What we should drink as an adult is changing all the time, one minute we should drink at least eight glasses of water a
day, the next any fluid counts and it doesn't have to be water, you can be forgiven for being confused as to what you should
give to your baby
Newborn Babies
Whether your baby is breast or bottle fed their milk contains all the nutrients and fluids that they need to survive so
no more drinks are usually necessary in the early months.
When to introduce drinks
The Department of Health currently recommends that babies should be fed nothing but milk, either breast or bottle, until
they are six months of age, in essence at the same time they recommend solids should be introduced.
What to introduce
The ideal drink for your baby is milk or water. No other fluid is actually needed and introducing water as an alternative
drink will help to combat tooth decay caused by sucking sweet juice through a teat, if you give sugary drinks try to give
it to them in a cup as this can help to cut down on the decay caused by a teat.
Know what you’re giving your baby to drink
- Water - Tap or bottled? A lot of parents think that they should give their babies bottled water as if its better for
us then it is better for them, there are many schools of thought on this matter and they do not agree. Spring water is pure
but it can contain high levels of minerals and sodium, of which can be dangerous for your toddler. Many waters are described
as table water this means it may come from more than one source and may include the public water supply. You should treat
this water in the same way that you would treat normal tap water if using it to prepare feeds for your baby, boil it. Many
of our mums used filtered water either plumbed or jugs (Britta filtered) and this would seem to be a good idea. The Health
Protection Agency (HPA) recommends using sterilised tap water for babies when preparing feeds for bottle-fed babies. You should
take it from the mains tap in your kitchen and boil it, remembering to let it cool before you give it to your baby. Ultimately,
the choice is yours, what ever you use it would seem to be best to boil then cool it before you give it to babies under six
months.
- Fresh fruit
, juice contains natural sugar, so if given to your baby try to dilute one part pure fruit juice to ten
parts of cooled boiled water.
- Fruit squashes
, these drinks are usually given to older children and should be avoided as they often contain artificial
additives such as sweeteners and colourings which are not permitted in baby foods.
- Ready-made baby drinks,
check the label before you buy these drinks can also contain sugar.
- Carbonated drinks,
fizzy pop is best avoided due to their high sugar and acid content which can erode tooth enamel
and lead to tooth decay.
- Cow’s milk,
whole fat cow’s milk should not be given to babies till they are 1 year old.
- Diet Drinks,
any drinks which contain artificial sweeteners such as saccharin should not be given to children under
3 years old.
