FLUID INTAKE - IS THIS NORMAL?!?!?

[mummyme]

Hi all,

I look after a 2 year old (x). He drinks and drinks as if he is never given fluid at home! When he is with me, almost his first words in the morning are 'juice'. He drinks from a tommy tippee cup and the other day I actually counted how many he has. He had 14 cupfuls on Wednesday alone. (He is here 08:00 til 17:00). Yesterday I measured the amount and he drank 1.5 litres which is the amount an adult should drink. If i try to give him water he won't drink it and does his nut! He will gulp down a whole cup of juice then ask for another. If I say 'in a minute' we have a crying fit. I spoke to his Dad about this and he said that of a weekend he tends to have about three cups per day.

Why is he doing this at my house and what do you think I should do. I know that at home they give him a lot of snacks because they feel guitly for working so maybe that is why he doesn't drink so much at home, as he is too busy eating?

Also, I like to switch the television off during the day as it drives me mad and also I believe in doing the childminding myself and not leaving the tv to do it.

He does not accept this at all and asks me so many times during the day for Peppa Pig. If I cannot produce this we have a crying tantrum, if he just has to wait until after the adverts, he will have a crying fit. The older children might be watching something when they come in from school and he will say 'no, peppa pig' and have a further crying fit when i say no.

I get the impression that at home he is stuck in front of dvds whenever he wants them for a quiet life. Suggestions please.

It may all sound silly but the child is starting to drive me nuts and I dread him coming here. I woke up with a spring in my step this morning that even my dh noticed as he does not come here on a friday! :(

[Cammie Doodle]

Have you tried giving him his 1st cup of juice normal strength and then every cup he has dilute it more and more, some kids drink out of habit Im sure, using cup a bit like a dummy. I have tried just water and that did not work, but the very weak dilution seems to :blush:

[mummyme]

Have you tried giving him his 1st cup of juice normal strength and then every cup he has dilute it more and more, some kids drink out of habit Im sure, using cup a bit like a dummy. I have tried just water and that did not work, but the very weak dilution seems to :blush:

Thanks for the spedy reply :)

I've tried that but he hands it back to me and has, yes you've guessed it another crying fit!

[foxy lady]

for me the answer to this would be simple,
1, i would have a no tv policy and just not put the tv on atall while he was at my house, he would soon stop crying for it when he realises that you do not have the tv on at all, you say you dont have him on a friday so you could have it on for a while as a treat for the other children on a friday. we very rarely have the tv on here and when we do its a real treat for the children

2, i would only allow 1 cup of juice at mealtimes the rest of the day he could have much water as he wants if he screams and wants juice i would tell him he has to wait till mealtimes for juice, never change your mind or give in to his screams and again he will soon learn that these are the rules and they are not going to change

i think you will have a week or 2 that is a battle of will but im sure it will pass and BOTH of you will be much happier, this child will not be thirsty as he will be drinking at mealtimes and going without tv at yours can only be a good thing if he watches lots at home

[mummyme]

for me the answer to this would be simple,
1, i would have a no tv policy and just not put the tv on atall while he was at my house, he would soon stop crying for it when he realises that you do not have the tv on at all, you say you dont have him on a friday so you could have it on for a while as a treat for the other children on a friday. we very rarely have the tv on here and when we do its a real treat for the children

2, i would only allow 1 cup of juice at mealtimes the rest of the day he could have much water as he wants if he screams and wants juice i would tell him he has to wait till mealtimes for juice, never change your mind or give in to his screams and again he will soon learn that these are the rules and they are not going to change

i think you will have a week or 2 that is a battle of will but im sure it will pass and BOTH of you will be much happier, this child will not be thirsty as he will be drinking at mealtimes and going without tv at yours can only be a good thing if he watches lots at home

You speak a lot of sense :)

My one worry would be that if he will not drink the water, am i going against the fact that we need to keep a child hydrated or do you think he will give in and just drink the water if he is that thirsty. I really appreciate your advice and would love you to assist me for a week????? :thumbsup:

