With a long hot summer ahead of the southern hemisphere all thoughts are turning to school holidays, beaches and long days in the sun. This is a great time of the year, especially for children, but also a dangerous time for heatstroke and dehydration.
Particular care must be taken that children and older individuals do not spend too much time in the sun and that they hydrate sufficiently even if they are indoors.
How To Keep Your Children Hydrated This Summer!
It is important to take extra precautions to look after our little ones, and while this includes ensuring that they stay out of the sun, especially during the peak hours of between 11am and 2pm. Applying a sunblock with a pH of at least 30 is also important, as is wearing a wide-brimmed hat, but keeping hydrated is of prime importance.
Here are some easy tips on keeping your children hydrated this summer:
Drink Mostly Water: Soft drink, sports drinks, and fruit juices are all favourites in summer, but they contain a lot of sugar, which will further dehydrate children’s bodies. The best option by far is to drink plain water; it is also the cheapest option.
Eat Water-Rich Fruit: Many fruits like watermelon, berries and bananas have very high water content and are great source of liquid. Keep your fruit cold so that it is a nice refreshing snack.
Make Water Exciting: Most children find drinking plain water too boring, so try make it interesting by adding fresh or frozen fruit; pop slices of oranges, lemons or lime, berries or watermelon into your ice-cube tray and fill with water to create colourful ice-cubes that will both keep the water cool and melt over time adding vitamins to the water.
Make Water Accessible: Children will drink when they’re thirsty if there is something accessible to drink. Place water bottles are within easy reach for them; make sure you always pack a water bottle when heading out or to the beach.
Set a Good Example: Teach your children the importance of drinking water by setting a good example; take regular water breaks together, invest in a water cooler, or buy matching water bottles.
Use Straws and Drink Bottles. Make drinking fun with special straws for children that come in various squiggly shapes, or really long ones. Also pick a fun, bright water bottle.
Get water cooler accessories or home water cooler for your office or home. Purchase water coolers online or rent water coolers from Living-Water Ltd.
