Any parent that has spoken only in Spanish to their child from birth can tell you that one of their baby’s full and intentional words to come out of his mouth was “Agua,” the word for water in Spanish. Yes, it’s an easier word for them to pronounce in Spanish, but it’s also one they have heard repeatedly for six months or so since they started drinking water. It’s also one of the first words that gets them exactly what they need as soon as they blurt it out: ¡Agua!
Water is essential for the healthy growth of babies after 6 months of age. Once my girl could start drinking water and juices, I opted to get her hooked on water and tried to avoid any other drinks, other than breast milk and, later, milk. She could have agua anytime she wanted and she would indulge in it. The word agua quenched her thirst and also gave her joy anytime she could splash in it.
Now that she’s a five year-old girl, she’s adamant about making her own decisions. Now, jugo (juice) is requested just as much, so we had to establish limits to make sure she gets plenty of water in her system. We have no problem with her drinking juice in moderation, because we want her to make her own choices. However, we know water is best and want to encourage her choices!
Some tricks and tips we’ve used to get her drinking more water are:
- No juice after dinner time. Sometimes we’ll let her have some juice with her meal as a treat, but we always encourage water after 6pm.
- Only water in her lunchbox. The school encourages that no juice is sent in their packs to avoid sticky spills. If she wants, she can buy a juice box in the cafeteria and that’s fine.
- Always carry a refillable water bottle every where we go. One of my biggest pet peeves ever are disposable plastic water bottles. I just don’t get why anyone needs to spend so much money on those and then add to the mountains of garbage in our environment. After trying several (and uber-expensive!) water bottles, we’re loving the Brita Bottle for Kids because it comes with a built-in filter so she can refill anytime she wants….and on her own! She loves that not-needing-mommy part!
- Always carry a refillable water bottle myself. Kids learn better by imitating us, so I make sure to set the example. I love water and it’s always my first choice, so it’s not something difficult to do at all.
Share with me in the comments below, any tips and tricks you do to get your child to drink more agua and you could win one of three Brita Bottle for Kids! Details below.
Disclosure: Clorox is providing the prizes for this giveaway at no cost to us. This program or blog content is not administered or sponsored by Clorox and its affiliates, but solely by us. We have received compensation for this post, but all stories and opinions are our own.
My son actually requests to drink water so I’m lucky there but I do worry about him spilling the bottles of water because he never puts the lid back on. The Brita Water Bottles would stop that. =)
I subscribed! You have a very cute blog. =)