[nipper]

Is he the only child you look after? If he is then it's hard to ignore, but if there are other children around, slightly easier. I have a 16month old who will only drink blackcurrant squash not even water (her poor teeth). My nearly one year old however is only allowed water. I would try diluting it, making it even weaker. If he's thirsty enough he'll drink it. Try drinks only at meal times too, even though you probably provide readily available drinks, don't just leave his cup where he can reach it easily (iyswim)

My two year old drinks from a proper cup sometimes with a straw. Maybe you could try this and he's not having to sip as hard to get the fluid out.

As for the TV a definite no no during the day...

Stick to your guns. Your business your rules!

[foxy lady]

You speak a lot of sense :)

My one worry would be that if he will not drink the water, am i going against the fact that we need to keep a child hydrated or do you think he will give in and just drink the water if he is that thirsty. I really appreciate your advice and would love you to assist me for a week????? :thumbsup:

if you are giving him juice at mealtimes he will be getting enough fluids im sure and i would fill a beaker with a lid for him with water show him where it is and leave it somewher he can reach it if he wants it. if he wants it he can have it but he dosnt dont worry , you are more than covering your duty of care drinks are avialble at mealtimes and water for the rest of the day. im sure most of my mindees would drink gallons of juice if i let them lol:laughing:

[cathtee]

I would try giving half a cup of juice instead of a full one. This will reduce the amount of fluid intake even if you still have to give him the same amounts of cups a day. He should eventually cut down and hopefully reduce the amount of cups you have to give him. If he screams just tell him screaming won't get him his own way it works for me.

[Bridey]

I get the feeling that maybe tears and screaming gets him what he wants at home. Its up to you to set the rule that it doesn't work at your house but, boy, you are going to suffer until he gets the message! Good luck :D

[mummyof3]

I have a 3yr old mindee that is exactly the same. He arrives in the morning at 8am and his nappy is drenched right through. I have to change him every hour due to the volume of fluid he drinks. I now only give him water and he still drinks the same amount! :rolleyes:

I used to have his sports bottle on the table but he was drinking it straight away and crying if I wouldn't fill it. I now only fill it with a small amount and when he drinks it I tell him he has had a drink already. I just ignore his sulks and give full attention to the other children and eventually he gets bored and comes over to join in. ;)

[LauraS]

I get the feeling that maybe tears and screaming gets him what he wants at home. Its up to you to set the rule that it doesn't work at your house but, boy, you are going to suffer until he gets the message! Good luck :D

I agree, short term pain for long term gain! Have a nice bottle of wine on standby for hometime :idea:

[nikki thomson]

It's funny how different they are with there parents isn't it, I do think you will have abit of a battle but you may be surprised that with abit of consistency with the NO from you and not giving into him he will be a nicer little chap all round.
My mindee only drinks juice at home and constantly has a dummy shoved in her mouth, now i've been looking after her for 15mths since she was 6mths old and she has never ever had juice or a dummy at mine, she goes down for a sleep fine without one and loves her water drinks loads yet mum says she's a nightmare at home without a dummy and refuses water, mum offered to bring juice for her lo but I very nicely said no thankyou as my own children don't have juice and her lo is fine with water. X

[Helen79]

I would only offer milk or water. If you give him juice with a meal then he might get confused over when he's allowed it. I don't have juice at my house so if they bring they're own cup of juice with them in the morning then once they've drank it there's no more.

Maybe buy a new sports bottle and get him to decorate it with stickers, make laminated coasters with his name and photo on where his bottle goes so it's special for him and only fill it with water. maybe put ice cubes in the bottle too so it something exciting instead of just plain water.

[Mouse]

14 cups of juice in one day :eek:

It's going to be tough but you are going to have to put a stop to it. It's going to be tough to make him give up the juice straight away, but like someone else has said, I would only give a limited amount of juice each day. Other than that, offer water. He's not going to dehydrate, so don't give in to the screaming.

