Tuesday 5 July 2016

Robinsons to the Rescue, Now My Son Drinks Water!


Boy pouring from a Robinsons Squash'd bottle with title overlaid. How much, and what, L drinks has been a bit of an issue in our house over the years. When he was younger he had some struggles with food and we did our best to work through them and encouraged him to try new things, until he had a relatively varied diet and wasn't afraid of new tastes. One final battle has remained though, and it would rear its ugly head every time the weather began to warm up. He wouldn't drink water. At all. In any shape or form. Milk, mainly, or tea. Fizzy drinks were agreeable, but for some reason anything else was a real struggle.


He would sometimes drink fruit juice and those over-priced, ready-made squash drinks that come in individual bottles or pouches, but he would not drink water, or squash that you make up yourself. The problem with the individual ready-made drinks, aside from the price and environmental impact, is that they are very concentrated, in my opinion. I was convinced that if I could persuade him to try some squash from concentrate, we could at least control the level of 'other stuff' that he was drinking. I realise that, in an ideal world, he would be drinking plain water, but he is so sensitive to taste, he doesn't like it. When he started school, aged four, they had a policy that children could only drink water. 'Great', I thought, 'If all his friends are drinking it, and there's no other choice, he will get used to it.' (I knew much less then, than I do now). That September was ridiculously hot. It quickly became clear that L was drinking nothing at school. His small four-year-old frame could not hold enough liquid to carry him through six hours at school, however much he drank for breakfast. By the end of the second week, he was visibly ashen when I picked him up at hometime. I took him straight to the Head and said enough was enough. It was agreed he could bring fruit juice, in a drinks bottle instead, which got him through the day. Since then, though, I have been trying to find ways to increase his water intake.

Making Robinsons squash in the garden

Thankfully, Robinsons came along and offered us some of their little Squash'd bottles for him to try.  I had no idea they would prove so popular, but I think it's all in the choice. What's great about them, is that there are different flavours to choose from, and the bottles are fun and colourful to reflect this. As they are small enough for children to handle, it's very easy to put the child in charge, which is a great help when you are dealing with taste issues. I found, when I was helping L with his food sensitivities, that it helps if he is involved in the preparation and, where possible, has some choice in what he tries. It's not about giving in and letting him choose not to have it, it's more about letting him have some input in what he likes and doesn't like. If he feels listened to, it seems to make him more confident to try new things and it's helpful if he can say why he doesn't like it. It turns out that, out of all the exotic varieties, Lemon and Lime is the one he likes best! The bottles, when squeezed, deliver 20 drinks, each in a measured dose, so it's harder to use too much. L could make his own drinks and even mix the flavours if he wanted to! Robinsons provided a great sticker chart to encourage him, much like we did when we worked on his food issues, and, again it was a huge success! I am so pleased to have finally made progress with his water intake and am really looking forward to a summer where I don't have to worry about dehydration!

This post was produced in association with Robinsons and Britmums. #EnjoyMoreWater

Boy with Robinsons sticker chart

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4 comments

  1. The sticker chart for things are so helpful.

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  2. These are such a great idea, but they are a little bit too expensive for every day I think. Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested

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  3. great to hear hes drinking water based drinks which aren't pre-made. we have these little bottes of juice they are so ideal for days out, as it saves buying over priced drinks, you just need some water and that's it.

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  4. im glad you found something for him to drink in the end thats brilliant

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