How to make drinking water fun for kids

Are your attempts to get your kids to drink more water met with groans of, “I’m not thirsty!”? Keeping the smallest members of the family well hydrated is essential to keep them happy and healthy, but who says that it can’t be fun too? 

From exciting water games and tasty infused water recipes, to making your kids hydration heroes, we’ll dive into some splash-tastic tips and tricks to have your kids excited and eager to grab their water bottles! 

Make aquatic adventures fun

Turn drinking water into an unforgettable voyage by creating aquatic adventures that’ll make their eyes sparkle with glee. How? Think water relay races where you race to be the first to fill up your water bottle or bucket using an egg cup, or a contest to see who can make the biggest splash using different objects! 

Organise a water-themed Olympics right in your backyard, with friendly competitions and teamwork to keep the kids engaged. Just remember to keep it light hearted and not too serious, as it’s all about creating unforgettable memories with your kids… with the added bonus of instilling the importance of hydration through play!

Spice up their water with different flavours

What’s the fastest way to make water more fun? Add flavour! DIY infused water concoctions are quick, easy and turn boring water into a visual and taste sensation. They are also fantastic if your kids just don’t like the way the water tastes – the amount of taste buds you have decreases as you get older, so they could be tasting things you aren’t. 

Get them to pick their favourite fresh fruits, veggies and herbs, pop some pieces into a reusable cup of cold water and leave to infuse their flavour into the water for around 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. The kids will also love naming their cool creations –  imagine sipping on a zesty lemon-lime potion, a glistering melon slice, or a berry-tastic blast! 

With a rainbow of colourful and delicious combos to try, like strawberry and thyme, orange, lime and cucumber, rosemary and raspberry, or blueberry and basil,  your kids will be asking for “water with a twist” in no time!

Make the kids ‘hydration heroes’

Attention all superheroes! Did you know kids respond like magic when given special roles? Kids love being the ones in charge for a change, so why not take advantage of that and promote them to “Hydration Hero”? 

Give them the responsibility to keep themselves and their siblings hydrated! It’s a win-win situation: they get to be the boss and you ensure they’re drinking enough water. Cue the heroic music and watch their thirst-quenching mission begin!

Make drinking water a fun game

Level up the fun by gamifying the act of drinking water! What could be more exciting than a competitive game of Guess that Flavour where their taste buds are the detectives. Add subtle hints of various flavours to separate water bottles, like mint, lemon, blackcurrant, or cucumber, and let the kids play to guess the ingredients.

Gamification makes them focus on the fun, stimulating their taste buds, their minds, and their imaginations! They’ll have so much fun they’ll forget they’re drinking water. It’s a tasty and exciting challenge that’ll have them sipping their way to victory!

Put surprises in their ice cubes

Sometimes the reason our little ones avoid drinking water can be as simple as water temperature. This could be a sensory preference unique to your child (for instance only liking warm water even if the weather is warm) or it could just be that they prefer the refreshing joy of sipping an icy cold beverage on a sweltering summer day. 

Here’s an icy cool idea: freeze small fruit pieces inside ice cubes to add a touch of excitement to iced drinking water. It’s like a trove of hidden treasure waiting to be discovered with every sip. Your little adventurers will be eager to hydrate and reveal the surprises hidden within.

And there you have it, folks! From thrilling aquatic adventures to tasty flavour fests and icy surprises, you’ve got an ocean of options to keep your little ones hydrated and happy. So, let’s banish those “I’m not thirsty” blues, raise our cups and toast to a summer of hydration fun that’ll leave everyone saying H2-Woah!