by Robert Keith, R.D.

Now that summer is here and my children are playing outside more, I am worried about keeping them hydrated. How do I know they are drinking enough liquids?

You are wise to pay attention to your children’s drinking needs during the summer months. Young children (prior to the teen years) do not adapt to the heat as well as do adults. On hot days, children tend to take on more heat and have greater difficulty getting rid of body heat as compared with adults. In addition, children often do not feel the need to drink even when they are becoming somewhat dehydrated. So having a good summer drinking plan for your children is wise.

Kids need to drink before, during and after they are going out to play or participate in sports. You also need to make sure they drink on some type of schedule over which you, the parent, has control. As stated, thirst is not a good indicator of dehydration in young children. So, generally the child will not drink enough if left on their own.

Plain water is always a good choice for rehydration. However, studies have shown that children will generally drink more if the beverage is cold and has some flavor. While any beverage that you give your child will contain water and provide for rehydration, recent health-related research has shown that giving a lot of certain types of drinks may not be good for your child for reasons unrelated to hydration.

Because so many children are now overweight or at risk for being overweight, giving them drinks with lots of calories—such as sodas, whole milk, fruit juices and other highly sweetened fruit-flavored beverages—may not be good rehydration choices. In addition, frequent consumption of highly sweetened drinks may promote tooth decay in children.

Overall, the best beverage choices to give your child during these hot summer months would be plain water or some type of unsweetened or lightly sweetened flavored water, lightly sweetened lemonade, low-fat milk (you can put a little chocolate in it if needed), or sports drinks that contain about 50-60 calories per cup. If the child is old enough to be in school and it is in the middle of the day you also might be able to give a little unsweetened or lightly sweetened brewed tea. However, tea does contain caffeine and this may not be good for some children, especially as evening approaches.

Fruit juices are very nutritious and you should include about 4 ounces of 100% fruit juice in your child’s diet every day. However, fruit juices can contain a lot of calories, therefore, the consumption of juice should be limited to help prevent your child from becoming overweight and to help pro t e c t his/her teeth.

Dr. Robert Keith is a professor and Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutrition specialist at the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Auburn University.