Published: May 2012

ID #: CAS008

Publisher: California Food Policy Advocates

Authors: Ritchie L, Rausa J, Patel A, Braff-Guajardo E, Hecht K

See more related research

Share


Promoting water intake has been proposed in order to displace the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, and new federal and California laws now require water availability in child-care settings. However, some child-care staff have voiced concerns that if young children are provided water with meals, they will fill up on the water and not consume enough milk or other healthy foods. This review synthesizes the current state of the evidence with respect to the displacement of other beverages and foods by drinking water and provides science-based information for the development of sound and practical recommendation to child-care providers on the provision of water to young children. The report recommends that child-care providers provide water both between and during meals and snacks as there is no evidence to support the concern that water might interfere with intake of milk and other healthy foods.

Related Research

December 2011

Clarifying and Disseminating the Value of Promoting Water Consumption in Child-Care Settings

Goals of promoting water in child care include enabling children at an early age to become accustomed to drinking water as the beverage of choice for quenching thirst, and helping to develop the life-long healthy habit of consuming non-caloric water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages. To address water availability in this setting, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids More

November 2025

Informing equitable implementation of SNAP food restriction waivers

SNAP is the largest federally funded nutrition assistance program in the U.S., providing support to more than 40 million Americans. This study aims to provide tangible information, insights, and resources grounded in SNAP participants’ preferences and feedback to support the implementation and communication of SNAP Food Restriction waivers, minimizing barriers to SNAP participation and benefit More

November 2025

Forecasting WIC funding needs: Supporting families, strengthening access

WIC serves more than 50% of all infants born in the U.S. The goal of this study is to build a forecasting model to estimate national WIC funding needs under various policy and economic conditions through fiscal year 2027. The model will also be designed to allow for updates to forecast funding needs for future More