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Our next question comes from a viewer who is a grandmother and she is concerned that
her grandson doesn’t drink enough fluid. They live in a hot dry climate and she is
seeks advice.
You know kids have an innate ability to self regulate their fluid intake as well as their
food intake. However, there can be times when the temperature is very high that one would
be concerned. The best way to judge a child’s hydration is to look inside their mouth and
look at the amount of moisture in their mouth as well as look at their skin texture. A child’s
skin should spring back pretty easily when it’s picked up, kind of like what I am doing
with my arm.
There is another way to look at a child’s hydration and it is a little more sneaky but
it relates to the fact that most children are not very good toilet flushers. The urine
that you find in the toilet should be light yellow in color to almost colorless. It should
not be dark yellow or brown and that is something that is good to teach children especially
as they get into their teenage years and they may be playing sports in the very hot weather.
So, if you still are concerned that your grandson is not getting enough fluid, besides talking
with your grandson’s mom, you may suggest that she speak to the pediatrician and perhaps
you will need to give the child some other forms of fluid if they don’t want to drink
water like, jell-o or popsicles or Italian ices or even watermelon. All of those things
can creatively get your child more hydration. So, thank you for that very important question.