Other FAQs

• My 2 year old granddaughter drinks water from her bottle as well as from cups. But she particularly loves to have a bottle with water up to 20 times a day. Could there be something wrong or is it ok to drink this much water? NEW!
  
• How much water should my toddler drink every day?
• I heard that organic food would make your child physically, sexually mature, earlier. Is this true?
• My two year old gets loose stools when he drinks a lot of milk or has a lot of dairy products. Could this be due to lactose intolerance?

My 2 year old granddaughter drinks water from her bottle as well as from cups. But she particularly loves to have a bottle with water up to 20 times a day. Could there be something wrong or is it ok to drink this much water?

First you need to determine how much water she is really drinking. Is she emptying an 8 oz bottle twenty times a day? If so, you need to be concerned. Excessive thirst is one of the signs of diabetes. Other symptoms to check for are excessive urination, extreme hunger, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. It's definitely worth checking in with her pediatrician.
 

How much water should my toddler drink every day?

According to the Institute of Medicine, a child between the ages of one and three needs about 1.3 liters of water a day. Keep in mind that total water intake reflects the sum of plain drinking water and the water content of all foods and beverages consumed during the day. That means your toddler may meet much of his water need from the milk, juice, fruits, soups, yogurt, etc. that he is eating. In order for your child to fulfill his fluid needs without an obligatory intake of unnecessary calories, be sure to offer plain water during meal and snack time, and between times in response to thirst. Many factors will affect your child's unique need for water including the climate you live in... a hot, dry climate will increase a child's need for fluid, activtiy level... active kids will need more water than sedentary ones, and fever or other physiological conditions may increase a child's need for water. Normal hydration can be maintained over a wide range of water intakes. The body has many mechanisms for achieving water balance. If not enough water is drunk, the kidneys will conserve water, and when fluid intake is high, urine output will increase. One way to make sure your child is drinking enough water is to pay attention to his urine output. If he is urinating frequently and the urine is pale yellow and with little smell, he's getting enough, but if his urine is bright yellow and acrid smelling, it's a good indication he's not getting enough fluid and his urine is very concentrated. Offer him plenty of plain, refreshing water to get back into balance. It's rare to get too much water and you needn't worry about that with a toddler who is allowed to drink in response to needs.
 

I heard that organic food would make your child physically, sexually mature, earlier. Is this true? Do you know where I could get more information on this?

I have heard unfounded rumors about this, not in relationship to organic food, but in relationship to animal products that have been treated with hormones. There are some hypotheses that early maturation may be caused by the prevalence of artificial hormones getting into the drinking water from various sources including urine of women on birth control pills or hormone therapy. However, I have not read studies to support this hypothesis. Organic foods are raised without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or hormones, so shouldn't be of any concern in this regard. I imagine that the scientific community will be studying this phenomenon to try and pinpoint where the problem lies.
 

My two year old eats great, but I notice that whenever he drinks a lot of milk or has a lot of dairy products, his stools get very loose. I mentioned it to my doctor, and he said not to worry about it, but I think he may be lactose intolerance. He loves milk and cheese and I would hate to take it away from him if this is not the problem. Would milk do this, or is just all the fluid? Would I need to stop giving him all dairy products?

Lactose intolerance does cause loose stools. It can also cause gas, cramps and bloating because the naturally occurring sugar in the milk, lactose, is not being completely digested due to the lack of a necessary enzyme caused lactase. If your son experiences some of these symptoms as well as the loose stools, there is a good chance he is lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance does not always require the complete elimination of lactose containing foods. The problem is very dose dependent. Often a small glass of milk eaten with a meal will not cause any problem at all, but two or three glasses on an empty stomach will. Try serving your son small amounts of dairy at mealtimes to see if this helps to minimize the problem. Some dairy products are easier to digest than others because the lactose has already been predigested to a certain degree. Yogurt is an example. The bacteria used to culture the milk to make yogurt digests the lactose, which causes yogurt to be less sweet than milk. The same is true for aged cheeses. The friendly bacteria used to culture cheese uses the lactose as a food source, digesting it and reducing it’s presence in the food. Therefore, your son may be able to eat cheese and yogurt with little or no symptoms of lactose intolerance. To fully confirm your suspicions, try keeping a food diary, writing down when your child has dairy products, how much of it he has, and with what other foods. Then also note any resulting symptoms and their severity. See if you can identify a consistent pattern. This information may be useful on your next visit to the doctor. Besides serving dairy in small amounts, you may also serve your child lactose reduced milk. It is available in most grocery stores in the milk case next to the regular milk.