Author: The EatingFor Team

It’s time to welcome in the sunny days of summer, but as temperatures rise, so too does your child’s need for fluid. Since staying well hydrated is essential for peak performance (both mental and physical), there’s no better time to focus on helping your child consume an adequate intake of water. Read on for three ways to ensure your child stays well-hydrated this summer and all year long.

1. Know how much water is enough

When you think of your child’s water intake, you may think of drinking water or other beverages. Many parents do. Yet, foods like fruits and vegetables, soups, yogurts and the like also contribute to your child’s daily water intake.

For this reason, nutrition experts often talk about “total water intake.” That is, the amount your child consumes every day from both foods (about 25%) and beverages (about 75%).

For example, the National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine) recommends young girls and boys, age 4 to 8 years, get about 7 cups of total water per day (5 cups from drinking water and other beverages).

Older girls and boys, age 9 to 13 years, need a bit more, about 9 to 10 cups of total water per day with most of it (7 to 8 cups) from drinking water or other beverages.

2. Take a practical approach

While the National Academy of Medicine’s recommended water guidelines are good advice, they’re not the most practical. A more practical approach is to encourage your child to be a scientist.

Before flushing, ask your child to take a quick peek at the color of their urine in the toilet bowl. If it’s dark like the color of apple juice, it’s likely a sign of dehydration, and they need to drink more water.

If it’s only slightly yellow like the color of lemonade, then your child is likely well hydrated. Other signs of dehydration are smelly urine or the ability to produce only a small amount of it.

3. Learn the exceptions to the rule

There are a few exceptions to these urine color and smell rules. For example, if your child recently took a multivitamin, the results may be skewed. Why? Many multivitamins contain riboflavin, a B vitamin that can turn urine bright yellow. Likewise, eating beets will produce urine with a reddish hue.

In addition, some people who eat asparagus say they have very smelly urine. It’s normal and appears to depend on their genetic makeup.

In one large population study, researchers point to variations in genes associated with smell (olfactory receptor genes), which can make some people especially good at sniffing out asparagus metabolites in urine. In other words, these people have a more finely tuned sense of smell that’s better at detecting the stinky stuff.

Here’s to a well-hydrated June!

Co-authors of Eating for A’s

P.S. Like this tip? For more, check out Eating for A’s: A month-by-month nutrition and lifestyle guide to help raise smarter kids. Kindergarten to 6th grade. (Second Edition)

P.S.S. Need goal tracking forms? You’ll find a full set in Eating for A’s—one for each pre-set monthly goal and extra credit. We call them My Smart Tracker forms. You can call them one of the easiest ways to help your kids reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond.