Help! My 17-month-olds don't like to drink fluids

I don't know if they're still kind of freaked out from their reflux days or what, but my 17-month-old twins don't like to drink fluids, and they seem to be getting worse about it. They don't like slightly watered-down juice or really watered-down juice or water or milk or Pediasure...I've tried different kinds of juice. I've tried various sippy cups. Nothing seems to be attractive to them. I worry about them getting dehydrated. Their diapers are wet, but they could be wetter. I try to give them applesauce, soups and other foods with fluid, but it seems like they should drink more.

Has anyone else dealt with this? How do I entice them to drink more fluids? TIA

 

Will they drink from a straw? Maybe they would think it was neat to drink from a straw.

 

How about plain water? In a straw sippy? We have our kids' (water) sippies lined up on the edge of the kitchen counter where they can reach them. This way they have access to the cups whenever they want a drink. I also keep my cup behind theirs. Most of the time I walk by the counter, I get a drink. Inevitably, one or more of the kids are following me around and I just offer them their cups, wait for them to drink and then put it back on on the counter. No fanfare, just water. Sometimes they will get a drink by themselves. HTH

 

I tried the straw sippy. They didn't like it. <_<

I'll try plain water though. I thought the juice would entice, but maybe they just don't like it at all. How much extra water do yours have in a day?

They are good with their final milks of the day, but daytime drinking holds no interest for them...

Thank you for your input.

 

My girls don't like milk or juice, but they drink water. The love seltzer (they call it "zing water", and it's not bad for them so I let them have that once a day. The only other thing I can think of is to change the temp. by adding ice or warming the drink. The insist on COLD water. How about juice popsicles?

 

Oh, I forgot to add that my girls really liked to "help" at that age. So, can you get a small container (like a measuring cup) and let them pour a little in their cup (with your help). If they get to pour just enouhg to take a sip, it might be fun enough forthem to want to pour another sip and have more to drink.

 

Have you tried a water bottle, like cyclists use? It can get a little messy because they leak if they get dropped, but kids as young as 12 months can drink from them, and they seem to really enjoy it.

My DDs go back and forth between wanting sippies, "big girl cups," or water bottles. For the bottles, we make them sit right down on the kitchen floor (unless it's mealtime and they're strapped in their seats), drink, and give the bottles right back to us when they're done. That minimizes puddles.

Yours are also probably old enough to use an open cup (at least if you hold it for them), and they might enjoy that.

 

Mine are water drinkers. At that age they did not like juice a whole lot (now is a different story). Also, try the sports sippers or the bottled water with the sport sipper tops. You may also want to try something like The Lil Topper which goes directly onto the water bottles, but is spill proof.

 

Ours haven't had juice since they were about 6 months old, but they do have a straw sippy of water available to them at all times. I would try the plain water. I know around here they really love it when I add a couple of ice cubes to their sippies, I think they like the noise it makes.

 

Mine sometimes are just too "busy" to bother with drinking anything so what I found owrks is to make sure I have thier water sippies with me when we are in the car, stroller, etc where they are confined and they tend to drink alot!!

HTH

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Feb 27 2008, 03:10 PM) [snapback]643426[/snapback]
Yours are also probably old enough to use an open cup (at least if you hold it for them), and they might enjoy that.


Ours sometime really like big girl cups (we use the short sippy cup w/o the lids). It can be messy so is best done in outfits they will soon be changed out of (like just before bed) to start, but they'll get good at it quickly (if they are interested).