I ‘d advise waiting until at least 2 years of age. Even then, there are needs to stick with plain bottled or tap water.
To start with, children younger than 6 months of age should drink just breast milk or formula, which include all the water infants require, even in heat. (In reality, breast milk and formula are 85 percent water.) Giving water to a young baby can cause a very unsafe condition called water intoxication, which results when excessive water causes excessive salt loss through the kidneys.
After your baby is 6 months old, it’s okay to give her very small amounts of plain water if you like. But since water contains no nutrition or calories, do not give it to her in place of breast milk or formula, which are still much better for her. And never use water to replace a feeding.
Can you give a baby carbonated water?
If you do give your baby small sips of water after 6 months, plain water is much better than mineral or carbonated waters. Here’s why:
The minerals discovered in mineral water are usually sodium, calcium, and trace minerals. The precise composition depends on the processing approach, so it’s hard to tell what you’re getting. (In reality, there are no basic market requirements for the structure of mineral waters, or even for their safety, if they’re imported.) Some mineral water might include excessive sodium and other minerals that can be tough for a baby’s or little one’s kidneys to manage.
And carbonated water isn’t really a good idea due to the fact that the carbonation comes from gas– which’s simply what it will cause in your baby or child! This can result in excess spitting up and burping and even abdominal pains and discomfort.
After her second birthday, a little plain mineral water on event isn’t awful for your child (her kidneys are fully grown enough to manage the mineral loads already), however don’t be convinced by marketers that it has any extra benefit for your child (since it’s identified “all natural” or including “important minerals,” for instance). It has no genuine advantages over plain water, and, once again, its safety might not be regulated the method plain bottled or faucet water is.
Carbonated beverages still aren’t a smart idea, even after age 2, since carbonation can cause belly problem at any age, and it’s typically the culprit in kids with gas pains and abdominal discomfort.
Another factor I discourage carbonated water is that once your child is comfortable drinking plain carbonated water, she might be more easily lured to drink flavored carbonated waters or sodas, much of which include large quantities of salt, sugar, artificial flavorings, or other chemicals that aren’t great for her general health or her teeth, according to iytmed.org.
The phosphoric acid in sodas is bad for tooth enamel.
Is your 2-year old going to suffer serious harm from taking a sip of your mineral or carbonated water? No, but I think it’s a smart idea in basic to stick with plain water, or water with a splash of juice, since there is no upside– and there are prospective drawbacks– to including mineral and soft drinks on your child’s beverage menu.
The frequency of carbonated sodas and flavored waters on the marketplace represents a genuine challenge for parents, and by making healthy choices early on you can give your child healthy routines that will stick for life.