on Mondays from 15. 00 to 18.00Department of health of MoscowDepartment of RosZdravNadzor for the city of Moscow and the Moscow region: Mon - Thu: 9:00 - 17:45, Fri: 9:00 - 16:30, Sat - Sun: days off Office of Rospotrebnadzor for the city of MoscowFKU Main Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise for the city of Moscow: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 8.30 to 17.30 .Directorate for coordinating the activities of medical organizations DZMMosvolunter. Responsible person for cooperation with volunteer organizations: Adylov Seyran Midatovich, tel. +7 499-250-01-75

Information for the public

Assessment of the quality of servicesIndependent assessment of the quality of services provided by medical organizationsQuestionnaire for assessing the quality of services provided by medical organizations on an outpatient basisDrugsCrowdsourcing projects of the Government of MoscowAmbulance and Emergency Medical Service in the City of MoscowAssistance Center for Medical WorkersMoscow City Compulsory Medical Insurance FundInsurance companiesFederal budgetary healthcare institution " Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Moscow "Official resource of the Healthy Russia program. " Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated August 10, 2017 N 514n "List of studies during preventive medical examinations of minors" List of drugs dispensed free of charge and with a 50% discount List of categories of citizens persons entitled to receive state social assistanceOn the list of documents required for issuing prescriptionsOn the list of pharmacy organizations for the disabled

Ask a question to the Chief Physician!

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Water while breastfeeding - is it necessary to give water to a newborn

Disputes about whether a breastfed baby should be supplemented with water, are for many years. In fact, it is quite easy to understand this issue.

Spring water Valio still, 1.5 l Read more

What should be remembered first of all? Your task is to prevent dehydration of the baby's body, the child should in no case experience a lack of water, in which the developing child's body needs more than an adult. It is important to understand whether the received mother's milk is enough, or whether there is a need to supplement the child additionally.

Nature made sure that the newborn did not experience a shortage of fluid. Mother's milk for almost 90% consists of water. Thus, on breastfeeding, the baby receives both drink and food at the same time. Pay attention to how the baby is attached to the breast. If literally for a few minutes, it means that he just wanted to drink. The first milk is more liquid, but what comes later (“hind”) is thick and nutritious. If breastfeeding is well established, the baby is healthy and active, the first months of the need for supplementation may not arise at all.

Factors indicating that the baby does not have enough water supplied with mother's milk: rare urination (up to 6 months of age, the baby should write 20-25 times a day), dry mucous membranes, tongue, skin. Special cases - malaise of the child. When an infant has diarrhea or a fever (and consequently increased sweating), he needs more water. In principle, milk can also fill this need of the child's body, but this does not always happen. You do not need to pour water into the baby, but you must offer it, if the child does not need additional liquid, he will simply refuse it.

Pediatricians do not recommend giving water while breastfeeding unnecessarily for a number of reasons:

• The baby has a very small stomach, there is still not enough room for both milk and water. The child may not be getting enough nutrients because his stomach is full.

• For good milk production, it is important to put the baby to the breast as often as possible. Do not replace these moments with additional soldering.

• It is easier for a baby to suck on a bottle nipple than a breast. Therefore, the baby may begin to refuse feeding.

• The extra water puts more stress on the baby's urinary system, making it difficult for the kidneys to handle both milk and water.

All of the above applies to babies up to six months. As soon as complementary foods appear in the life of the baby, water should also appear in the diet. Pediatricians recommend using special baby water for this. No need to give boiled, it does not contain important trace elements. And once again we remind you - do not force the baby to drink, just offer. Some babies don't need water until 9.-12 months, getting the required amount of liquid from milk.

#PROMO_BLOCK#

In order for milk to meet all the needs of the child, it is important for a woman to drink enough water herself. In the body of a young mother, 1-1.5 milk is produced daily, which means that your usual drinking regimen should increase by 1 liter of fluid. Choose only quality water, such as Valio spring water from Finland* with a balanced mineral composition and pure taste.

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