Water Intake According to Body Weight
As an adult, the general rule is 8 glasses of water per day. What’s about little kids? Ever wonder how much water your child needs a day? Or do you monitor at all? The answer is that water requirement varies according their body weight, level of physical activity and weather.
Formula for water intake according to body weight:
| Weight of child (in pound) ÷ 2 = Ounce of water needed per day |
To convert ounce to liter, multiply it with 0.0295.
To convert pound to kg, multiply 0.453.
For e.g. Jenny, 4, 34pound ÷ 2 = 17 ounce. Therefore, Jenny needs approximately 502ml of water per day. This would also mean that a preschooler like Jenny requires approximately one full water bottle per day. You should also note that her intake should be increased if she engages in physical activity or if the weather gets hot.
However, if she drinks extra soup and juice that particular day, the plain water intake can be reduced relatively.
If the calculation is confusing, simply refer to this table for complete guide of water intake according to child’s body weight.
Tricking Your Child to Drink More
Is your blood pressure rising because it’s tough to get your kid to drink more plain water? Kids are cunning. If she runaway from drinking plain water again, try these tips below to trick her into drinking more plain water.
Practically speaking you can explain the importance of water to kids. Let them know their active body requires sufficient water to function well.
1. Provide your child a favorite water bottle, add on or change different stickers regularly to get her excited about her water bottle. Tie a ribbon to decorate her water bottle.
2. Mark the time of the day for e.g. 9am, 10am, and 11am at the corresponding water level.
3. Ensure your child drinks when it is time.
4. Always praise her for drinking.
5. Get her to drink sufficiently before she’s are allowed to play a toy or game.
6. Get siblings to drink together for a water competition!
7. Occasionally, you can trick your child to drink by squeezing few drops of lemon or give them a ‘new’ cup. A cup they have never seen before hidden in your storeroom is considered new.
Justina Wang
