Kids Love H2O?

My kid does NOT. He loves going swimming.... as long as he has his trusty life jacket! Even with it, if even the tip of his chin touches the water, he gets frantic. He starts thrashing around, and yells for mommy. He hates getting his hair washed, simply because there is a slim possibility that water will run down onto his face. And getting him to drink plain ole water? Fuh-get about it. And that is what I want to talk about today.

Most kids will not drink water. My son went through the phase where he thought that anything I was drinking/eating was better than what he had. Several times he has told me he wants to drink what I have, and usually I oblige him, and let him have a taste. (Luckily, I don't drink coffee or alcoholic beverages.) But, usually, when he got a taste of my ice-water, he would make a face and tell me it was yucky. He was used to drinking chocolate milk and juice. Of course, if I was given the choice, I would prefer the sweeter stuff over water, too!

The problem is, I want my child to drink water. And plenty of it. I definitely dont want him to become dehydrated(especially in all this heat we have been having!), and  I dont want him to get tons of "empty" calories and sugar from drinking too much juice and fruit "flavored" drinks. Therefore, I have been sneaky. Creative, and sneaky. Here are a few techniques I have used to get my son to drink his H2O.

1. Water it Down. I believe that a lot of parents do this already. When our kids are just babies, we water their juice down for them. I have continued doing that as mine got older, and in my personal opinion, the juice tastes better watered down rather than drinking 100% fruit juice anyway. Win-win.
2. Get that minty clean taste. I have discovered that water tastes best right after brushing my teeth. It tastes so clean and refreshing! I shared this "secret" with my son and now he often asks for a cup of water after each brushing. (Note: I think it may go without saying that while this is beneficial, it may also be a bit dangerous to practice this at night, right before bedtime, especially if you have a young child who has just emerged from the bed-wetting phase.) 
3. Fruit water. We have gotten into the habit of buying fruit flavored water at Aldi, and my son LOVES it! However, a downside is all the plastic bottles. I hate accumulating them, and I HATE throwing them away! A Water filter with fruit flavored drops may be a better solution for you. I will be trying it soon as well. I think that my boy would love to be in charge of adding the drops into the water, which may be persuasive in getting him to drink it afterward.
4. And Finally, Drink up! My son sees me drinking water and it lets him know that it is not that bad. Like I mentioned before, if they see someone they look up to drink something, they are more likely to want to try it too. It doesn't happen that much with my son, but its a start, at least.

So, there you have it, 4 tips to help you convince your child to drink that H2O. I hope it is helpful! I welcome any and all additional tips that you use to get your kids to drink water! Comments appreciated! =)