Guest Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Does anyone have any good ideas for making water available all day for young children. I work in a Children's Centre - so we haqve toddlers with our 3 - 4 year olds. Its a real challenge!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 All the children in my setting have a flask provided by the nursery which the children can access whenever they want. Its filled with water by the kitchen staff each morning and topped up during the day if it's really hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Really Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 In our nursery they have empty fruit shoot bottles in 4 colours - red, orange, purple and green. The bottles are placed on top of the same coloured spot. So, there will be about 8 red bottles placed on a large red spot, 8 green on a large green spot etc. Each child knows their colour and each bottle has a photo of the child on so they recognise it. At the end of the each the day the bottles are emptied and the lids placed in milton and water overnight. The bottles are then refilled in the morning. In Reception I do a similiar thing, except they have large water bottles with their names on and they are placed on their group square. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 In my nursery, we ask the parents to provide pre-school children with sports bottles, obviously with lids, for the children to have free acess to each day. In the baby unit, we ask parents to provide children with lidded beakers. The babies cups and lids are sterilised in the morning before we open and again when all the babies are asleep, filled with cooled boiled water. In the toddler room, we only sterilise the lids, in with the babies lids and cups and fill once in the morning and again, when the toddlers are all asleep or if they have had milk at snack time. Toddler beakers have a special table they go on and the children know they can help themselves. The babies are offered their cups throughout the day by the staff. I'm now just trying to train my toddlers to put their beakers back on the special table when they have finished, rather than them throwing them on the floor for me to fall over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Any ideas for the under 2s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Hi Shelley. My babies and toddlers are all under 2, if that's any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 we use a plastic jug with a lid on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Our children all have their own cups / bottles. Attatched to their cup / bottle is a laminated picture of the child and their name. this is good for the child's own recognition but also for staff who don't know who's cup/bottle is who's. I also have a chart on the wall that has a picture of each child's cup / bottle with the child's name next to it, this helps staff to know which cup / bottle they need for each child.(as pictures are removed from cups whilst they are washed) cups/bottles are filled each morning with fresh watter, and at lunch time they are washed and refilled. once a week the cup lids are put in milton (daily for babies) Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_4619 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 we use water coolers. A novelty at first but fine after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2127 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 I was really interested in the water coolers because a friend is having a 2 week trial with one. The bottles are £5 each and the cooler is £47 a year. Sounded really good but apparantly the cooling machine has to be permanently plugged into the electricity (24hours a day) As I share premises with others I can't do this and I haven't got an electric socket in any of my storage cupboards. We put a lidded jug of water out and the children ask for a drink. We found that the young ones played with the water when it was at a level for the children to reach. Sue J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Playgroup bought a water dispenser for £10, it doesnt cool the water but it allowed the children to get their own drinks throughout the day. I can ask where they got it from and how sucessful they thought it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 This sounds similar to the one I got from Lidl for about £5. We just have a supply of clean plastic beakers next to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_4544 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Our water cooler is plumbed into the cold water system so we dont have to buy bottles. It filters the water as well as cooling it. As Jo says it was a novelty at first and we had a few puddles but once the children got used to it we have no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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