How to Increase Water and Decrease Sugary Beverage Intake in Small Children

Parents offer their kids sugar-containing drinks for many reasons, including lack of nutrition knowledge, marketing by drink companies, and cultural norms. 

Water should be the primary beverage for all kids after age 1, aside from milk. You don’t have to change your family’s habits overnight, but it’s a good idea to work on increasing water acceptance and intake when your kids are young. 

Added sugars increase the risk of tooth decay and cavities. Decreasing sugar intake may reduce your child’s risk of cavities. Cutting out sugary drinks may also help promote healthy habits for life. Frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by children is linked to overweight and obesity.

If you’d like to help your child drink more water and fewer drinks that contain sugar, follow the tips below.

Recommended Drink Choices for Infants and Small Children

Children form their taste preferences in infancy and early childhood, so it’s a great time to build healthy eating and drinking habits. Deprivation isn’t the goal, but cultivating healthy habits is.

Common drink sources of added sugars in small kids include:

• Juice
• Fruit-flavored drinks
• Flavored milk
• Soda
• Sports or electrolyte drinks
• Energy drinks

Ideally, parents start introducing their baby to small amounts of water after six months, after starting complementary foods. You can offer small amounts of water with meals, and it’s also an ideal time to start practicing with a sippy cup. Offer only breast milk, infant formula, or water until age 1. Juice is not recommended for infants, per the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines. Check with your pediatrician if you’re unsure exactly how much water, breastmilk, or formula to offer your infant.

Juice recommendations are minimal for toddlers and older children. If you offer juice at all, limit juice to 4 ounces per day for 1-3 year olds, per the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and 6 ounces for 4-6 year olds. Juice provides limited nutritional value, and parents should offer whole fruits with meals or snacks instead.

Small children rarely need sports drinks, and soda or other sugary drinks should be a treat or offered on special occasions.

Tips to Decrease Sugary Drinks and Increase Water

• If your child drinks juice and it’s hard to stop completely, start by diluting it. Mix 2 ounces of water with 4-6 ounces of juice, and try to increase the ratio of water to juice over time.
• Be a great role model. Remove soda and sugary drinks from your house. Try not to drink sugary beverages in front of kids regularly.
• Instead of purchasing flavored milk (chocolate or strawberry, for example), offer only plain cow’s milk or unsweetened plant-based milk. If it’s too hard at first, add small amounts of chocolate or strawberry syrup to unflavored milk at home and decrease the amount you add over time.
• Infuse water with fruits or herbs. Add orange slices, pineapple, or berries to a water bottle, and let the fruit gently infuse the water with flavor. Some people also like to add fresh basil or mint to their water bottles for extra flavor.
• Try fun ice cube shapes. Use silicone molds in various shapes, or add herbs or fruit to an ice cube tray to add interest to a glass of water.
• Purchase a special water bottle or cup with the child’s favorite cartoon character or theme and use it only for water.
• Let your child pick out a reusable straw to use for water, such as a silly straw shape or a silicone boba tea straw.
• Offer chilled water after activities, like a visit to the park.
• Limit sugar-sweetened beverages or flavored milk to special occasions. Kids are more likely to choose water or milk if options are limited at your house.

Bottom Line

It’s okay to start slow and make changes over time, but work on reducing your child’s intake of sugary beverages and increasing their water intake. Talk to a pediatrician or pediatric dietitian if you need extra help making changes since a high intake of sugary drinks might affect your child’s overall health.