Infants need to be given water. It saturates the body with microelements that promote the development of organs and bone tissue. However, their digestive system is ready to accept only specially purified water. The bottled prepared liquid can be drunk and used to prepare complementary foods. What kind of water is best to give to an infant so as not to cause colic will be advised by specialists from the Daughters-Sons online store.
What kind of water can you give a newborn baby?
For infants, it is recommended to choose a drink with a balanced mineral composition. Water for newborns should not contain sugar or high concentrations of sodium salts. It is good if the product contains potassium, calcium, sulfates and fluorine. These components stimulate tissue growth and stabilize the gastric microflora.
Newborns are not allowed to drink carbonated water. This can lead to an imbalance in the intestines, severe bloating and painful colic. An increased concentration of sodium salts has a detrimental effect on the kidneys and disrupts the water-salt balance in the baby’s body. Therefore, pediatricians recommend choosing drinks with a low level of salt.
Modern manufacturers offer a huge range of products. To determine which water is best for children, you should carefully read the label, which says what microelements the liquid contains, how it is purified and other information.
| Brand | Peculiarities | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| "Granny's Basket" | Conditioned by salt composition. Available in eco-containers of 0.5, 1.5 and 5 liters. | To quench your thirst. For preparing soups, mixtures and porridges. |
| "Grow Big" | Contains potassium, sulfate, fluorine, magnesium and calcium. Bottled. | No need to boil. For preparing any baby food. |
| Fleur Alpine | From an artesian spring of the highest category. Saturated with oxygen. 100% antibacterial treatment. | To saturate the child's body with oxygen and minerals. |
| "Nutrilak" | Reduced salt concentration. It undergoes multi-stage bactericidal cleaning with active oxygen. | With an imbalance or lack of minerals in the body. Used in complementary foods of any kind. |
| Humana | Enriched with calcium, magnesium and carbon dioxide. You don't have to boil it. | To dilute the mixture. Gives a neutral taste. |
Important!
Pediatricians recommend giving infants water, the quality of which is approved by the Russian Ministry of Health. For example, such manufacturers include the brand “Grow Big”. This is healthy and tasty water.
Expert opinion
It is dangerous to give boiled water from the tap or pump room to infants. In addition, during the boiling process, the liquid loses many microelements necessary for a growing body. For newborns, we recommend buying artesian purified water with balanced mineralization, without gas and sugar.
Specialist of the online store “Daughters and Sons”
Ekaterina Antonova
conclusions
What kind of water to order home for children is up to the parents to decide. Many manufacturers that specialize in baby food and water offer high-quality products. They offer a drink that is absolutely safe for babies, with a complex of useful elements. Water is extracted from artesian springs, purified and mineralized in accordance with the needs of the baby.
There are now a huge number of products on store shelves specifically for babies, including specialized baby water. How not to get confused and make the right choice?!
The design of a bottle with a cute toddler or a cute and fluffy bunny does not guarantee that the water is intended for use by children. Hiding behind a beautiful design, the manufacturer deceives parents by offering regular adult water at a price that is not for children. Even when studying the label (chemical composition and general mineralization), it becomes clear that in fact this liquid does not meet the required SanPin standards for baby water.
How to recognize: The label only states: “water of the first or highest category (underground or artesian source).” In the worst case scenario, there is a “central water supply”.
There are children's waters of the highest category that meet all the necessary parameters. However, you need to figure out how it is brought to the “ideal”. Most likely, it was purified using membrane technology (reverse osmosis), and then brought using the powder method to the level of standards for the physiological usefulness of the mineral composition (the necessary minerals were added). Those. First, we removed all substances of natural origin from the water and added powder in the required volume. But think for yourself how useful this water is...
How to recognize: The label states: “water of the highest category (underground or artesian source) for children (for children, for baby food)”
Children's mineral water with a natural balanced mineral composition that does not require additional correction. The very word “mineral” in the name does not mean that there are a lot of minerals, but that it was not purified or restored (this is prohibited by law), i.e. it is initially clean and meets all standards. Unfortunately, there are very few natural sources in the world whose water complies with technical regulations and SanPin standards. Since the culture of proper drinking is more developed in Europe, these waters are often imported (Sulinka Baby, Sierra Cazorla..).
How to recognize: The label says: “Natural mineral drinking water for children (for children, for baby food)”
“Baby water”...what, really?!
Water is the most important link in the biochemical processes of a child’s body. The health and well-being of the child directly depends on its quality. Therefore, it is important for every parent to know how to choose baby water so as not to harm the baby.
