A little back story. When my kids were younger we had a problem with dehydration. One of my girls went to the hospital several times for IV Fluids because she dehydrated so easily. My kids are now 8 and it is a fight EVERY DAY just to get 3 glasses of fluid in them. Doesn't matter if it is milk, juice or water. I am tired of the daily fight.

So my question is this...can I now let them self regulate? If they say they are not thirsty, are they old enough to trust it? They are still small for their age and most of the time they eat well, it is just the drinking thing. Part of me thinks this is a power struggle, but it is only a problem for my girls, my boys never fight me over it.

Please let me know what you think.

Dawn

Mom to Samantha, Jeremy, Paige and Christian

Born 12/12/03 @ 31w 2d



http://lovinglifewithquads.blogspot.com

I think it depends on the situation. If it is high heat and humidity, and they were outdoors for any time... I'd regulate the fluid intake.

If they were very active in sports, especially in a training and competitive situation... I'd regulate the fluid itake.

If they didn't do anything terribly taxing and seemed to meet the bare minimum on their own, I'd probably offer a palateable drink in a pleasing vessel (that's just me) with a comment about how good it is to stay hydrated and healthy... but it would be left up to them to decide.

Sheila
GGB 10/29/06