Does your child drink enough water?

In recent years, as public health officials have worked to combat childhood obesity, they have encouraged parents to reduce children’s intake of sugary drinks. The American Heart Association says kids should drink no more than 8-ounces of sugar-sweetened drinks per week. That’s less than a single can of soda (12 ounces) or a sports drink (typically 20 ounces) in a given week.

Both parents and kids are heeding the advice to avoid sugary beverages, and as a result, such drinks are falling out of fashion. Yes, kids are drinking less soda, but here’s the important question: are they drinking enough water? Surprisingly, the answer is often no.

Researchers at Harvard University found that many kids, ages six to 19, are insufficiently hydrated. They learned this by analyzing a national volunteer health survey that included urine analysis. When a person’s urine shows a high saline content, it’s an indicator that he or she needs to drink more fluids, including water.

“This doesn’t mean that we’re saying that kids are dropping like flies or that they are very seriously dehydrated and need to go to the hospital,” explains Erica Kenney, the lead researcher in the project, to NPR. “But a lot of kids are going through their days in this state of mild dehydration, and that could be affecting how they feel throughout the day.”

Further, Kenney says she and her colleagues uncovered another astounding statistic: approximately 25 percent of the kids surveyed never drink water.

There are various factors to consider, but in general, children should drink approximately two to three quarts of water a day. Kids with a high level of activity, like playing soccer on a hot summer day, require even more. Parents.com recommends giving kids water when they work up a sweat, so “they continue to associate plain water—not sports drinks or soda—with quenching their thirst.”

The Coway Aquamega 100 provides fresh, clean water for kids and parents alike every day. It’s easy to install at home and reduces drinking water contaminants by up to 99.9 percent. The triple-filter system is a safe, delicious and convenient way to ensure that kids get enough water throughout their day.