On the shelves of baby food stores you can often find bottles or various packaging labeled “Baby water.” Manufacturers actively advertise their product and recommend it to quench the thirst of children. Being in a period of active growth and development, children usually drink a large amount of water and, of course, every mother wants this water to be not only clean, but also safe for the child’s health.
But the beautiful label and inscription that baby water is not always to be trusted. For many manufacturers, the appearance of a children's line of waters is just a marketing ploy. The bottle may contain water that does not meet the required standards, which makes its consumption hazardous to health!
How to choose water for your child?
Baby water (water for preparing baby food, with artificial feeding) is allowed to be produced only of the highest quality category or mineral water that meets the standards of the highest category. In addition, additional requirements are imposed on it: a higher balance of composition, as well as the absence of preservatives such as carbon dioxide and silver.
Silver is not allowed in baby water! Instead of silver, ultraviolet rays or ozonation are used for bactericidal treatment of baby water. The presence of silver in water can be checked on the label - the element “Ag” (Latin Argentum - silver) should not be there at all, in any quantity.
The physiological usefulness of the macro- and microelement composition of packaged water is determined by its compliance with standards SanPiN 2.1.4.1116-02
After studying the data in the table, you can independently calculate the waters that are not suitable for children. After all, a bottle with a cute toddler or a cute and fluffy bunny does not guarantee that the water is intended for use by children. Hiding behind a beautiful design, the manufacturer deceives parents by offering regular adult water at a price that is not for children. Even when studying the label (chemical composition and general mineralization), it becomes clear that in fact this liquid does not meet the required SanPin standards for baby water. If indicated only: water of the first or highest category.
Water of the highest category must be absolutely safe in purity and physiologically complete in micro- and macroelement composition - all this is assumed by the extremely strict standards of SanPiN. But how is it possible to achieve such high standards, and how absolute will the “safety” of such water be?
So, artesian water is much cleaner than water from open sources (springs, wells), where it is protected from anthropogenic influence, but at the same time it requires purification procedures in order to meet high standards of the highest quality category. And such purification can be (and most likely will be) reverse osmosis.
Water purified using membrane technology (reverse osmosis) has the lowest mineralization - 20-50 milligrams per liter (0.02-0.05 grams per liter), which makes the content of substances of natural origin rather poor. Once in the body, such water will wash away beneficial microelements. Therefore, minerals are artificially added to purified water. Artificially mineralized water is less healthy than natural drinking water. Everyone knows that you cannot get natural freshly squeezed juice from instant powder.
Analysis of the baby water market has shown that in order for water to meet the highest category standards, many manufacturers resort to the use of membrane technologies. Of course, such water cannot be objectively considered harmful, but it cannot be called beneficial either.
During laboratory tests, silver ions were discovered in some waters. It was previously believed that silver purifies water; now it is known that silver, like all heavy metals, is toxic when ingested in excess. Fortunately, the concentrations of silver were negligible, but experts were alarmed by the very fact of the presence of silver in the water, since it is prohibited to add it to baby water as a preservative.
Meeting children's waters of the highest category, meeting all the necessary parameters. It is worth understanding how it was brought to the “ideal”. Most likely, it was purified using membrane technology (reverse osmosis), and then brought to the level of standards for the physiological usefulness of the mineral composition (the necessary minerals were added). Those. First, we removed all substances of natural origin from the water and added powder in the required volume. But think for yourself how useful this water is...
To buy good (healthy, high-quality) drinking water, it is important to know where it comes from and what technology is used to purify it, as well as what is included in its microelements. And it would be very good to understand about this composition - is it natural, or is it the fruit of modern technologies, i.e. powder mineralization.
Children's mineral water with a natural balanced mineral composition that does not require additional correction is the best option for use from birth. Natural drinking water not only quenches thirst, but also heals the body, improving metabolic processes. Unfortunately, there are not many natural sources whose water complies with technical regulations and SanPin standards. Since the culture of proper drinking is more developed in Europe, these waters are often imported.
It should be noted that the problem of lack of water in the body - dehydration - is relevant at any age, but especially for children. Dehydration is a serious threat to metabolism and the growth of all organs. Water helps the healthy and proper development and growth of the baby. To avoid such problems, it is worth forming the habit of drinking water from childhood.
Water preserved in its original form will be the key to the healthy development of your child and contribute to the formation of the protective functions of the child’s body.
The fact that food should be cooked using clean, tested water is already a truism. And, of course, first of all, this concerns our kids. Water for baby food, especially for newborns, must meet not only safety requirements, but also be healthy and have excellent taste. In addition, children's water, unlike adult water, is not allowed to contain silver. “Soda” is also contraindicated for babies: this means that the water (drinking or preparing mixtures) should not contain carbon dioxide.
