Mother-in-law: “It’s so hot, why don’t you give your little one some water?” Mom: “It’s written in the parenting books that babies who are exclusively breastfed don’t need to drink water.” Who is right? Should I give my baby water? How old do babies need water? When should I start giving water to my baby? According to the latest International Academy of Nutrition recommendations, it is after the addition of complementary foods. Many mothers say that breastfeeding does not require water, and artificial feeding requires water because formula tends to “get hot”, but there is no scientific basis for this claim. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies who are breastfed or fed formula do not usually need supplemental water (plain water) or juice until 6 months of age, and that babies can get all the water they need from breast milk or formula until 6 months of age. Breast milk and formula are 85% water and you can get enough water if you feed your baby on demand. Babies fed in any way do not need extra water (except in special cases such as illness), even in the heat of summer. Giving too much water to babies within 6 months of age can interfere with your baby’s body’s ability to absorb nutrients from breast milk or formula, and can make your baby feel full and not want to breastfeed. After 6 months, babies can increase the amount of water they drink appropriately. For example, feed a few mouthfuls of water to rinse the mouth after each complementary meal. If the baby refuses, parents should never force it. After the baby is 1 year old, the activity level increases and the need for water increases. You need to drink water in small amounts and several times a day, 2~3 times in the morning and 3 times in the afternoon are recommended. What kind of water should my baby drink? What is the appropriate water temperature? The best drinking water is undoubtedly plain water, because the microorganisms in plain water have been killed by high temperature after multi-layer purification process, and the calcium and magnesium elements in it are also beneficial to the body. The water temperature for drinking plain water is best at 20-25℃. Research has found that after boiling the water cooled to 20-25 ℃, the most specific biological activity in the water, and very close to the baby’s body cytosolic properties, can have a good affinity with the body cells, easier to penetrate the cell membrane into the cells, promote metabolism, improve the baby’s immune function. Do not give your baby too cold or too hot water, both will damage the baby’s delicate gastric mucosa, affecting the baby’s gastrointestinal digestive capacity. It is recommended that the temperature of boiled water for babies in summer should be close to the room temperature, while in winter it is best to drink boiled water at around 40°C. The mother of the baby is recommended to drink enough water in summer to ensure that the milk is not too thick. The time for babies to drink water can be arranged after waking up, in the morning, 30-60 minutes before each meal, after exercise, before bathing, 60 minutes before bedtime, etc. The interval between drinking water during the day is about 1-2 hours, or after sweating. Young children drink water 7-8 times a day, 100-150ml of water each time. These situations require timely hydration of the baby: 1, if the baby has a fever, diarrhea, summer sweating must be given to the baby timely hydration; 2, if the baby’s tongue is red, look carefully also a little purple, this is a symptom of baby fire, but also timely hydration; 3, if the baby’s lips dry, always bar smash smash mouth, which also 4, if the baby urinates less often, less urine, yellow urine, also indicates that the baby is dehydrated; baby does not like to drink water how to do? 1, complementary food to avoid adding seasonings: baby’s complementary food to avoid adding seasonings, especially sugar and salt. Some parents always like to give their babies sweet water, or add salt to egg custard, add sugar to fruit puree, which will make babies get used to a flavorful diet, naturally not interested in light plain water. In addition, the baby’s kidneys and digestive system is not fully developed, premature intake of these seasonings will also affect the baby’s health, which is not conducive to its growth and development; 2, do not push the child too much: in addition to the diet, tools to pay attention to, the mother’s emotions should also be controlled. If the child does not want to drink water, do not push the child too much, otherwise the child will only feel stressed about drinking water, more refusal to drink this thing; 3, babies like to drink things in the adult cup, if he does not like to drink with their own cup, you can use the adult cup to give him water; 4, babies like to do it themselves, let him pour their own water to drink, or a little bit to pour into the cup, let him hold his own drink. Do not forget to praise the baby ah, appropriate to encourage the baby, he will be more willing to drink water; 5, the family environment to create an atmosphere of regular drinking, so that the baby unconsciously develop a good habit of drinking water; 6, the parents have the same concept, play an exemplary role in family education, they do not drink unhealthy drinks, the family does not buy unhealthy drinks, we also try to drink some plain water or tea drinks; 7, often to Children often change the container of water, mix the taste, using the curiosity of children and the herd mentality, increase the interest of children to drink water, and develop the good habit of drinking water regularly.