RESOURCES FOR PROVIDING HEALTHY BEVERAGES

Teach kids, staff and parents about healthy drinks for children.

30 Day Water Challenge: This 30 Day Water Challenge from the National Drinking Water Alliance is designed to support child care providers in meeting CACFP requirements.

Access to Water Toolkit: Download new resources from the National Drinking Water Alliance — evidence-based strategies to help promote the consumption of water instead of sugary drinks in schools and child care facilities.

Choose Water: Tip sheet with success stories from other programs on making drinking water visible and available inside and out for kids to self-serve.

Growing Healthy Kids—Just Add Water: It can often be challenging to get kids to drink the right amount of water they need throughout the day. The goal of this toolkit is to help teach the importance of drinking water and encourage children to drink more.

Healthy Kids, Healthy Future—Provide Healthy Beverages: This learning module explains the benefits of and best practices for providing healthy beverages to young children; and lists strategies, resources, and ideas for providing healthy beverages.

Increasing Access to Drinking Water in ECE Settings: This guide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives you information on how to make water available at all times.

Potter the Otter (online in English and Spanish): Read this story to young children to teach them how to make healthy drink choices.

Rethink Your Drink: This webinar from Arkansas Children’s Hospital describes the benefits of water to children and caregivers.

The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics: Although juice has some benefits, it also has potential detrimental effects. Pediatricians and early care and education providers need to be knowledgeable about juice to inform parents on its appropriate uses.

What Should Preschoolers Drink?:  This article talks more about the best drinks for kids — milk and water. Also discusses the detriments of soda and caffeine.

Water is one of the best healthy drinks for children.