It would seem that the solution is obvious - buy a bottle with the inscription “children’s”. After all, such products are subject to mandatory certification and approvals issued by the relevant regulatory organizations. But, unfortunately, truly high-quality bottled water, usually recommended by doctors both for diluting dry mixtures and for drinking, is rare today. Unscrupulous manufacturers put the “children’s” mark only in order to exempt their products from the tax burden, but this inscription does not at all guarantee the absence of harmful impurities. In addition, even if such water can be considered safe from a bacteriological point of view, this does not mean that it has a level of mineralization that is harmless to a child. Therefore, the optimal solution is to choose a suitable filter, after processing in which the water for baby food will be safe.
Restrictions that are important for parents to know about
For drinking or cooking?
Experts divide baby water into two types - for cooking and for drinking. It's all about the composition, which you should pay attention to before use: mixtures, as a rule, are already balanced in microelements and minerals, so it is important not to upset this useful balance. When you use bottled water, you have to rely on the honesty of the manufacturer, who indicates the standard mineral composition (200-300 mg/l). It is wiser to use drinking water that has been treated in a household filter for preparing baby food. It will be much softer and safer for your child's health. The microelement composition recommended by experts that water for infant formula should have is only 64-107 mg/l.
Every age has its own water
Here the question also lies in the composition of the water: the same concentration of trace elements and minerals is suitable for a 5-year-old child, but completely unacceptable for a 6-month-old baby. For the same reason, medicinal and therapeutic-and-prophylactic water containing a high level of salts is excluded from the children's diet. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers indicate age restrictions on the label. If there is no clear information on the packaging, it is better not to purchase such water. Here BARRIER children's filters will come to your aid, which are conventionally divided into categories “0+” and “4+”. This way, you can choose a water purifier to prepare formula for a baby from 3 months or a child 4 years of age and older.
Preparing baby formula using water correctly
According to experts, water from underground sources, which are most protected from various types of pollution, should be used as “raw” water for preparing baby food. Since the powdered formulas themselves have a certain content of nutrients and minerals, you can calculate whether this amount is enough for your baby. If necessary, for preparing baby food, water can be additionally enriched with the necessary microelements (for example, thanks to special filter cassettes).
When preparing formula for a child, remember that the ideal temperature is 36-37 °C. The powder is poured into the container with a measuring spoon and quickly stirred until completely dissolved. After which you need to shake the bottle properly. Place a few drops on your wrist or press the bottle to your temple to check the temperature of the mixture - it should be practically unnoticeable, that is, be as close as possible to body temperature.
Do not leave baby food in the bottle until the next feeding. All used dishes must be washed immediately with hot water and baking soda (1 tsp per 1 liter of water).
Among drinks for children, water occupies a special place, because you can still manage without tea and fruit drinks, but it is very difficult without water. A lack of clean fluid in the body of both an adult and a child can “give” problems with the kidneys and other organs. But regular boiled or bottled water is not recommended for small children.
If you carefully choose high-quality baby food, then you need to approach the choice of baby drinking water with no less care. This product has the same effect on the body as food. Now there are many companies producing baby water, which is created taking into account the needs of the child’s body.
What is the difference between “adult” and “children’s” water?
Firstly, the amount of minerals in such water is reduced. Excessive mineralization is just as harmful as insufficient mineralization. Moreover, children should not be given regular water; it should be children’s mineral water. Baby food, be it powdered milk formula, puree, porridge or even breast milk, already contains vitamins and microelements, so adding plain water will upset this balance and, if consumed regularly, can negatively affect the baby’s health.
Secondly, baby food water may contain additional missing microelements and serve as a “liquid vitamin” for your baby. Iodine or fluoride may be added to its composition, but be sure to consult with your pediatrician before introducing such water into your baby’s diet. The addition of additional minerals must be indicated on the label.
Always read the label!By the way, about the label. Read it carefully before purchasing baby water. It should contain the following information:
- where the water was obtained (well, area);
- period and storage conditions of the product;
- mineralization (acceptable norm 200-400 mg/l);
- manufacturer;
- age for which the water is intended;
- The inscription: “Recommended for baby food by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences” is required.
What is the best baby water? Each parent makes their choice semi-intuitively and semi-rationally, based on the baby’s reaction to the product, price, label design and bottle functionality. 
Manufacturers are doing their best: for example, Frutonyanya children's water is produced in blue and pink bottles - for boys and girls. Isn't it cute?
Often mothers have a question: should they give their newborn a drink of water? If it is exclusively on, this is not necessary; babies take enough fluid from mother's milk (although there is another point of view on this issue). But if your baby is bottle-fed or mixed-fed, then he simply needs additional baby water, otherwise it will be very difficult for the little kidneys, which diligently do their job.