Children need greater access to drinking water in school
Staying hydrated throughout the day is important to our health, yet over 60% of parents across the UK say their child’s school does not provide water throughout the day, according to new research.
Worryingly, 64% of parents say that water is banned from classrooms and 73% say there is no access to water via water fountains.
This is despite Department of Education guidelines stating that the Local Authority or governing body must ensure that pupils have easy access at all times to free, fresh drinking water on school premises.
Nutritionist and advisor to the NHC, Dr Emma Derbyshire, said: “It is concerning that so many parents have said they don’t think their children are drinking enough fluid throughout the day and I hope that parents and schools can find a good solution to this problem. It was reassuring to learn that 80% of parents said they would like their children to drink more water, as this is the ideal choice for regular hydration as it contains zero sugar, calories, preservatives or additives.”
The majority of parents also said that their children are thirsty when they get home from school, and almost half of parents regularly notice other signs of dehydration in their children, including tiredness and irritability.
These are the findings from new research carried out by the Natural Hydration Council (NHC) with Netmums – the UK’s largest parenting site, which included in-depth focus group activity as well as a survey of more than 1,000 parents of children aged 4 – 10 years old across the UK.
While the amount of fluid a child needs depends on many factors including age, gender, weather and physical activity levels; guidelines from the Department of Health state that they should aim to drink approximately 6-8 glasses of fluid per day (on top of the water provided by food in their diet). Younger children need relatively smaller drinks (e.g. 150 ml serving) and older children need larger drinks (e.g. 250–300 ml serving).
Siobhan Freegard, Netmums founder, said: “The focus group and quantitative survey activity we conducted with the NHC and our members, was extremely interesting and really highlights some key issues surrounding this important topic for parents, carers and schools nationwide. Between the ages of 4-10 is such a fundamental time in child development and this work really raises the point that schools need to be prioritising healthy hydration and water provision for children during school hours.”
Recent research by Dr Caroline Edmonds, Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, The University of East London, suggests that children who receive additional water could improve their ability in key classroom activities such as handwriting and copying text, as well as maintain their attention.
Dr Emma Derbyshire has offered some top tips for parents on how to encourage children to drink more water and stay hydrated throughout the day:
1. Children often copy parents’ behaviour and habits, so try to get into the habit of drinking more water in front of your child(ren)
2. Always offer water at mealtimes – apart from anything else it will help those vegetables taste less bitter if children are drinking something plain, rather than sweet
3. Put a bottle of water in lunchboxes to encourage children to drink at lunch time
4. Don’t overlook the need to give your child(ren) a drink at breakfast so they start the day well hydrated. Water is best as it contains zero sugar, calories, preservatives or additives
5. Offer younger children drinks on a regular basis and actively encourage consumption
Tagged in Parenting children's health Hydration Parenting News