World Water Day is celebrated on 22 March, an anniversary instituted by the United Nations in 1992 to draw public opinion on the importance of running water and promote sustainable management of water resources. On the occasion of the Day, the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Pediatrics provides useful advice to parents for proper hydration .
As Giuseppe Di Mauro, Sipps President, underlines, “ water is an essential element because of the many functions it performs in the body: it regulates body temperature, eliminates toxins, helps the body absorb nutrients, transforms food into energy , transports oxygen and nutrients to cells. Proper hydration also ensures an adequate supply of mineral salts, dissolved in the source water. For all these reasons, proper nutrition requires the intake of water every day, at any age “.
In order to grow well , in short, every child needs to eat well and drink properly. But how much water should it take?
“The amount of water consumed – explains Leo Venturelli, SIPPS communication manager – depends on the age of the child, on the daily diet but also on external factors such as diseases (with fever it is necessary to drink more, because the body increases perspiration), physical activity, ambient temperature (warm environments allow more transpiration and this implies the need for greater hydration) “.
In any case, it is possible to trace an indicative scheme of the overall liquids that a child needs according to age, such as drinking water, in addition to that contained in food:
– From 4 to 10 years: 1100 ml (one liter and 100 ml)
– Teenagers: 1500-2000 ml (one liter and a half / two)
“There are mechanisms that regulate thirst – explains Andrea Vania, 1st level Manager and Head of the Center for Dietetics and Pediatric Nutrition of the Department of Pediatrics of Sapienza University of Rome -: our body has a self-control system for thirst which has the its control unit in the hypothalamus, a brain gland. However, the young child, like the elderly person, does not have an effective self-regulation system, and for this reason it is important to offer him a drink often, even if he does not ask for it spontaneously “.
Sipps lists a number of signs that help a parent understand that the child needs to drink:
– Headache, nausea, muscle cramps and a feeling of cold indicate a shortage of water
– Quantity and quality of urine: concentrated and dark yellow urine means dehydration
“These situations – concludes the President Di Mauro – occur most coinciding with excessive heat in the environment or during the summer, on the occasion of a physical exercise of a certain commitment and for feverish states. For this reason, parents must implement a series of measures to entice the child to drink: from the use of colored glasses to the transformation of drinking into a game up to teaching the child to serve himself. And for everyone, parents and teachers, the commitment to set a good example by drinking often during the day or taking a bottle of water with you every time you go out! “.
Particular attention should be paid when the child carries out physical activity, which involves the loss of many liquids: in this case it is necessary to encourage him to drink before, during and after. Mineral salts and sugary drinks are not necessary: simple water, at room temperature, and a healthy diet , rich in fruit and vegetables, is sufficient.
