Healthy drinks under 6 months
Under 6 months, babies need only breastmilk or infant formula. Breastmilk and formula have all the nutrients babies need for growth and development.
Healthy drinks at 6-12 months
Breastmilk or infant formula should be the only milk drink for babies until 12 months of age.
You can give breastfed and formula-fed babies small amounts of cooled boiled tap water from a cup from 6 months.
Drinking water from a cup rather than a bottle helps your child learn how to handle a cup.
If your baby has drinks other than water, breastmilk or formula in the first 12 months, it can stop your baby from getting enough essential nutrients.
Healthy drinks at 12 months
After 12 months, you can give your baby pasteurised and unflavoured full-fat cow’s milk to drink if they’re eating a balanced diet.
Reduced-fat milks aren’t recommended for children under 2 years. This is because babies and toddlers need the nutrients in full-fat milk for energy and healthy growth and development.
You can keep breastfeeding after 12 months for as long as it suits you and your child. If your child has been formula fed and they’re eating a balanced diet, your child probably won’t need formula after 12 months.
Your child can have tap water, and there’s no need to boil it after 12 months.
If you’re thinking of giving your child dairy alternatives like plant-based milks as drinks, it’s best to talk to your paediatrician, GP or child and family health nurse.
Healthy drinks for toddlers, preschoolers, older children and teenagers
For children aged 2 years and older, tap water and milk are the best drinks.
From 2 years, children can have reduced-fat milk.
Your child can stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. This is especially important in hot weather or when your child is running around a lot. Drinking plenty of water can also help your child avoid constipation.
Encouraging children and teenagers to drink more water
Here are tips to encourage your child to drink and enjoy water:
- Get everyone in the family drinking water as their main drink. When your child sees you doing it, they’re likely to do it too.
- Make water easily available by giving younger children water bottles at home and showing older children how to get their own water from the tap.
- Have water on the table at meals and snack times.
- Keep chilled water in a jug in the fridge. You could try adding different-shaped ice cubes to make it more appealing for your child.
- Take filled water bottles when you go out with your child.
Drinks to limit: fruit juice
Fruit juices have high levels of sugar and don’t have much fibre. Children don’t need extra sugar – but they do need fibre. That’s why it’s better for them to eat a piece of fruit, rather than drink juice.
If your child drinks juice, try to limit it to a ½ cup per day. You could try giving fruit juice at a particular time or during a daily activity to help you stick to this limit. For example, you could say, ‘We have fruit juice with our breakfast’. To make the ½ cup of juice go further and reduce its sweetness, you could mix it with water or ice.
It’s best to choose fruit juice with no added sugar. Or if you can, you could make your own fruit juice. If you use a blender instead of a juicer, it will keep the fibre in the juice. You could even sneak in a few vegetables.
It’s best for children to eat whole fruit and drink plain tap water or milk. Water is better than fruit juice, because it satisfies thirst and doesn’t have any extra sugar.
Unhealthy drinks: sweetened and caffeinated drinks
Soft drinks, cordial, sports drinks and energy drinks have a lot of added sugar and virtually no nutrients for your child’s diet.
These drinks can take the place of other more nourishing foods and drinks and can increase your child’s risk of being above a healthy weight and developing tooth decay.
Some of these drinks also contain caffeine. Caffeine gives your child artificial energy, which can make them extremely excited and then exhausted. Caffeine can also affect your child’s sleep.
Flavoured milk and breakfast milk drinks are high in added sugar, so it’s better to offer your children plain milk instead.
Flavoured mineral waters can also be high in added sugar.
Tea and coffee contain caffeine, which can affect your child’s sleep, behaviour and development.
Some herbal teas might contain compounds that can be harmful for children. Check with your health professional if you have questions about herbal tea for your child.