How do you arrange continous access to water (for 12mth+ olds)?

[lisbet]

I am right in thinking this a requirement of the EYFS, aren't I? :confused:

I was thinking of maybe having a little tray/ container on the floor in the play room (aka sitting room!), with a space inside for a tommee tippee lidded cup for each child. Maybe labelled with a laminated photo of the child and attached around the handle with a elastic band?

The idea being that they can walk/ crawl to it whenever they need it, and I can keep an eye on them drinking from the right cup/ not watering the TV!

How do you all organise it?

[dawn100]

Mine all bring own drinks cups from home which I keep topped up with water placed on coffee table for walkers or reguarly offered to non mobile children, as they are their own ones they are different and soon learn who's is who's, for older children a plastic jug and cups are left on dining table for them to help themselves or ask for assistance. I was asked about this at my ofsted inspection and inspector was more than happy with this.

[lisbet]

Thanks, Dawn :) Good tip about the water on the table for older ones too - will do that when they're bigger.

The children I have at the moment all happen to use the same cups and have a couple of the colours each, and I have three of these cups, all in blue - bad planning! :rolleyes::laughing:

[moggy]

4 children here and they each have their own colour for Tommee Tippee flip-top cup and flannels. They get to know their own colour from very young, never had a problem. They are kept on a little table and returned there, I do not like them walking around with them.

[hectors house]

I have different coloured tommy tippee cups for younger children - they do all know which is their cup and older childrens open cups are on the table. Mine have access to water through out the day, they have milk at snack time and weak squash at lunch time. They have far more drinks than I get in a day as mostly when I make a cup of tea, I leave it in the kitchen to cool down and find it hours later stone cold!

[tulip0803]

I have different tommy tippee cups and different sports bottles for slightly older ones. Others have plastic cups and a jug in the kitchen.

[lisbet]

Thanks everyone :thumbsup: I think I'm going to splash out on some new, differently coloured TT cups then. (Living dangerously! :D)

[Mouse]

My mindees all have their own beakers on a low table. They soon get to know which is their beaker and only drink from that. They know to either stand or sit at the table & not move around with their drinks. If we're outside, the drinks go with us.

[butterfly]

Mine all have their own sports bottles. They get used to which belongs to them and each other from very early on and are very good at sticking to them.

[greanan]

Mine are all kept on the little table in living room

[blue bear]

At home mine all have bottles with a sticker on with their name and picture that foes with the sound for the name, same as on coat pegs, eg k for Kevin, k for kite.

How do people manage continuous water access when out and about? So a trip to the farm, or a walk through the fields, the walk to school, trip to the shops. I tend to just offer regular drinks when out and about, older ones can obviously ask but not little ones. It's not really practical to have water freely available where children can see it.

[tori4]

I really struggle with this requirement - I find 1 fills up on squash rather then food, another just tips it everywhere and another walks around with it in their mouth falling over hitting others with their bottle etc.

My own two DS had their water bottles but quickly learnt if there were not drinking it went on the blue box - just wish my LO would get it.

I also have a couple of littles one who struggle with water drink lots of squash sent from home but when I re fill with water they look at me as if I have given em poison ...

It's on my mission list

[beachgirl29]

Mine all bring own drinks cups from home which I keep topped up with water placed on coffee table for walkers or reguarly offered to non mobile children, as they are their own ones they are different and soon learn who's is who's, for older children a plastic jug and cups are left on dining table for them to help themselves or ask for assistance. I was asked about this at my ofsted inspection and inspector was more than happy with this.

I do the same. the 18month old i have will put her fingers in the lid of the none spill cup and empty it on the floor if she had it all the time which would cause a risk of children slipping over on the wood floor.

[PixiePetal]

Mine all have beakers/cups on the dining table. They can get them anytime as we use the dining room for crafts and eating as well as passing through for the loo and handwashing. If they are too young to get them themselves I offer drinks all the time anyway or suggest they might like one. I don't like children walking about with drinks in my house splashing it everywhere.

[loocyloo]

We have a jug of water & open beakers on the table in the kitchen. (Which is next to playroom and where we do messy play) Older mindees can pour their own. I pour some for younger mindees. Little mindees have feeder cups which get put wherever seems a good place that they can reach! But out of the way of play. Babe's I offer it to. We only have drinks sitting down in the kitchen. BUT at the moment I have an 18 mth old who would spend the whole day drinking so now her cup is only put in reach at snack/meal times (she wasn't eating well as full of water)

[singingcactus]

Mine all have a glass tumbler each, which i keep topped up with water. When they start with me, we draw around their hands, write their name on, colour in and then laminate. This is what they stand their glass on, although they all have different colours so would be able to tell anyway.
If the child is younger than around 14-15 months I might have a lidded beaker for them initially, but I like to get rid of plastic stuff as soon as possible.
The kids take about 1 or 2 days to learn to keep their drink at the table. We don't carry drinks around.
Oh, in the yard they do have a plastic tumbler each, not glass. They sit on the plastic table, and I often just put a jug of water out with them.

[loocyloo]

Mine all have a glass tumbler each, which i keep topped up with water. When they start with me, we draw around their hands, write their name on, colour in and then laminate. This is what they stand their glass on, although they all have different colours so would be able to tell anyway.
If the child is younger than around 14-15 months I might have a lidded beaker for them initially, but I like to get rid of plastic stuff as soon as possible.
The kids take about 1 or 2 days to learn to keep their drink at the table. We don't carry drinks around.
Oh, in the yard they do have a plastic tumbler each, not glass. They sit on the plastic table, and I often just put a jug of water out with them.

Oooo I like the idea of handprint coasters :-D thank you

[sarah707]

We have all the drinking cups on a tray - very Montessori.

Each child has their own cup and every day we talk about which cup belongs to which child - the baby doesn't get it yet but they all watch him closely :laughing:

They sit on a cushion or at the table - they learn that very quickly - we don't walk round with drinks.

When they have had their fill they learn to put their cup back on the tray. It takes a while for some children but they get the hang of it with consistency.

Outside, they have open cups and a dispenser :D

[lisbet]

Thanks, everyone :D Thanks to all your advice I have a plan:

I haven't got a suitable low table in the playroom, but I'm going to get a tray for the cups to live on, and a little mat to go next to it so that I can teach the 12mth olds to sit on the mat to drink.

Bigger children can help themselves to beakers and a jug of water on the dining table.

A dispenser outdoors sounds fab! (I don't think my rainwater butt with tap counts, does it? :laughing:)