Anyone who has seen a baby lovingly carrying around his bottle or a toddler grinning at a sippy cup knows that children love to drink. And this is a good thing considering that most children and adults do not get adequate daily hydration.

Nicola Graimes, author of Brain Foods for Kids (Delta, 2005) and mother of two, agrees that most children do not drink enough water and also points out that dehydration affects concentration and intellectual performance and the transportation of nutrients around the body. "A 2 percent loss in body fluids, for example, can cause a 20 percent reduction in both physical and mental performance," she says.

A child may be thirsty but not know why they are feeling the way they do. "Depending on age and ability, children and infants need varying degrees of support in order to maintain an adequate hydration level," says Graimes. "They may feel thirsty but have limited capacity to express their need or to access drinks." This may come across as fussy in older babies and whiney in toddlers.

When "drink time" finally rolls around, many parents will offer their child apple juice or sugar-sweetened drinks. But according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), parents should limit the amount of juice their children drink. The AAP says infants shouldn't be given juice at all until they're 6 months old, and children 1 to 6 should drink no more than 4 to 6 ounces daily.

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