Water is essential for everyone's health, both little and small. But sometimes it can be difficult to get your kid's to actually drink enough water each day.  It is even more important to get them to drink water when they are active, as our bodies lose water at a much greater rate when exercising. 

So how can you help your kids stay hydrated?  Follow the tips and tricks below to get your kids on track to drinking more water every day. 

1. Start Early

Did you know that you can start teaching your baby to drink water on their own at 6 months?  If you can start training your child to drink water on their own early, you are setting them up for success in the future.  You can start up with a soft tiny cup like this one to help them learn safely. 

Follow this guide on how to start the process.  

2. Make it Fun

If you can make the process of drinking water more fun, then you are well on the way to ensuring your kids will stay hydrated.  Make it a game - assign stickers or other rewards for each cup of water they drink.  Get a fun cup or straw to make drinking water more interesting to your toddler.  Add some fruit or natural (no sweeteners) flavoring to their drinks to make drinking more appealing.  

3. Set a Good Example

It's going to be extremely difficult to help your children drink more water everyday if you yourself don't drink enough.  Make sure you are drinking enough every day, get a glass of water every time you have your child drink, bring water bottles for both of you when you go out.  Setting a good example and showing your children that you have healthy habits will make it much more likely that they imitate you and se them up for success.

4. Make Water accessible

The easier you make it for your child to get their own drinks, the more likely they will get water more often.  If your kids don't have a way to get their own drinks they will be reliant on having to ask someone else, and most likely not drink as much.  Get a water pitcher that you keep full on the counter, have cups where they can easily reach them. 

You can use these magnetic cups to label each persons name on a cup and stick them right to the fridge for easy water access for the entire family (bonus, less dishes as you can reuse them).  You will be surprised by how often your toddlers will get drinks of water if they have easy access.

How much Water do they need each day?

Kids ages 4-8 should be drinking around 5 8oz servings of water per day.  Using these methods you should be able to help your kids get up to this amount easily and set them up with healthy water drinking habits.