At the start of the day half fill a bottle or jug with very diluted juice. Tell him that's all that's left. As the day goes on & he drinks it, show him the bottle is emptying out. When it's all gone, show him - say look, it's all gone. Then when he asks for more , show him the empty bottle.

The same with the TV. Don't switch it on in the first place. When he arrives, tell him it isn't working. Turn the plug off, so when you try to turn it on, it doesn't work. Then try every distraction technique you know!

[samb]

Everyone drinks different amounts so I would say although it seems like a lot, he obviously needs it and drinking a lot is much better than not drinking enough. I think the issue is that it is juice he is drinking. The rule in my house is 1 glass of juice at dinner time and the rest of the time water only. The children that refuse water at home don't refuse it at mine. The children that are not here for dinner time miss out on juice. The dentist told me to only offer juice at meal times so that's what I do.

As for TV - just don't put it on or if you have a rule about having it on at a certain time then stick to it. He needs you to be consistent so he can learn to be appropriate.

Yes he will scream but if you give an inch he will take it and it will get worse. Good luck!

[Bushpig]

for me the answer to this would be simple,
1, i would have a no tv policy and just not put the tv on atall while he was at my house, he would soon stop crying for it when he realises that you do not have the tv on at all, you say you dont have him on a friday so you could have it on for a while as a treat for the other children on a friday. we very rarely have the tv on here and when we do its a real treat for the children

2, i would only allow 1 cup of juice at mealtimes the rest of the day he could have much water as he wants if he screams and wants juice i would tell him he has to wait till mealtimes for juice, never change your mind or give in to his screams and again he will soon learn that these are the rules and they are not going to change

i think you will have a week or 2 that is a battle of will but im sure it will pass and BOTH of you will be much happier, this child will not be thirsty as he will be drinking at mealtimes and going without tv at yours can only be a good thing if he watches lots at home

100% agree.

I also operate a no TV policy and that is that. Kids do not dictate what goes on in my setting. They won't like it... but they will get used to it and realise that there is a fun life sans TV being on.

All that juice is bad for his teeth and drinking water is the best habit for kids to get into. I had siblings who REFUSED water when they started (mum had warned me)... but after 2 days at mine they realised they'd only get water and never asked again for juice over the next 2 years... mum still had the battle at home though... and always gave in.

Short term pain, long term gain.

[gigglinggoblin]

We have juice every now and then, definately not that amount. I dont think you have to worry about denying him hydration, we are not allowed to starve them either but we wouldnt allow them to eat chocolate all day if thats all they said they wanted. The crying fits will stop when he realises he wont get anywhere, its not really a bad thing to teach him that anyway.

[butterfly]

My son drinks as much as you're describing (he's 4) and I think that's fine - it's water and he must need it. I wasa worried at first and did get him checked at the doctor's in case there was a problem. There wasn't they just said some children need more to drink than others and it is actually very good for him. I do try not to let him have too much water in the lead up to meal times as it affects his appetite but other than that - drink away!

It has been much harder to toilet train him however as his bladder is fuller more often than other children however he's mastered this too.

As for TV - tough luck! I have a 3 yr old mindee who constantly asks for 'Bbees' but she gets told 'we don't have the tv on at my house'! I know for a fact it's on constantly at home so she basically suffers withdrawal systems at mine - unfortunately that's just tough as I would be causing her harm giving her any more 'screen time'!

[missymood]

Sounds like a control thing he is going through. I would do as above and give water during the day and milk or juice during meals. as for tv it is only ever put on as a treat usually 1 programme 20 mins. Good luck it may take a while to sort out but stick to your guns xx

[pinkellifun]

Hi all,

I look after a 2 year old (x). He drinks and drinks as if he is never given fluid at home! When he is with me, almost his first words in the morning are 'juice'. He drinks from a tommy tippee cup and the other day I actually counted how many he has. He had 14 cupfuls on Wednesday alone. (He is here 08:00 til 17:00). Yesterday I measured the amount and he drank 1.5 litres which is the amount an adult should drink. If i try to give him water he won't drink it and does his nut! He will gulp down a whole cup of juice then ask for another. If I say 'in a minute' we have a crying fit. I spoke to his Dad about this and he said that of a weekend he tends to have about three cups per day.

