Water power at home

Dear families, this week your child learned how water helps their body and how to find sugar on a drink label. Here's how to keep it going at home.

Three easy challenges

Be a label detective together. Pick a drink in your kitchen. Find Includes Added Sugars, divide the grams by 4, and see how many teaspoons it is.
Water first. Have your child fill a favorite cup or bottle and keep it nearby at meals, after school and after play.
Check the color. Ask your child to notice their pee color at home. Pale yellow, like lemonade, is a good sign. Dark yellow means a drink of water.

Sugar in teaspoons

Every 4 grams of sugar is about 1 teaspoon. The American Heart Association says kids ages 2 to 18 should have less than 6 teaspoons (25 g) of added sugar in a whole day. Experts recommend no added sugar before age 2.

What to drink

Every day: water and plain milk.
Sometimes: 100% juice in small amounts (4 oz a day for ages 1 to 3).
Skip when you can: soda, juice drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks.

Call your child's doctor if

they won't drink for more than a few hours,
they are vomiting a lot or have diarrhea that won't stop,
they seem very sleepy, have sunken eyes, or have barely peed all day.

Scan a label any time at healthyhydrationforkids.com/kids-drink-label-checker.

Healthy Hydration for Children. Sample draft, not yet reviewed by a medical professional. General education, not medical advice. Sponsored by ShineWater.