When Should You Start Giving Water for Your Baby?

For adults, drinking eight glasses of water a day is well know and for the most part, true. But what about infants? Every new parent has to navigate the minefield of information about what to give, or not give, to their child. The wealth of information can sometimes seem contradictory and comes from a variety of sources, highlighting many hazards. Now a new risk has been identified - and it's a seemly innocuous glass of water.

The general consensus is babies should only be given milk until they're at least six months old, after which a sip of water here and there has been deemed safe.

However, as Katie Zeratsky, a dietitian at the Mayo Clinic told Buzzfeed, up until the age of one, babies can live without water. This, she explains, is because "they get all of their fluid needs through human milk or infant formula. Even on a hot day they can get all of their hydration needs through human milk or formula."

As a rule, NOT giving your baby water is particularly important to adhere to before they're six months old. Breast milk or formula only.

Parents are advised against giving babies water because of the breast milk and formula contain the nutrients they need, such as protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fat. By filling up on water, they miss out on the vital nutrition components they need to grow.

For this reason, it's important to mix formula correctly. And babies grow rapidly, meaning their needs, energy-wise, are much higher then ours. Water cannot fulfil these need, though it will fill up your baby.

Source-Medindia