Why is he doing this at my house and what do you think I should do. I know that at home they give him a lot of snacks because they feel guitly for working so maybe that is why he doesn't drink so much at home, as he is too busy eating?

Also, I like to switch the television off during the day as it drives me mad and also I believe in doing the childminding myself and not leaving the tv to do it.

He does not accept this at all and asks me so many times during the day for Peppa Pig. If I cannot produce this we have a crying tantrum, if he just has to wait until after the adverts, he will have a crying fit. The older children might be watching something when they come in from school and he will say 'no, peppa pig' and have a further crying fit when i say no.

I get the impression that at home he is stuck in front of dvds whenever he wants them for a quiet life. Suggestions please.

It may all sound silly but the child is starting to drive me nuts and I dread him coming here. I woke up with a spring in my step this morning that even my dh noticed as he does not come here on a friday! :(

Other people may think I am a worrywort but my sister was like this when she was little and it ended up being because she had diabetes.

I would get the parents to mention it to the doctors and see if there is another reason for it. There may well not be but better safe than sorry.

[linzi133]

My son can be a big drinker at stressful times....for him its a sensory thing and a thing he needs to do!! He wouldn't drink water either...but I wouldn't offer him water (or any child) if what he normally drinks is juice. I spoke to his consutant who said to give him whatever liquid he needed as all children were different. (And yes we did tests for diabetes as well just to rule it out)

I was told it's just like us when we are stressed we have a cup of tea/bar of chocolate/glass of wine. Would we like anyone telling us we can't have it when we need it.

You didn't say if this child was a new child....but could he be stressed/anxious/nervous? Especially since you say he doesn't drink like this at home??

[Katiekoo]

I have a lo who drinks tons, I have advised mum to mention it to Hv/ doctor jut in case. But my rule is nothing but water at my house, lo's soon get used to it. I have always called water juice to my dd, so she doesn't feel like she's missing out when her friends get squash!

[onceinabluemoon]

Paddy or no paddy he'd just be getting water here. If you give him 14 beakers of juice just think of how much sugar or aspartame he's drinking, it must be way above what a 2 year old is supposed to have.

I just tell mindees we don't have juice here and thats it. We are supposed to provide fresh drinking water under EYFS so if you give water you are well within your remit, he will drink it if thirsty enough even though it may take a few days or week or so until he realised that you won't give in to paddies. good luck.

[mummyme]

Thanks so much everyone. I think I knew that giving water and sticking to my guns with the television was the right thing to do but I know that he is going to scream the place down with real tears and everything and I hate children to be upset. Such an old softy!

Now that you have all confirmed that this IS the right thing to do, I will feel stronger while I am doing it and not feel cruel. As I am writing this I can picture him here on Monday and its going to be hard, real hard for me.

Once he could walk, he loved to walk around with his juice, slopping it everywhere and it only took me a day to teach him that we stood at the drinks bench (just a wooden bench in my living room), had a drink, walked away, came back and had another drink. He didn't like it at first but soon got it and he wouldn't dream of walking away from the bench now (Ofsted loved my juice bench too!). Lets see if I can crack this is a day!

I'll let you know how I do!

Thanks all :)

[clorogue]

pinkelli fun - that is what I thought of straight away too - definitely feels he needs to be checked out for diabetes just in case.

[Bridey]

I was told it's just like us when we are stressed we have a cup of tea/bar of chocolate/glass of wine. Would we like anyone telling us we can't have it when we need it.


I'd love someone to do that, I'd be able to still do my jeans up! :laughing: