Does Your Family Drink Enough Water?
What’s enough water really . . . enough to quench your little one’s thirst? Enough to hold a ‘mom’ over between jetting from work to the school pick up line to the house? We have all been told it’s 8 whole cups a day, and according to a recent Nestlé®Pure Life® survey*, moms and kids aren’t getting near enough water for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Survey results showed that 54% of all school-aged children are inadequately hydrated. This shockingly high number alarmed Nestle® Pure Life®, and they’re creating efforts to reduce it. Nestlé® Pure Life® has committed to provide nearly one million 8 ounce servings of water to kids this school year through After-School All-Stars. Additionally, they’re helping consumers keep their own families hydrated with information and tips on PureLifeRippleEffect.com.
Truth of the matter is, it’s hard! Work schedules, school commitments, and packed calendars leave busy moms and kids grabbing snacks and drinks that are convenient and won’t cause a fuss – that can mean getting enough water can take a backseat.
Moms, you are not alone! Follow these 3 MUSTS for bringing water and hydration to the forefront of your family’s healthy lifestyle:
1. Make drinking water a habit: The Nestlé® Pure Life® survey revealed that reminders to drink water are necessary to ensure that kids (and moms) get enough. A whopping 33% of kids say they find it hard to remember to drink water without reminders while less than half (48%) of moms regularly remind their child to drink water. This disparity highlights a real need for both mom and kid to make a habit of drinking water more regularly. Some solutions? Try:
- Drinking a cup at key times during the day: At breakfast, at afternoon snack afterschool, with dinner and before bed are easy times to remember to drink one full glass of water each.
- Setting reminders on your phone: A simple alert or reminder on your eCalendar or smartphone can give busy moms that gentle nudge they need to drink water regularly.
- Make a checklist: What better way to succeed at building a water-drinking habit than to check off your water-break checklist during the day! Gamify the experience for kids with rewards like extra time to play outside or getting to help cook dinner.
2. Encourage kids to CHOOSE water over other beverages: Whether it’s at soccer practice or out to eat with Grandma and Grandpa, the choice to drink water over a sugary sports drink or soda can be a tough one for kids. The Nestlé® Pure Life® found that:
- Kids who drink less than 4 glasses of water a day are more likely to request soda, juice, and sports drinks (76%)
- 25% of kids surveyed age 6-12 choose soda as their preferred drink, while 23% choose water.
- Kids are most likely to choose a drink other than water at restaurants (54% soda) and celebrations (58% soda).
The choice to drink water is a choice to affect a healthy lifestyle and future healthy choices. Encouraging kids to drink water can include things like a ‘water first’ policy when eating out, asking other caretakers and grandparents to enforce healthy water-drinking habits, and teaching kids about why their choice of water makes them healthier (and happier!).
3. Find creative ways to get kids to drink water: 38% of moms surveyed said that drinking water is one of the biggest “healthy habit” struggles they have with their kids - even more than struggles like “eat your fruit” (29%), “get enough exercise” (23%), and “eat your breakfast” (19%). With this in mind,
- Drink out of bottles: The Nestlé® Pure Life® survey found that 84% of moms say bottled water is a convenient way to ensure their child is drinking water. Extra bottles in the car and pantry are a great way to
- Get creative: Add fun straws to your child’s glass of water or seek out water bottle packaging with relevant graphics and characters that appeal to your child and can encourage them to drink more water.
- Pack a water-filled lunch: A majority of kids surveyed said they prefer a homemade lunch (57%) over a school bought lunch. This preference for packed lunches offers a key hydration opportunity for moms – packing a bottle of water can help increase a child’s water intake for the day
Join the PureLifeRippleEffect today!
Use hashtag #pureliferippleeffect on social media and join Nestle on facebook and Instagram.
*Nestlé®Pure Life® conducted an online survey in June 2015 of 1,077 moms of kids ages 6-12 overall, including 254 Hispanic moms of kids ages 6-12. 1,077 kids ages 6-12 from the same household were also surveyed, including 254 Hispanic kids ages 6-12.
