Hydration Station: the best way to keep your family hydrated
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Summer time is full of fun times and hot weather. When you are busy running around it is easy to forget to drink enough. Last summer when my kids were hot and thirsty all the time I knew that I needed to find a way to make sure that everyone was getting enough fluids. The hydration station came about when my daughter told me that drinking is really boring. She wanted to have fun while hydrating. Together we brainstormed how we could make drinking fluids into a fun activity. Not only did we make a hydration station for everyone in our own family, but we made some for our friends Emma and Colton too.
Some of my kids have POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Their doctor reminds us at every appointment that it is crucial for them to stay well hydrated, especially in the summer. One other thing that is very good for them is salt. Not only is eating salty foods healthy for a POTS patient, but the salt makes them drink more fluids. The salt helps them retain fluids and makes them drink even more. See how we are winning here?
Each person has a different fluid goal, based on their individual height and weight. It is quite easy to figure this out. Take your weight and multiply it by .5. The number that you get from this equation is the amount in ounces that you need to drink per day. Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated. We love the taste of DASANI water the best. We always have a few bottles on hand for walks, pool trips, and other outdoor activities. When it is really hot I also buy Powerade Zero and vitaminwater. My kids love these drinks and they have no problems drinking an entire bottle.
Tracking my family’s daily water intake is much easier with the hydration station. Your kids can easily help make one. We made a few for our friends as well. We will be keeping our hydration station filled with the kids favorite beverages as well as fun cups and bottles for on the go hydration.
Making your own hydration station is easy! First, you need some colorful bins. Each person should probably have a different color. These bins were the perfect size to hold all our materials. You will want to have enough room to add delicious and enticing beverages as well as some DASANI water bottles. Having everything in one place will save you from not knowing where your vitaminwater is when you are headed out to the pool.,
Now is a great time to shop for hydration station materials. Our Safeway was filled with cute summer themed water bottles, fun cups and straws. My kids love fun cups, bottles, and silly straws. All summer long I will be adding in fun drinks and snacks to each of the kids stations.
To create your own hydration station you will need:
Bins large enough to hold cups and bottles.
- Plenty of Powerade Zero, vitaminwater, and DASANI water bottles.
- Decorations! I love puffy paint, stickers, flowers and foam/vinyl letters.
- Glue gun
- A mini chart for tracking fluid intake
- A pen
- A clothespin or wood clips
- Silly straws
- Water bottles and cups
- Sharpies
- Salty snacks in containers
1.Purchase different color bins for each person in your family.
2.Gather your decoration supplies.
3.Each child should choose a water cup or bottle to use. You can write their names just to avoid confusion as to whose cup is whose.
4.Decorate the bins.
5.Attach your beverage tracking chart to the front of your bin.
6.Include a pen in the bin so they can check off how much they drink each day.
7.Fill the bin with their favorite fluids, water bottles, cups and straws.
8.Keep the hydration station filled with portable salty snacks. Salted popcorn, chips, and pretzels are popular.
9.Each hydration station should be in an area with easy access all day.
One of the best things about these hydration stations is that the kids can find their drinks without asking me where they are. It is also very portable and can be taken in the car, on a day trip, or on vacation.
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How will you stay hydrated this summer?
Staying hydrated is so important, especially during the summer months. I love how you set up the hydration station with a bin for each member of the family. I have to remind myself to stay hydrated while I’m working all day.
There is no harm setting up a Hydration Station for Mom or Dad too! Even Grandparents need hydration reminders, especially in summer.
Love this idea. I worry about my kids staying hydrated especially during the Summer and always keep bottled water in our car and a small bottle in my purse. This would be a great tote to carry on our road trips when the kids tend to dehydrate a tad.
SO glad you liked our hydration station. We really need to be careful that our kids drink enough in the summer!
That is a brilliant idea. It is SO important to keep hydrated! Kids need to be reminded, too and this is great.
Thank you! I think that kids like helpful reminders. Dehydration is a real summer time concern and with these hydration stations we no longer have to worry.
This is such a good idea, I don’t keep myself hydrated enough at all – so if I was to fill a box with what I need to drink everyday it may be a huge help.
Adults can use hydration stations too! Sometimes we all need extra reminders.
What a great way to get your kids involved in their own well-being. Where I live you need water all the time in so I need to do something like this with my kiddo!
Thank you! I am so glad you liked it. Hydrating properly is so important now that it is so hot outside.
Great ways to stay hydrated. I make sure to have a water bottle at my desk. Then I try to drink four of those before I leave for the day.
Sounds like you are staying very hydrated! You have a plan and you are sticking with it.
I didn’t know that your kids had POTS! My daughter has it as well and it is hard for her to stay hydrated especially in the summer.
Yup, 2 kids so far have POTS and it is a huge challenge to stay hydrated. You know how hard it is Pam.
I really love the idea of a hydration station for summer parties. I love the way you decorated this and the drinks you chose to put inside. Ill do this for my kid’s birthday party next month.
A goody bag which is a hydration station is an awesome idea! I love that.
This is a great idea! I want a hydration station for my house. I drink water all day every day, but my kids really need to up their intake of liquids.
You should make a hydration station with your kids this summer! It will be a great way to keep them healthy and hydrated.
This is such a good idea! I’m always on my son to stay hydrated during the summer since he plays sports.
Your son needs to drink even more when he is playing a sport! He could bring a hydration station with him to his games and be totally prepared.
This is a great idea! I alway worry about my son drinking enough. This is a great way to make sure he does! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sarah! Kids really can get dehydrated easily in the summer. It is important to keep an eye on their intake.
I know how important it is to stay hydrated especially during a warm weather. I should try creating our own hydration station.
You should definitely try to create a station to keep people hydrated in your house!
This is such a great idea and oh so fun to make! Staying hydrated is soo important, especially in the heat! I have to try this, it’s so fun and a great reminder!
Thank you! I am glad you liked this idea. It is so important to think about hydration, especially in the summer.
We should all stay well hydrated this summer. I am loving the cute concept of a hydration station.
Thank you! I also think our hydration station came out so cute! So glad you enjoyed it.
Staying hydrated is so important for our bodies. This hydration station is an amazing idea for everyone especially during the summer months. Thanks for sharing the information and the awesome idea.
Thanks so much! I am so glad you like the Hydration Station and I hope your family will try to make one too.
Awesome DIY Hydration station to remind your family to drink up! I love all the different kinds of flavored water you can get to encourage your family to up their fluid intake!
You are so right, there are so many flavors of water available today. My kids have their favorite flavors and there are always new flavors on the market constantly.
hydration is key in the summer. Great ideas – will try this.
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy using a hydration station.
What an awesome idea. And it’s just so important, especially during the summer time, to stay hydrated.
Thank you! It really is crucial to stay fully hydrated in the summer.
This would be a cool idea for this summer. Sometimes the children forget to drink up. Dehydration is something we don’t want them to go through. A hydration station would be really great. I would copy this idea and fill an ice chest and put the drinks in there.I’ll put it where in an area where it is accessible to the kids while they are playing outside. Maybe the back porch would be a good place.
These are such great ideas! Sometimes we forget that kids need to think about staying hydrated.