Healthy drinks for children: more than just water
Discover healthy drinks for children! From infused water to smoothies – tasty alternatives to sugar bombs for little gourmets. Read now!
Water march! This should be the motto for our little ones’ fluid intake. But as parents, it’s not always easy to ensure that children drink enough every day. This blog post reveals what is important when choosing a drink, how you can motivate your children to drink and what the right amount of liquid is.
The simplest and best drink for your children is water. It is free of sugar and calories, provides optimal hydration and is usually available at all times. It’s a good idea to teach children to drink water regularly from an early age, especially when they are thirsty. Beautiful drinking bottles or colorful glasses can help to make drinking water more exciting (and therefore more popular). If your children don’t like the taste of plain water, you can spice it up with fresh fruit such as lemon or orange slices – this will keep it free from sugar but not from taste.
In addition to water, there is another and slightly more exciting drink choice for children that is also sugar-free and low in calories: unsweetened herbal and fruit teas. They are a wonderful alternative to water and can provide variety, especially in the cold season. Chamomile, fennel or lemon balm are mild and are ideal for children. Mate, green and black teas are not suitable for children due to their caffeine or tea content.
Homemade smoothies can be a great way to introduce children to more fruit and vegetables. They are full of vitamins and nutrients, but should be considered a snack and not a main drink as they also contain fructose. They should not be seen as a thirst quencher, but rather as a snack.
…the same applies to fruit juices. These are very popular with children, but caution is advised here. Depending on the product, pure fruit juices contain vitamins, but also a lot of sugar. They should therefore not be included in the daily diet. A good alternative is to dilute juices with water. A mixing ratio of 1 part juice to 3 parts water is ideal. This way, your children can enjoy the taste of juice without consuming too much sugar.
Lemonades, energy drinks and sugary soft drinks should be at the bottom of the list of drinks for children. They contain large amounts of sugar and caffeine, which can lead to obesity, tooth decay and sleep problems. Even supposedly healthy “sports drinks” are usually unnecessary for children and also contain a lot of sugar.
Finally, there is also the question of how much should children drink? The German Nutrition Society recommends that children between the ages of 3 and 6 should drink around 800 ml to 1 liter of liquid per day. Children between the ages of 7 and 10 need around 1 to 1.2 liters a day. Of course, the requirement can vary depending on the level of activity and the weather. On hot days or after sport, it is important that your children drink a little more.
Try out different ways to make drinking exciting and observe which drinks your children like best. This will ensure that drinking becomes a pleasant habit and that your little ones grow up healthy and happy.
Discover healthy drinks for children! From infused water to smoothies – tasty alternatives to sugar bombs for little gourmets. Read now!