Child Dehydration: How Do You Prevent It and What Are the Symptoms?

13/06/2019
Hydration

If someone needs a little more water in his everyday life, he is definitely a young child! Especially during the summer months, when temperatures get so high and children spend endless hours running and playing, proper hydration is our top priority.

And as children will probably forget this; parents, teachers and other caregivers should take care of their proper hydration! As much as we think that when a child is thirsty he will go and drink some water, in fact he will very often postpone it as a last priority, since he doesn’t want to lose even a moment of his game!

Kids Hydration: Why Is It So Necessary?

Our bodies needs water to perform their various functions. Everything moves better with water! Toxins are removed with urine, the body can produce sweat when it needs to balance body temperature, foods can move more comfortably in the intestine, avoiding unpleasant constipation.

In addition, the reason why children are more vulnerable to dehydration is that they have a high body weight to body area ratio. The result? They accumulate more heat from the environment in comparison with adults.

For these reasons and many others, children need proper hydration daily. The risk of dehydration is increased in the summer, but also in intense physical activity. Very often when a child expresses his thirst, he can already be dehydrated!

Dehydration: Symptoms

When a child is dehydrated he often feels tired and exhausted. Some of the symptoms you will notice are:

  • Dizziness and faintness
  • Motion sickness
  • Headache
  • Dry lips, tongue, mouth and neck
  • Dark urine
  • Dry eyes or few tears when the baby/kid is crying
  • Intense clenching or grinding of teeth

If the symptoms get worse, the child becomes lethargic, faints or his pulses are increased, call your doctor straight away or go to the nearest hospital.

Tips for Kids Hydration

Always ensure that the child has a bottle of water with him, whether he is in school or at some other activity. If he is at home, educate him always to have a glass of water near him, while reading, and next to his plate on the table.

Make sure the child will consume liquids before going to school, as well as before and after sports. Train him to drink a few sips of water at breaks or during the game about every 20 minutes.

Give them foods rich in water. Make together colorful salads and delicious smoothies with fresh fruits! On the beach make sure you always have juicy fruits with you, as they are the ideal snack between games.

Avoid concentrated juices with sugar or soft drinks, as well as caffeinated beverages. Prefer water or fresh juices.

Make hydration tempting. Children prefer taste! So put the water in beautiful bottles and put in juicy fruits to make it more delicious. Also, you can easily make homemade granites or ice cubes of freshly squeezed juices!

So make your children’s hydration your primary priority, both in winter and summer! Educate yourself and your children, stay hydrated and enjoy carefree days !!!

Find at www.vita4you.gr  all you need for kids caring!

Bibliography

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/dehydration.html

Pelagia Damianou

Bsc, Nutritionist - Dietician specializing in Clinical Nutrition, in Food Disorders in Children and Adolescents and in Nutritional Supplements. Certified Consultant of Vichy and La Roche Posay.

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Disclaimer

The content of this blogspot is not and can not be considered as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All information is provided to readers solely for informational purposes. There is no intention to substitute this content for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment.

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