How to Make Water Drinking More Fun for Your Family

Today’s post is talking about how to make water drinking more fun because staying hydrated is important in hot summer weather. We recently spent a wonderful day by the river with friends and family. Everything was fabulous except for one thing: my father-in-law ended up at the emergency room. He arrived at our house sleeping in the car and feeling sluggish. As the afternoon went on his face was clearly drooping, and he was out of it. Fortunately, one of our friends is a nurse, so she checked him out. Fearful he had a stroke; my brother and sister-in-law took him to the emergency room. It turns out he didn’t have a stroke. The man was simply dehydrated.

This wasn’t the first time an elderly family member had health issues from lack of proper hydration. There have been a few trips to the emergency room because of hydration issues with elderly parents and grandparents. Water is not their favorite beverage. Compound this with medications/conditions that encourage dehydration and you have a problem. Although the very young and the elderly are more prone to dehydration anyone can experience it. Recently, I, myself, experienced mild dehydration when I spent an evening selling products in 97-degree weather. Even though I drank 2 quarts of water in 4 hours I still felt completely wiped out the next day. The manager of the event got sick as well from dehydration the next day. The whole experience was another reminder to me to drink more water, something I have struggled with in the past.

I am quite sure I got my late grandmother’s distaste for water. She did not like water. Her drink of choice was Sprite and nothing but Sprite. I am also certain this didn’t help her health as we were at the doctor’s often. Water isn’t my favorite drink either, but the thought of drinking Sprite non-stop sounds gross not to mention extremely unhealthy. Living in Oregon you wouldn’t think drinking water would be an issue since we have some of the best water around. I know people who drink quarts of water easily while I would struggle to get 1 or 2 glasses in. It took some work just to be able to drink my morning glass of water without feeling sick. Eventually, I came across infusions as an effective way to get more water into my body willingly and significantly upped my water intake.

It was traveling that got me started on infusing water. When we travel to other places the local water quality is often bad, a fact that doesn’t help my problem. And when you are in a hot and humid place it is especially important to stay hydrated. On one trip I noticed that the smarter hotels in Hawaii addressed this by having a selection of infused waters. The infused waters were so good that I was frequently making trips and taking extra cups of water back to our room. The raspberry was my favorite, and I could not get enough of it. Once back home I decided that I needed to spice up my water routine with more than just a lemon wedge. Out came the fruit and herbs to infuse the water.

Through some yummy experimentation I noticed a couple of things: 1) citruses liven up your water, and they also pair well with many other fruits. For example, strawberries and lemon or lime and cucumber. The zingy nature of citrus complements a lot of things, so get creative and think outside of the lemon wedge. And 2) spearmint is a great addition to most infusions. I grow fresh spearmint in my garden and add it to most infusions because it’s not overpowering, yet it adds a refreshing and energetic quality to the infusion. Since most of my water drinking is done during the workday, I like my infusion to be energizing.

ideas to naturally and deliciously make water drinking more fun.

1. Strawberries and lemons
2. Blueberries, lime, and spearmint
3. Raspberries and pomegranate seeds
4. Nectarines, cherries, and mandarins
5. Cucumbers, lime, and mint

The body is 75% water it clearly needs water for healthy functioning. Without water we run the risk of heat strokes, kidney issues, seizures, and more. These facts are reason enough to prioritize the water drinking. If you struggle to get enough water in, then try infusions. Fill a pitcher with fruit and water and keep in the fridge for a couple days. The fruit can be reused a couple times, so there is no need to chuck it once the pitcher is empty. The exception to this is if you’ve let the water sit a few days- then chuck it. A little fruit goes a long way and makes water drinking way more fun. For more ways to stay hydrated read this article here. Thanks for stopping by! Have a lovely week!